Little Bear
Derry collective Little Bear formed just over a year ago and since then have been on a rapid upward spiral.
Cousins Mark O'Doherty and Ryan Griffiths met songwriter Steven McCool at a local college music performance course in 2004 and have written together ever since.
Multi-instrumentalist Conor Mason joined the band mid-2012 and since then the band have not looked back.
Steven picks up the story: βI had a few tunes that I was writing in my bedroom that were quite similar in sound and worked perfectly as a set. Conor mixed those initial demos and he became a full time member soon afterward.β
Steadily building a reputation as one of the hardest working live bands on the circuit, Little Bear has recently shared stages with Ryan Bingham and Hudson Taylor. As last minute additions to the Derry leg of Other Voices the quartet were delighted to be in the company of Laura Marling, Daughter and Villagers.
βFamily is a big theme in our music and is something that everyone can relate to. We see ourselves as a family, we have a very deep connection as a band and invite our fans in warmly. I love melodies, I love creating them and developing them and I think a good melody helps in interaction with fans. If you mix a singable melody and reachable lyrics, you're almost certain to make a connection," said Steven.
You can follow the band on twitter @LittleBearMusic and hear some of their music at http://www.smalltownamerica.co.uk/