Stornoway + Special Guests

Defined by Brian’s ageless, clear tenor, Stornoway's songs are uplifting, heartfelt, and dashingly melodic; but the songs are just the start. This is a band that runs on curiosity. Producing their own records, they take a bespoke approach to each track. With a wonderfully diverse range of instrumentation and an unmistakable joy in the creative process, every one of their songs is given a very beautiful and carefully considered place to live - musically and geographically, with recording locations including campervans, wind-buffeted barns, chapels and community centres.

Stornoway lit up 2010 with their thrilling debut Beachcomber’s Windowsill, the culmination of a five-year journey with its starting point in a Freshers week meeting at Oxford University between Brian Briggs and the band's arranger and multi-instrumentalist Jon Ouin. After connecting with South African-born brothers Rob (drums) and Oli Steadman (bass), the band honed its sound and aims, self-releasing a series of EPs before finally signing to 4AD for the release of Beachcomber’s Windowsill.

Now, Stornoway unveils their most ambitious album yet, Beyonder, out 25 September on Cooking Vinyl. Widely recognised as a band at the intersection of music and conservation, the group continues that mission with an album of wild hope, born from isolation and exploration. Beyonder channels the powers of the natural world to reconnect us, using music to bring people closer to nature. 

Beyonder is an album for a changing world. It confronts the biodiversity and climate crises, the rise of divisive politics, and the toll these pressures take on our minds and communities. These songs are about journeys and destinations, discovery and choice, and taken together they cultivate a hopeful state of mind in unsettled times.