The Sit Down with Bailey Tomkinson & The Locals
Having been named as one of BBC Introducing’s Ones to Watch for 2025, Cornwall’s Bailey Tomkinson & The Locals have released their first taste of new music with Supermoon - a confessional folk-pop single that taps into the complicated corners of modern relationships. We caught up with Bailey this week to find out more about the single and what to expect from the group for the remainder of the year
Thank you so much for taking the time this morning Bailey. It's good to see you again.
And you, thank you for having me. It's great to speak to you.
The new single, Supermoon, is out. How does it feel to have that release out?
Yeah, very exciting. I mean, Supermoon, it's felt like quite a while to get it out as well, but we've been teasing on social media and the response has been amazing. I think it's just really fun and I love playing it. People are really enjoying it because it's quite hooky as well, people keep messaging me saying, I can't get a song out my head - that's exactly what you want. We're just really proud of it, so I'm glad that people are enjoying it as much as we are.
This is your first release of the year. November was the last release you put out, do the nerves creep up on you as you get closer to a release date?
Yeah, I would have loved to have brought it out earlier but being independent means getting everything together takes quite a while. I do get nervous and I set like myself bars, like I hope it does this. I hope it does that but I just I'm excited more than anything and just happy for people to hear it finally and just love it as much as we do.
You've got a show tomorrow night. Is it gonna be nice to kind of get to play it live? And you can always now say this song is now out rather than this song is coming soon!
Yeah, no, totally. It's nice to be able to see people singing it and stuff, because we've been we've been teasing the chorus for a while now. What I've noticed is when we were doing shows, people were singing the chorus! I was just absolutely amazed by it. We did a show BBC Introducing set at the Air Show in Devon - it was quite a big crowd - and there were a good few people singing along which really surprised me. I've never had that before with a release, especially with a song I haven't released yet! I was like, oh, that's a really good sign.
When you kind of see that response before it's out, does it give you that extra bit of urgency to make sure the song is out pre-summer and before a few festival dates?
Yeah, I was like, we have to have out the summer because it's a summer song. I wanted to have it out before we went and did all of our festival run and I wanted it out so people could listen to it and learn it, and now we're about to record our next single, which is very exciting as well.
You've also got a music video on the way for Supermoon.
Yep, still to come.
Has it been exciting to film and prepare it?
Yeah, it's been really exciting. My friend Luke has filmed it and he's great. I had to jump in a pool with my one of my favourite dresses, so I was a bit hesitant about doing that! It'll make a cool shot though and I can always stick it in the wash.
Have you got a timeline of when you think that'll be out?
Yeah, well, hopefully the next few weeks. A couple of our shooting locations fell through on the day, so we've had to pick up another day to continue filming. We had this really unusual experience at Horse Ranch too. We were like, oh, why don't we do something with horses? So, we turned up there and it was so bizarre! They were trying to give us this horse and it was a bit random. Then they're like, oh, maybe come back another day and we were just left really confused. We're going to need another day of filming for sure, but it will be out by the end of summer. We want to release it as close together as possible with a single. We were actually umming and ahhing about doing a video or not for a while and when the song came out and people were liking it, we were like, oh, we're going to have to do a video and hopefully people will be excited to see it. You're constantly learning when you're independent and now we’ve realised we should have just filmed it months ago! We'll be recording our next single soon, so as soon as we have the MP3 and the WAV back for it, we'll be filming ready to go with on day of the release!
Do you think that the release of Supermoon is going to be the start of a new music cycle for you leading up to a bigger project?
Yeah. So we're releasing an EP in autumn and Supermoon's on it. There's a real consistent sound tha,t we've created and it just feels like one body of work together. I'm really looking forward to putting that out. I write so much anyway and I’m constantly writing. I can't remember ever not writing. I've been writing since I was a child. It’s how I function! It's now down to picking what song we want to record next. I've just got such a big catalogue to choose from, so it's hard to pick which song I want to do next! Usually, you just have a gut instinct about these things.
When you look back now to the last EP release, California Fire, in 2022, there's obviously going to be several years between releases. Do you think you're noticing a change in your music and your style in that time?
Definitely. I think since like with the band in particular coming on board. I had a band, but it wasn't the same as what we're like now. We were working out how to capture a live sound and that's the hardest thing. With the boys I have now, there's quite a few of us, we've got a sax as well, which obviously brings so much energy. We've got drums, bass, me, Jordan, guitar, and sax. We also have an organ player that will come on and do certain shows with us as well. Capturing that live sound is really difficult, it's why like bands like Oasis would record in so many different studios, because you go out and you have this real energy and this life to your music that you want to translate in the studio. It's really hard to capture but I feel like we've done that really well. That's why all of these songs together are one body because they have the same energy. I'm just I'm really excited to keep recording as we've got a lot of big things coming up. We've got a lot of exciting momentum right now as well, which we just need to capitalise and jump on.
You've had so much support from outlets like BBC Introducing. How important has that been to have that mainstream coverage as an independent artist, both regionally and also pushing on to a national level?
BBC Introducing is huge. For them to support us the way they do is amazing, especially as we're independent. We're currently completely self-managed, self-agented, it's just us, it's just us doing it. To have people like BBC Introducing come on board and support us and champion us, and give us these amazing opportunities, like Boardmasters with them coming up in a couple weeks, is just huge. Dan Pascoe has been so amazing to us. So many people listen to the show and tune in and it's just an amazing place to find new music. Everyone in the UK, who's an artist in the past 15 years has gone through BBC Introducing, you know, all your Lewis Capaldi’s, to your Sam Fender’s, it's a platform everyone uses. When you can see that they're liking what you're doing, that's just a huge compliment.
When you see the list of people who've done BBC Introducing in the past, does that give you that boost of knowing you’re on the right track and feel like you’ve really got to take advantage of the opportunity?
Yes, totally. I think as well that the sound we have fits that mainstream sound. We haven't had a Radio One airplay yet and obviously that's something I really want. We've had Radio Two and I've had support from Bob Harris as well. Over the past, I guess, five years, he's been really great with all the Under the Apple Tree projects. A few years ago, Brad Paisley was presenting on Radio Two and he played Movie Scene which was really cool. I got a message from the producer at the time, just saying, by the way, we put your song in front of Brad today; he loved it and he's playing it on the show tonight! I've been on Women's Hour, I've been on Radio Four on newscasts too. Just as a channel, BBC has been really important to me. Everyone listens and knows the BBC in the UK and it's really cool that they have given me so many opportunities and I’m just very grateful.
Thank you so much for taking the time this morning Bailey. It's good to see you again.
And you, thank you for having me. It's great to speak to you.
The new single, Supermoon, is out. How does it feel to have that release out?
Yeah, very exciting. I mean, Supermoon, it's felt like quite a while to get it out as well, but we've been teasing on social media and the response has been amazing. I think it's just really fun and I love playing it. People are really enjoying it because it's quite hooky as well, people keep messaging me saying, I can't get a song out my head - that's exactly what you want. We're just really proud of it, so I'm glad that people are enjoying it as much as we are.
This is your first release of the year. November was the last release you put out, do the nerves creep up on you as you get closer to a release date?
Yeah, I would have loved to have brought it out earlier but being independent means getting everything together takes quite a while. I do get nervous and I set like myself bars, like I hope it does this. I hope it does that but I just I'm excited more than anything and just happy for people to hear it finally and just love it as much as we do.
You've got a show tomorrow night. Is it gonna be nice to kind of get to play it live? And you can always now say this song is now out rather than this song is coming soon!
Yeah, no, totally. It's nice to be able to see people singing it and stuff, because we've been we've been teasing the chorus for a while now. What I've noticed is when we were doing shows, people were singing the chorus! I was just absolutely amazed by it. We did a show BBC Introducing set at the Air Show in Devon - it was quite a big crowd - and there were a good few people singing along which really surprised me. I've never had that before with a release, especially with a song I haven't released yet! I was like, oh, that's a really good sign.
When you kind of see that response before it's out, does it give you that extra bit of urgency to make sure the song is out pre-summer and before a few festival dates?
Yeah, I was like, we have to have out the summer because it's a summer song. I wanted to have it out before we went and did all of our festival run and I wanted it out so people could listen to it and learn it, and now we're about to record our next single, which is very exciting as well.
You've also got a music video on the way for Supermoon.
Yep, still to come.
Has it been exciting to film and prepare it?
Yeah, it's been really exciting. My friend Luke has filmed it and he's great. I had to jump in a pool with my one of my favourite dresses, so I was a bit hesitant about doing that! It'll make a cool shot though and I can always stick it in the wash.
Have you got a timeline of when you think that'll be out?
Yeah, well, hopefully the next few weeks. A couple of our shooting locations fell through on the day, so we've had to pick up another day to continue filming. We had this really unusual experience at Horse Ranch too. We were like, oh, why don't we do something with horses? So, we turned up there and it was so bizarre! They were trying to give us this horse and it was a bit random. Then they're like, oh, maybe come back another day and we were just left really confused. We're going to need another day of filming for sure, but it will be out by the end of summer. We want to release it as close together as possible with a single. We were actually umming and ahhing about doing a video or not for a while and when the song came out and people were liking it, we were like, oh, we're going to have to do a video and hopefully people will be excited to see it. You're constantly learning when you're independent and now we’ve realised we should have just filmed it months ago! We'll be recording our next single soon, so as soon as we have the MP3 and the WAV back for it, we'll be filming ready to go with on day of the release!
Do you think that the release of Supermoon is going to be the start of a new music cycle for you leading up to a bigger project?
Yeah. So we're releasing an EP in autumn and Supermoon's on it. There's a real consistent sound tha,t we've created and it just feels like one body of work together. I'm really looking forward to putting that out. I write so much anyway and I’m constantly writing. I can't remember ever not writing. I've been writing since I was a child. It’s how I function! It's now down to picking what song we want to record next. I've just got such a big catalogue to choose from, so it's hard to pick which song I want to do next! Usually, you just have a gut instinct about these things.
When you look back now to the last EP release, California Fire, in 2022, there's obviously going to be several years between releases. Do you think you're noticing a change in your music and your style in that time?
Definitely. I think since like with the band in particular coming on board. I had a band, but it wasn't the same as what we're like now. We were working out how to capture a live sound and that's the hardest thing. With the boys I have now, there's quite a few of us, we've got a sax as well, which obviously brings so much energy. We've got drums, bass, me, Jordan, guitar, and sax. We also have an organ player that will come on and do certain shows with us as well. Capturing that live sound is really difficult, it's why like bands like Oasis would record in so many different studios, because you go out and you have this real energy and this life to your music that you want to translate in the studio. It's really hard to capture but I feel like we've done that really well. That's why all of these songs together are one body because they have the same energy. I'm just I'm really excited to keep recording as we've got a lot of big things coming up. We've got a lot of exciting momentum right now as well, which we just need to capitalise and jump on.
You've had so much support from outlets like BBC Introducing. How important has that been to have that mainstream coverage as an independent artist, both regionally and also pushing on to a national level?
BBC Introducing is huge. For them to support us the way they do is amazing, especially as we're independent. We're currently completely self-managed, self-agented, it's just us, it's just us doing it. To have people like BBC Introducing come on board and support us and champion us, and give us these amazing opportunities, like Boardmasters with them coming up in a couple weeks, is just huge. Dan Pascoe has been so amazing to us. So many people listen to the show and tune in and it's just an amazing place to find new music. Everyone in the UK, who's an artist in the past 15 years has gone through BBC Introducing, you know, all your Lewis Capaldi’s, to your Sam Fender’s, it's a platform everyone uses. When you can see that they're liking what you're doing, that's just a huge compliment.
When you see the list of people who've done BBC Introducing in the past, does that give you that boost of knowing you’re on the right track and feel like you’ve really got to take advantage of the opportunity?
Yes, totally. I think as well that the sound we have fits that mainstream sound. We haven't had a Radio One airplay yet and obviously that's something I really want. We've had Radio Two and I've had support from Bob Harris as well. Over the past, I guess, five years, he's been really great with all the Under the Apple Tree projects. A few years ago, Brad Paisley was presenting on Radio Two and he played Movie Scene which was really cool. I got a message from the producer at the time, just saying, by the way, we put your song in front of Brad today; he loved it and he's playing it on the show tonight! I've been on Women's Hour, I've been on Radio Four on newscasts too. Just as a channel, BBC has been really important to me. Everyone listens and knows the BBC in the UK and it's really cool that they have given me so many opportunities and I’m just very grateful.
Coming from Cornwall, Boardmasters must be close to the top of your list each year kind of events you want play. How important is it to you?
Oh, totally. I remember the first time I ever went when I was about 15. I went with my dad and my sister, then when I was 17, I felt quite rebellious and just booked a ticket with all my friends – even sneaking rum in in my t-shirt! The whole time I was there, I was just like, I have to play this one day, I have to play. I got asked for the first time in 2019, but then basically due to bad weather the event got cancelled. I was super gutted. I had done trials to set up my tent and everything! They shared a picture of me when I was about 17, sat on someone's shoulders, so I was manifesting this for a very long time. This picture then kept getting shared about the year I was playing and there was just like a lot of excitement around it. I was absolutely gutted. I got asked back in 2020 or 2021, but then it was COVID so I couldn't do it that year either. In 2022, the year I did California Fire, I got to play it for the first time. We had a really big turnout, it was absolutely amazing, like everything I wanted it to be. We played the View Stage, and I haven't played it since. Being able to come back this year is really exciting, especially with my band. My drummer, my bass player, and my sax player have never played it before - and they're all from Cornwall. It's always been their dream to play it as well and I'm just really excited to take them and do it together. On TikTok, I've been getting messages from young girls and stuff saying that they are coming this year, and that they're coming to see our set. I'm really excited just to see people there again.
You’ve just announced a London show as well. How cool is that to now be able to look ahead to October time and know that things are in the diary? And obviously around then an EP will be out as well.
Yes, we're doing a show with Live Nation at the Waiting Room in London, which I'm really excited about, because I love doing our London shows. We're in London quite a lot, but this is going to be a really special one because it's going to be an EP launch party style show. I'm just excited to be back up there as I love the London crowd. We've done some really special shows over the years in London and supports and stuff. So I can't wait. Just got to try and sell it out now!
Well, congratulations, obviously, on Supermoon being out and fingers crossed the final days filming all goes to plan.
Thank you so much.
It’s been a pleasure, and we hope to see you in London in October. Good luck filming the rest of the video.
Thank you so much for chatting to me today. I really appreciate it and all the support.
Follow Bailey Tomkinson & The Locals:
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | X | Website
Oh, totally. I remember the first time I ever went when I was about 15. I went with my dad and my sister, then when I was 17, I felt quite rebellious and just booked a ticket with all my friends – even sneaking rum in in my t-shirt! The whole time I was there, I was just like, I have to play this one day, I have to play. I got asked for the first time in 2019, but then basically due to bad weather the event got cancelled. I was super gutted. I had done trials to set up my tent and everything! They shared a picture of me when I was about 17, sat on someone's shoulders, so I was manifesting this for a very long time. This picture then kept getting shared about the year I was playing and there was just like a lot of excitement around it. I was absolutely gutted. I got asked back in 2020 or 2021, but then it was COVID so I couldn't do it that year either. In 2022, the year I did California Fire, I got to play it for the first time. We had a really big turnout, it was absolutely amazing, like everything I wanted it to be. We played the View Stage, and I haven't played it since. Being able to come back this year is really exciting, especially with my band. My drummer, my bass player, and my sax player have never played it before - and they're all from Cornwall. It's always been their dream to play it as well and I'm just really excited to take them and do it together. On TikTok, I've been getting messages from young girls and stuff saying that they are coming this year, and that they're coming to see our set. I'm really excited just to see people there again.
You’ve just announced a London show as well. How cool is that to now be able to look ahead to October time and know that things are in the diary? And obviously around then an EP will be out as well.
Yes, we're doing a show with Live Nation at the Waiting Room in London, which I'm really excited about, because I love doing our London shows. We're in London quite a lot, but this is going to be a really special one because it's going to be an EP launch party style show. I'm just excited to be back up there as I love the London crowd. We've done some really special shows over the years in London and supports and stuff. So I can't wait. Just got to try and sell it out now!
Well, congratulations, obviously, on Supermoon being out and fingers crossed the final days filming all goes to plan.
Thank you so much.
It’s been a pleasure, and we hope to see you in London in October. Good luck filming the rest of the video.
Thank you so much for chatting to me today. I really appreciate it and all the support.
Follow Bailey Tomkinson & The Locals:
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | X | Website
