The Joy Formidable

Formed by childhood friends Ritzy Bryan and Rhydian Dafydd after they played together in the Manchester based rock band Tricky Nixon, The Joy Formidable came together in 2007 after Bryan and Dafydd drafted Justin Stahley in to play the drums one their own project, which at the time was unnamed. After the trio realized the chemistry they had together when performing live, the band named themselves The Joy Formidable, and after a year of rehearsing, recording and writing together, they released “Austere”, their first single, in July 2008. After they put a Christmas single up for download on their website at the end of 2008, the band self-released their first extended play “A Balloon Called Moaning” in January 2009, which was when they really started to get glowing noticed in the national music press.

Not only did the record get the band noticed in the United Kingdom, but also in the United States after it was re-released on Passion Pit's synth player Ayad Al Adhamy's label Black Bell Records. Because of this, the band were able to sign a record deal with Canvasback Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic, in 2010. The band's debut album “The Big Roar”, was hailed as a triumph by those who heard it, including some nobody called Dave Grohl, who called its third single “Whirring” his song of the year. The band released their second album “Wolf's Law” in January 2013 and to this day, the band remain the most collosal sounding rock band since Muse. With a live show that's just as epic, and the world at their feet, The Joy Formidable come highly recommended.