In our next Artist Spotlight, we focus on the uber-talented soul, blues and folk-tinged talents of Beth Pilling of Beth Pilling and The Bootleggers.
Credit: Alex Verda
S] Hi Beth, how are you today?
B] I’m very well thank you! Feeling quite reflective as me and the band played our last stretch of gigs for the summer over the weekend, how are you today, Dom?
S] Good, thanks! How much effort goes into your live show, it’s a lot of fun to watch!!
B] I’m so glad it’s fun to watch! A lot of effort goes into my live shows, me and the band rehearse for hours every week and we’re always changing the songs / addling little embellishments to keep things fresh and interesting.
S] You bring together musicians from scenes in Bridlington and Hull – what are some of the best things about those areas and scenes?
B] Myself, our drummer (Elliot Joesbury) and bassist (Tom Scanlon) are all based in Bridlington.
I work closely with Alex Verda of Metalines Studios in Bridlington, in all honesty he’s my favourite thing about the scene in Brid. My music career started at an open mic that Alex was running back in 2017 and we’ve put on some amazing shows together over the years, he’s integral to the scene here and we’re very lucky to have him! Our lead guitarist (George Garnett) and keys player (Aaron Green) are both based in Hull.
Hull’s scene is so vibrant and versatile, the city has been paramount to my career growth, there’s so much passion for emerging music in the city, which I’m so grateful to be a part of. I love Hull’s scene, I travel through as much as I can to support nights at Polar Bear and various other venues.
S] What are the main differences between your acoustic shows, and those with a full live band?
B] Acoustic shows are super chilled out, I’ll probably talk to every person in the room at an acoustic show (I try to at band shows but it’s a lot more difficult!), there’s a lot of space within the songs to experiment with when playing acoustically, I enjoy the freedom of that and being able to improvise.
Band shows are a little more structured in terms of how we rehearse and everyone having “parts”, but they’re definitely more chaotic and entertaining performance wise. I can really let loose at a band show and feel supported by what’s going on around me.
S] Talk to me about your own journey as a musician?
B] I’ve been around for about 7 years but I’m only just starting to gain some momentum! I’ve always sang and I taught myself keyboard at the age of 7 and guitar at the age of 13, both by ear, I didn’t see the appeal in music theory until very recently. I began properly songwriting during my first year at university and recorded my debut EP “Apple Pie” during the lockdowns in 2020. I thoroughly enjoyed the process from start to finish, more about that later on!
In December of 2021, I featured on a live session with BBC Introducing Humberside which was my first time performing originals with a band. The performance aired in March of 2022 and featured India Wall on guitar, Jordan Windram on bass, and James Turnbull on cajon, it’s available to watch here if anyone’s interested!
After this I went on to play The Sesh at Polar Bear for the first time in 2022, as well as Humber Street Sesh for the first time in the same year, which was the day I decided to start a band! Between then and now, I’ve had the privilege of working with lots of independent and major promoters / festivals and bands such as Higher Rhythm and Launchpad at Long Division Festival in Wakefield, Spa Sessions with This Feeling in Bridlington, Trinity Live with Sesh Events in Hull, and so many more. In the last year we’ve sold out shows, headlined festivals, and achieved so many other things that I can barely comprehend, we’re all extremely grateful for everyone’s support.
S] What motivates you outside of music – think specific people and places, for example?
B] Setting realistic goals motivates me, something solid to aim for. As for people, I absolutely adore Lola Young. She’s so authentically herself and watching her career grow over the years motivates and inspires me so much.
S] What would you say the major challenges you face as a performer and artist are?
B] Sexism and misogyny are quite prominent.
I had an incident not too long ago where a man got up on stage and grabbed me, unfortunately not an isolated incident and not an uncommon experience for a lot of female performers. I started performing when I was 16 and even then I was constantly sexualised by older men, it’s really quite worrying.
I’m a lot more choosy with where I play than I once was because of these sorts of things, creating a safe and inclusive environment for people to come and enjoy live music is something that’s really important to me.
S] How do you look back at ‘Apple Pie’ now?
B] Apple Pie is an EP I have such a love hate relationship with, I think some of the songs are good but the production is terrible, I did every aspect of the Apple Pie EP myself from recording to performing to mixing to artwork and the whole release campaign, I was only 20 and really didn’t have a clue how any of it worked, but we all have to start somewhere!
I’m currently in the process of re-recording a lot of my old content with the band so that the songs can reach their full potential.
S] What about ‘More Than This’, released last year?
B] “More Than This” feels like the end of an era, it’s probably the last acoustic EP I’ll work on in that capacity. My relationship with music has changed a lot since working with the band, they’ve taught me so much about the importance of collaboration, i see my solo EPs as something quite isolating and lonely, I think that shows through this EP, especially in the song “More Than This”. There’s a lot more enjoyment in music for me now.
S] What’s next for you?
B] After our Humber Street Sesh headline this August, me and the band are striving to play larger scale festivals next year. We’re looking at releasing a couple of EPs, the first of which is releasing on Friday 13th December this year! We’re currently in the process of organising an EP launch in Hull with Forever Underdogs, we have incredible support in the bag and can’t wait to let everyone see what’s been happening behind the scenes!
S] How do you define success as an artist?
B] Being successful as an artist is to be happy. There’s so much constant pressure in so many different aspects wether that’s financial pressure, project deadlines, an overwhelming workload etc, finding time to take care of yourself is so difficult and once you start to prioritise your needs, you realise how little time you have and start to choose carefully what it should be spent on. I spent the first 5 years of my career trying to people please, and it was honestly miserable, now I gig considerably less but every show I play has purpose and I find my career much more fulfilling.
S] Do you think about your legacy as a performer at all?
B] For sure! I used to try change who I was to fit certain moulds; doing things such as disguising my thick Yorkshire accent to something more digestible for the average listener. If nothing else, I’d love to inspire people to be themselves in their most authentic form.
S] Is there anything that you’d like to add, or plug before we finish?
B] Please give us a follow on social media for updates on our EP launch this December! Tickets will be going on sale soon and it’s shaping up to be a very special evening, we’d love to see everyone there!
Instagram : @Bethpilling_and_
Facebook : @Beth Pilling Music
S] Thanks so much for your time!
B] Thank you for having me!
