BAILEY TOMKINSON

CORNISH TALENT BAILEY TOMKINSON

BAILEY TOMKINSON IS THE 22 YEAR-OLD rising star from St. Ives, Cornwall. In the past couple of years, she has seen praise from major press outlets, topped the iTunes charts multiple times, and played various festivals across the county, including the prestigious Boardmasters.

She has often been referred to as the UK’s answer to Taylor Swift but she’s more than a carbon copy of another artist, she’s a music maker and songwriter in her own right.

With all this in mind, we caught up with Bailey during these colder months as she prepares to embark on her first UK tour. We chat about life in Cornwall, her music, and much more

WORDS: KIERAN WEBBER

Hey Bailey! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us, how are you?

“Hey! Thanks for having me. I’m good, been so busy lately, got loads of exciting things happening this year including a new EP and my first UK tour!”

The past few years have been very busy for you, you’ve hit #1 in the iTunes charts with your single ‘Bright Red’, played a variety of festivals, and more! How has that felt and did you ever envision that happening?

“I’ve had the most amazing last couple of years, making and performing music is my most favourite thing in the world so its super rad that I can say it’s my job. ‘Bright Red’ was such an important release for me and I’m so happy that it resonated in the way that it did. The song allowed me to use my voice to make a difference about something so politically and environmentally important to not only me but people in my county and people with a shared interest and passion to protect our planet. I was published in The Times, Financial Times, The Independent and performed live for Daily Mail + and Music Declares (No Music On A Dead Planet) given the opportunity to talk to amazing and influential people like Mariella Frostrup, BBC4 and BBC Newscast!

Festival season was awesome! The band and I rehearsed like crazy and were doing multiple shows and festivals a week, performing at places like Boardmasters to The Clapham Grand! Sharing stages, lineups and getting to meet amazing artists that really inspire me.

We were also recording the EP at the time too so summer was like a whirlwind, I’m very lucky that I’m able to do the thing I love most and make so many memories with my band, we had some fun times on the road.”

“I TOOK GUITAR LESSONS AT SCHOOL AND WROTE MY FIRST PROPER SONG WHEN I WAS 11 YEARS OLD.”

You’re heading out on your first UK tour in 2022, what can people expect and how are you feeling about this? Nervous? Excited?

I’m so excited about the tour, I’m going to be performing the shows upcountry solo, a couple of shows as a duo and some band shows too. I’ll be touring the EP so I can’t wait to talk to everyone at the shows about the new songs. As I’ll be mostly performing solo, I’m working on adding

some samples to my set which adds a layer of technological complexity that I’ve not had to deal with before, but hopefully what it adds to the songs will be worth it!”

How and when did you first get into music and at what point did you decide to start writing your own material?

“I’ve always loved music, when I was a toddler I was obsessed with MTV and all the music videos that were played on it. In all honesty, I knew I was going to do something in music at a really young age because I idolised so many artists and was always performing. I can’t remember a time before writing little songs and poems as a kid. I took guitar lessons at school and wrote my first proper song when I was 11 years old, I knew that if I wanted to be a singer/ songwriter I actually needed my own material aha. Being a shy kid, songwriting was always my outlet and has been one of the most consistent things in my life. I performed literally anywhere that would have me, I even went to the lengths of persuading the teachers to let me perform in the older student’s concerts at school when I was in the first year or two of secondary.”

Were there any particular influences?

There are so many artists that have inspired me and over the years my list of influences has grown. When I started writing music I took inspiration from artists like Sheryl Crow and Taylor Swift, but I started to collect vinyl and discovered artists that have inspired my sound tremendously like Guns N’ Roses, Bruce Springsteen, Carole King and Neil Young. One of the most exciting things about growing up is discovering new artists and their music helping you through difficult situations like school and relationships, I was super obsessed with Weezer when I was 16 and listened to ‘The Green’ Album everyday!”

A lot of people call you the UK’s version of Taylor Swift, how do you feel about this?

“I think a bunch of things about it I guess, firstly, it’s a massive compliment, she’s been one of my idol’s forever! Taylor Swift has taught me not only a lot about music but she’s helped me through a lot of hard times in my life with her music and relatable lyrics. Secondly, I feel the comparison thing is something people do, especially to women because I suppose it’s easy. I don’t lean away from it, because I understand if that’s a connection people make then, you know, cool. At the same time, I’m an artist in my own right and I hope that as people discover my music they find it stands up on its own.”

Cornwall is an often forgotten county when it comes to music, how has your rise been, and do you feel it is feasible for an artist to ‘make it’ from Cornwall?

“I think Kernowfornia has a lot to offer for musicians, we have so many great venues, and festivals like Boardmasters, Rock Oyster and Pandafest to name just a few. Lots of musicians have actually moved down to Cornwall in the past couple years, I think that it inspires a lot of artists with it’s open spaces and natural beauty, not to mention all the art galleries. This is a thriving scene and we’ve got lots of great music being made in Cornwall by Cornish artists.

I guess it depends what your definition of “making it” is, but you can definitely make a career in music in Cornwall! Unfortunately, one of the most difficult parts of living in Cornwall is the inflation of house prices, so many areas of Cornwall (including my hometown, St Ives) are very difficult to afford especially for a young person.”

Do you feel more people should look to Cornwall for more than pasties and seagulls?

“Definitely! This isn’t Disneyland. There’s much more to Cornwall than tourism. We’ve been underinvested in as a nation and far too much money generated here bleeds out of the Duchy but Cornwall has so much to offer. We’ve got great studios and venues here, but it’s not

“I THINK KERNOWFORNIA HAS A LOT TO OFFER FOR MUSICIANS, WE HAVE SO MANY GREAT VENUES AND FESTIVALS”.

not only musicians, we’ve got great artists, poets, writers, farmers, architects, builders, teachers, cooks, and and, and! ...What’s the expression? Necessity is the mother of invention? Well, one in 3 children in parts of Cornwall are born into poverty, many get driven up country for jobs or education but the story of Cornwall is that despite those challenges, we find ways to create and we find ways to thrive. I paid my dues as a 14 year old girl playing in local pubs in guitar circles with 70 year old men on stormy winter nights in Cornwall. This is a community where you can do that, it still values the passing on of knowledge to the next generation. Any grit and work ethic, I may have, they were forged in Cornwall, by the wonderful, unique people I’ve met here. That’s the real Cornwall, still.”

PICTURE: KITTY EILISH

Lastly, what can we expect from Bailey for the rest of 2022 and beyond?

“Lots of new material. Lots of touring. Hopefully festivals in the summer! I’m just getting started!”