If you haven’t already heard of Thirdstory, then pull up a pew my friends. This newfound American band combines three completely different guys – who surprisingly mesh really well together – to create sounds that you would only imagine to hear in places out of this world. Add to that, their recent support slots for Tori Kelly and Chance the Rapper – these guys should definitely be on your radar.
Comprising of singer-songwriters Elliott Skinner, Ben Lusher, and Richard Saunders, Thirdstory‘s sound is a confusing mixture between folky-guitar to soulful harmonies with definite elements of hip-hop and jazz that somehow, just works.
Lend them your ears and you will soon see that they are extremely and rather upsettingly underrated for the heartfelt tunes they produce. The lads kick-started their career by covering popular hits; the first of these being Sam Smith’s, I’m Not the Only One in 2014. With 2.7 million views on YouTube, its a cover definitely worth watching. After adding a little Taylor Swift, some Ariana Grande and a pinch of Drake and Adele to their repertoire, Thirdstory followed up with their ever-so-perfect EP ‘Searching’.
After a brief spell accompanying Tori Kelly on her Unbreakable tour, the boys appeared in a cover alongside the American singer-songwriter for one of her tracks, ‘Beautiful Things‘. The combination of Tori’s and Thirdstory’s lilting vocals creates harmonic – bordering on angelic – tones and pitches. If all it takes is two guitars and four voices to deliver such a beautiful acoustic cover – in a park, of all places – then why isn’t every other artist doing this? Tori thanked Thirdstory for ‘adding a sparkle to this song and taking it to another place’. And we can’t help but agree, thank you for whisking us all to aurally-induced nirvana…
Not only have the group toured with Tori Kelly, they just recently finished up a stint as backing vocalists for the unreal Chance the Rapper on his Be Encouraged tour. And I’m not sure about you, but if Chance the Rapper approves, these guys must be slayin’.
Much like many other bands in the industry, Thirdstory‘s members lend their talents to other musical acts. Richard Saunders and songwriter Zachary Lipkins make up duo Refs, who despite being brand-new on the scene have already released a tonne of hot new tracks.
Keep an eye out for these three gems! Whether they’re performing together as Thirdstory or releasing tracks with their side projects; Elliot, Ben and Richard will no doubt be popping up on your new music radar real soon.