Maggie Cassidy

Maggie Cassidy are a British alternative rock band from Guildford formed in 2018. The band consists of vocalist Jamie Coupe, guitarists Tom Macdonald-Grute and Jan-Erik Barnegren, bass guitarist Jack Onslow, and drummer Lewis Griffiths-James.
The band released their debut EP ‘Life is Beautiful.’ in 2020 to positive reviews.. In 2021 they were voted by fans as the UK’s Greatest Unsigned Band in Rock Sound Magazine, in conjunction with Marshall Amplification.
== History ==
=== 2018-2020: Formation & Early Releases ===
The band was formed in late 2017 by Jamie Coupe (vocals), Tom Macdonald-Grute (guitar), Jack Onslow (guitar) Jan-Erik Barnegren (guitar), and Peter Callaghan (drums). All members had previously performed under a different name but made the decision to relaunch the band when it became clear that the material they were now writing was headed in a different musical direction. The band’s name comes from the titular character of an early Jack Kerouac novel, Maggie Cassidy. In interviews the band have stated that their choice of name came from a desire for fans to arrive to their music with no real preconceptions of style, genre, or subculture.
On 29th January 2018 their debut single ‘Guide Me’ premiered on XuneMag who described the band as able to “appeal to both...mainstream and alternative subcultures’.
On April 6th 2018, three months after the release of their debut single, the band were announced as finalists in a competition to open up the Rock Sound Breakout Stage at that year’s south edition of Slam dunk Festival. In the initial round of the completion fans voted for the band they’d most like to see open the Breakout Stage, with the most voted-for five bands making the final round. Although Maggie Cassidy made the final five, they did not ultimately win the competition.
On 14th September 2018, their second single ‘Leaking Love’ premiered on When The Horn Blows, with writer Ant Adams drawing comparisons to The Maine (band) and Don Broco in their article. As of 22nd May 2022, ‘Leaking Love’ is Maggie Cassidy’s most streamed song on Spotify with over 100,000 streams.
On 24th August 2019, the band released another single titled ‘Runaway’. They celebrated the release with a sold-out headline show at The Facebar in Reading, Berkshire.
Maggie Cassidy announced on 1st January 2020 that their next single would be called ‘Why Can't We Just Be Friends?’ and was co-written with former We Are the Ocean frontman Liam Cromby who also provides additional vocals on the studio recording. On 22nd January 2020, the band announced that the song would be played by Alex Baker on Kerrang! Radio as the ‘Fresh Blood: Artist of the Week’. The band also appeared in Alex Baker’s column in Kerrang! Magazine for that month.
=== 2020: Life is Beautiful & D.E.A.D! ===
On 28th May 2020, the band released their single 'S.A.D’, announcing that it would be the first single taken off of their debut EP ‘Life is Beautiful.’. The song premiered on Alex Baker’s Fresh Blood show on Kerrang! Radio. The second single taken off the EP, ‘Just To Know’, became available to stream on 30th June 2020. The song spent 4 weeks in the #1 position on Spotify ‘Hot New Bands’ playlist. ‘Life is Beautiful.’ was released on 31st July 2022 and overall received positive reviews: Jake Richardson of Kerrang! gave the EP 3K’s out of a possible 5, while Kevin Lay of Hardbeat gave the EP a score of 8/10. 'Life is Beautiful.' was recorded and produced by Neck Deep|Neck Deep's Seb Barlow in his hometown of Wrexham.
On 16th October 2020, Maggie Cassidy released their final single of the year, ‘D.E.A.D!’, along with an accompanying music video.
On 6th November 2020, founding drummer Peter Callaghan announced his departure from the band with a statement released on both his personal and the band social media accounts.
=== 2021-Present: UK's Greatest Unsigned Band Competition Win & New Music ===
The band remained active online during the COVID-19 lockdown, staying engaged with their fanbase online and contributing to 'The Shower Sessions' hosted by Rock Sound. Whilst in lockdown the band recorded reimagined versions of the tracks off their debut EP Life is Beautiful, culminating in the release of Life is Beautiful: Inside Out on 26th February 2021. On 4th June 2021, the band played their first live show back after the lifting of COVID restrictions in the UK to a sold-out crowd at The Joiners in Southampton. Morgan McMillan rated the show as five stars and praised the band’s ‘high energy’ performance.
On 15th September 2021, Rock Sound announced that Maggie Cassidy had been voted by fans as the UK’s Greatest Unsigned Band. The band won two days of recording time at Marshall’s new state-of-the-art studio in Milton Keynes. The band were then featured in the November issue of Rock Sound magazine with a two-page spread in the Breakout section where Ben Tipple described their sound as ‘rousing melodic rock’.
Early in 2022, posts on social media appeared to suggest that the band had entered the studio to start work on new music. However, no further details or release dates have been confirmed either by the band or its individual members.
== Musical Style & Influences ==
Jake Richardson of Kerrang!, writing of Maggie Cassidy’s debut EP ‘Life is Beautiful.’, described their sound as "effervescent and lyrically astute alt.rock-meets-pop-punk". In reviewing the same EP Alt Corner's Katie Meighan compared the band’s sound to Panic! at the Disco|Panic! At The Disco and Lower Than Atlantis.
The band themselves have cited that their influences include artists such as You Me at Six|You Me At Six, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco|Panic! At The Disco, and The Maine (band)
== Members ==
=== Current ===
* Jamie Coupe - lead vocals (2018-present)
* Tom Macdonald-Grute - lead guitar, backing vocals (2018-present)
* Jack Onslow - bass guitar (2018-present)
* Jan-Erik Barnegren - rhythm guitar (2018-present)
* Lewis Griffiths-James - drums (2021-present)
=== Former ===
* Peter Callaghan - drums (2018-2020)
== Discography ==
=== Extended Plays ===
Title 	Details
Life is Beautiful. 	Released: 31st July 2020
Label: Self-released
Producer: Seb Barlow
Mix Engineer: Seb Barlow
Mastering Engineer: Seb Barlow
Formats: Digital Download
Life is Beautiful: Inside Out	Released: 26th February 2021
Label: Self-released
Producer: Tom Macdonald-Grute
Mix Engineer: Tom Macdonald-Grute
Mastering Engineer: Grant Berry - Fader Mastering
Formats: Digital Download
=== Singles ===
Title 	Year	Album
"Guide Me" 	2018	N/A
"Leaking Love" 	2018	N/A
"Runaway 	2019	N/A
"Why Can't We Just Be Friends?"	2020	N/A
"S.A.D" 	2020	Life is Beautiful.
"Just To Know" 	2020	Life is Beautiful.
"D.E.A.D!" 	2020	N/A
=== Music Videos ===
Title 	Year	Director
"Guide Me" 	2018	Jack Robinson
"Leaking Love" 	2018	Jack Robinson
"Runaway" 	2019	Jack Robinson
"Why Can't We Just Be Friends?"	2020	Jack Robinson
"Just To Know" 	2020	Matthew Entecott
"Tell Me Why" 	2020	Jack Robinson
"D.E.A.D!" 	2020	Jack Robinson
Category:British alternative rock groups
Category:Musical groups established in 2018