Photo by Greg Wong
It has been a tradition for the band members of Wyn & the White Light — Lucia, Wyn, and Heidi — to pull tarot cards before a show of theirs. “It is a tradition for us to do card pulls to read the energy and ground ourselves,” exclaimed Lucia. Before the Rockwood show, they pulled trust, abundance, fear, and rejection. Wyn also convinced Josh to do a card pull, and he got passion. There was a bit of nervous and excited energy before the show — in fact, Josh spilled his Chipotle before he could even take a bite of it.
To set the tone for the night, Lucia did a solo acoustic set with her ukulele. I had only seen Lucia on their upright bass with Wyn, so I was intrigued to see her solo music. Her pink and blue hair matched the lighting in Rockwood, which was really cool! Lucia’s vibe was whimsical and reflective, with a hint of sadness and peaceful energy. Her first song was an original, “Moving Song,” whose line, “You say you want a garden without planning the seeds” stuck with me. The addition of minor notes definitely added to the despondent and haunting nature of the song. Lucia performed some songs from their latest EP, Songs From My Cellphone, as well as some newer unreleased songs, including a bit of “Tomato Jam,” whose lyrics are, “I make tomato jam because of you and set more boundaries too.” The song that resonated with me most was a new one she wrote for her birthday in August. It’s currently untitled, but the lyrics felt like a personal mantra and reminder — “Sit, hold, breathe, be still.” Lucia’s music reminded me of a folkier and more haunting version of Billie Eillish (that is possible) and I loved her energy. They also have some cute pins and homemade felt items, too, if you want to support them in another way.
The next part of the show included therapeutic screaming, which I definitely needed. Wyn & the White Light started their set with an acapella version of the iconic line from their debut single “How the West Was Won” — “Who do we have to prove our worth to? ‘Cause minds come undone as we toast to how the West was won.” From the acapella chorus, they immediately dove into a reimagined, full-band version of Wyn’s “Places Unknown.” My favorite part of this song is the bridge with the refrain “Get outta my way,” which builds with Heidi’s drums, Lucia’s upright bass and harmonies, and Wyn’s electric guitar. Wyn & the White Light’s sound plays to everyone’s strengths, and together their harmonies and energy are felt through their music.
Wyn & the White Light want people to feel safe while listening to their music, delving into their deeper repressed emotions that often feel scary. “Once you surface the darkness, it’s not as scary,” Wyn explained. This is especially applicable to her “Miles Above.” There’s a 3-part harmony that gives me goosebumps and which I could listen to all day. The song touches on Wyn’s near death experience — in fact, the band’s shared trauma surrounding life and death actually bonded the band together, which goes back to why the band uses pomegranates (a symbol of fertility and death) to represent their sound. The lyrics of the song represent the feeling of needing and asking for help while knowing that there is more out there for you — “Some say tragedies can help us start anew. Maybe I’m still here ‘cause I have work to do. Oh, oh somebody help me, somebody help me through the night.” I felt the band’s emotions in how they played on stage in their instrumental jam session, and it was powerful.
“If there’s a Josh Knowles in the house, this is my hypothetical wink to you,” Wyn said as Josh came running from the back of Rockwood to the stage. It ended up being a ‘sike I lied’ moment, because it was too early. But it was an indication that Josh and Wyn & the White Light were going to collaborate live, which I was excited to see on stage! Before that great moment, Wyn & the White Light sang one of the first songs Wyn had put out as a solo artist, “Thick of It,” which highlights her challenges with chronic illness. Since this was with the rest of the band, she changed the original closing line, “I’m in the thick of it lately” to “Oh my God, we’re in the thick of it lately.”
Right after this, we got the Josh + band collab that Josh had been pump-faked for. Wyn & the White Light sang their version of the classic Beatles song “Eleanor Rigby” that Josh elevated with his haunting violin. Josh continued to play on a few of their other originals, including “Cigarettes.” The line, “Did you mean it when you left? Broken hearts and cigarettes. Could you feel me when you left ooooh? For our love we do our best,” gives me chills EVERY TIME I hear it. It’s this visceral reaction to the lyrics, music, violin, harmonies, and everything about the song. Fun fact: Josh is featured on 5 of the songs in Wyn & the White Light’s upcoming debut album!
Wyn & the White Light then got off stage and announced they were going to”flip the stage,” walking to the center of Rockwood with all of us surrounding them. From there, they started singing Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” with Wyn on ukulele and Heidi and Lucia on vocals and harmonies. It was so quiet while they sang that you could hear a pin drop. Wyn also played a song that she released earlier this year titled “hold on for another day,” which started as a recurring tune that popped into her head over the past few years. Its lyrics are a reminder that, despite the sad and hard times, there is light at the end of the tunnel, evident in the line “There is magic in the tragedies we face. Hold on for another day.”
Wyn & the White Light also debuted their upcoming single “White Noise,” out on November 11th, which has such a rock feel. Lucia even switched to playing an electric guitar. The band is collaborating with local brewery Barewolf Brewing in Amesbury, MA for a “White Noise” IPA that coincides with the release of the single, so be on the lookout if you like pale ales!
To end their performance, they sang their newly released debut single “How the West Was Won,” aka the therapeutic screaming song! Wyn & the White Light even sells a soul rock dedicated to the essence of this song! Back to the screaming…Lucia asked us all a very important question — “Who here has ever screamed as loud as you can possibly scream? I had not ever screamed until we went into the studio and I gave our producer a heart attack. It’s your time to be a banshee!” Lucia told us to get all our shit out and scream “Does it speak of revolution?” after Wyn sang “Does it speak of evolution?” I had heard the song on repeat, so I was aware that there were screams in the background of the song, but I hadn’t expected that to make it to the live performance. Heidi started off the screams, scaring the shit out of me. The coolest part was that the audience members also added their own screaming and yelling to the song, which was very cathartic. This song is a very hopeful song and has this girl power, “we can do anything” vibe, almost giving life the challenge “what’s next, because I can make it through anything.” I’m so excited to hear the rest of Wyn & the White Light’s upcoming singles and EP! You can see Wyn and Lucia play some of the new songs again at EventThem Studios on Thursday, October 12th, when they open for Annabel Lee.
After feeling (all) my feelings, I was ready to experience Josh’s set. The last time I saw him play, he was in his earlier era of violin looping, so I was excited to see this new integration of the violin looping with a more electronic, DJ set. Josh greeted us all with a loud “Helllllloooo Rockwood” and told us he was going to do the “sentimental and sappy shit first.” When asked about his new sound, Josh said that he “wanted to infuse both an emotional and physical catharsis together, and that they don’t have to be mutually exclusive.” I didn’t know how much the violin in his first song “Same” would break me. Josh started off by looping the main melody of the song with his violin, and then added some bass, harmonies, and beats with his laptop. The coolest part was when he looped the word “same” and added a slowed down, reverbed, harmony version of it to the bass of the song. Josh’s voice rang loud and was so honest, especially with his lyrics, “There’s no way to say we haven’t changed, but my love for you still remains the same.” Josh continued to wow us in his set with his violin picking and some emo, punk vibes with a growl in his vocals. “Sentimental Josh Knowles rocks!” yelled an audience member, and I totally agree.
Josh also played some newer songs for us — he performed a classical piece “A Step Back From the Wrong Direction: IV” that he wrote during COVID and had never played before. He said this wasn’t the setting to play the song in, but I loved the change in vibe and the feel of the song. It felt more folky, as if I was in a medieval market. This piece seemed more whimsical — the word that comes to my mind is “enchanted.” He ended this piece with a single note. If you want to hear all the movements of this song, he has an EP, A Step Back From the Wrong Direction, dedicated to this more classical feel.
He also played another original ,“Pattern,” which was the transition song to his more DJ set. This song reminded me of being in a chill club with the “tooom toooms!” After adding electronic vocals and some very cool violin picking, he was joined by Alex Glover, who played piano and added some beautiful harmonies and beats from his laptop. This song means a lot to Josh, as it’s dedicated to his grandmother Alice, who bought him his first violin when he was 4 years old. This song highlights Josh’s connection with Alice in Wonderland, not just because of his grandma’s name, but also through the lyrics, “Why the fuck should I travel back to your side? Grinning wide like the Cheshire.” Josh reflected, “She keeps coming up in my music and I try to infuse her spirit and essence into my creative trajectory.” In fact, his favorite lyrics he’s written are from “Pattern” — “Heaven is a pattern that’s taking shape across your face.” Wyn & the White Light also have a connection to Alice in Wonderland, which comes up in one of their upcoming songs “Heal Me” on their debut album. “One step through the looking glass, I face the aura of a past that’s haunting me.” Wyn mentioned that she’s been on her own “rabbit hole journey” during the past 6 months, so she definitely feels a “recurring synchronicity” to Alice in Wonderland.
To end his set, Josh had Wyn & the White Light and Alex come back up on stage for his version of the Death Cab for Cutie song “Transatlanticism.” He and Alex then performed his own song “Night and Day.” My favorite lyrics of the song were “You know I think of you night and day, no matter how far I walk away.” People were dancing along to this DJ portion of Josh’s set, especially with the epic beat drop, and I even heard an audience member yelling, “I love you Josh and Alex!” Josh’s set showed me that you don’t have to confine yourself to a specific genre or type of music. “We are the authors of our own destiny,” Josh said within the first 2 minutes of our conversation. He’s coming out with new music soon that reflects his newer sound, as well as reimagining and remixing some of his earlier songs. He also has vinyls with a variety of songs, one side having more of a string-and-orchestra feel, and the other side representing his singer-songwriter tracks. If you want to get ready for his new, integrated sound, definitely brush up on Josh’s music! He wanted the audience to feel his own evolution in sound and music, which I really felt. I’m still not sure how to describe exactly what Josh did, but it was amazing and beautiful and catchy and unique!
If Wyn & the White Light could collab with a local artist, they would collab with Grace Givertz for a new folky vibe, or with The Wolff Sisters to do some cool 4-part harmonies and explore a woodsy, haunting sound. Josh said he would collab with Liz Bills to explore more of his electronic sound, as well as with The Phoenix Landing to experiment more with his electronic looping.
Overall, it was one of the best shows I’ve been to recently and it was amazing to feel so many emotions in a span of a night. Also, a fun little tidbit is that, to celebrate the upcoming Wyn & the White Light album, everyone got a rock that aligned with their essence: Josh got a Kabamba Jasper, Heidi a Blue Quartz, Lucia a Unakite, and Wyn a Moss Agate. I think Wyn & the White Light and Josh Knowles successfully brought back the intimate and vulnerable feeling of local music while exploring different sounds and reaching new people. Follow Wyn & the White Light on Instagram and TikTok, and Josh Knowles on Instagram, to keep up with some exciting (and secret) musical updates!