The acoustic duo Two Reasons Why are thrilled to have won the wild-card spot in the Lord Mayor’s gala, reports CHARLES HUTCHINSON.

CONGRATULATIONS to Two Reasons Why, winners of the wild-card spot in the Get In On The Act competition to take part in the Lord Mayor of York’s Charity Gala on March 29 at York Barbican.

The duo of singer Lucy Williams, 19, and guitarist and songwriter Joe Baker, 24, was selected from video clips sent in by singer-songwriters, musical theatre performers, a pianist, ladies’ choir, juggler and one-string, cigar-box guitarist, judged by a panel that included the Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Ian Gillies.

Two Reasons Why’s submission described them as “an acoustic, folk, pop duo fromYork who combine rhythmic guitar playing with powerful heart-filled vocals giving a strong and emotive ballad feel to their music”.

 

 

“Taking inspiration from the likes of Ed Sheeran, Gabrielle Aplin and Glen Hansard their sound falls somewhere in the middle of that, creating what has been described as ‘Acoustic Beauty;” wrote Joe, who entered the duo unbeknown to Lucy.

Joe, who manages a petrol station in Selby, was in for a surprise when The Press rang him to break the news of Two Reasons Why’s success. “I’d actually forgotten I’d applied for it,” he said. “I thought, ‘why is The York Press ringing me?’. I’d applied not thinking anything would happen. Obviously I didn’t think we’d get it and it was a complete shock to the system when you rang. I haven’t told Lucy that we’d applied.”

When Joe told her the good news, Lucy, was understandably “a bit shocked”. “But it’s a good feeling as we’ve never played to that size of audience before,” she says. “We’re very excited about it and it’s definitely the biggest music venue we’ve played so far.”

Lucy, from West Haddersley, ten minutes out of Selby, is studying for an apprenticeship in marketing and administration at Selby College. She cut her teeth as a singer performing in the function band The Lucettes from the age of 12, studied music at Selby College for two years and now sings with The Soul Collective, a soul band with wedding engagements in the diary.

Joe, originally from Leeds, attended Selby High School and Selby College. “By that time, I was pretty decided I wanted to focus on my music,” he says.”Everything I’ve done has been in the singer-songwriter mode and I spend a lot of time writing music in my studio at home in Barlby. There was a long debate with my girlfriend, but I’ve very much taken over the spare room with guitars, a cello and a stage piano.”

How did Joe and Lucy meet? “We were both in bands and they broke up quite close together,” says Joe. “I was writing songs but I’m a terrible singer, which is tricky when you want to present songs, so I thought, ‘who do I know who can sing really well?’ and I thought of Lucy, so I got on Facebook and contacted her.”

In a nutshell, Joe does the songwriting and playing, Lucy does the singing. “She just makes it sound good,” he says. “I’ve never tried singing someone else’s new songs before; it was a completely new experience for me but I’ve really enjoyed learning how to interpret Joe’s songs,” she says, Two Reasons Why have released a single, Foxes Den and an EP, Abbey Sessions and hope to record an album, but that will require raising finance.

Meanwhile, their appearance at York Barbican can only heighten their profile when they take their wild-card spot in the second half of a 7pm bill featuring the specially commissioned York Civic Choir, York Civic Orchestra, York Concert Band, The Grand Old Uke Of York and Sam Johnson’s Big Band.

If you can’t wait until March 29 to discover Two Reasons Why, they will be playing at The Mount in York on February 27. And should you be wondering why they are called Two Reasons Why, Lucy reveals: “We each have our own reason for doing what we are doing, hence the reasons why.”

• Tickets for the Lord Mayor’s Gala can be booked on 0844 854 2757 or at yorkbarbican.co.uk