Wayward Sons – Friday 18th April 2025 (Reschedule Date)
In September 2017 Wayward Sons released their debut album – Ghosts Of Yet To Come – to
widespread acclaim. What started out as a tentative and generous offer from Frontiers Music SRL
to help Toby Jepson ‘get back on the horse’ ended up, twelve months later, as a full-blown new
band project.
Toby’s first call was to long term friend and colleague Nic Wastell – ex Chrome Molly.
Phil Martini (Spear of Destiny, Tokyo Dragons) was next and the only drummer Toby considered
for the job, having seen him play for Joe Elliot’s ‘Down and Outz’.
The final piece of the jigsaw was finding Sam Wood, a guitar player who is drenched in the glory
days of classic rock with more than enough modernity to make him an exciting modern player.
The first time the band all met each other was a rehearsal at Peter Gabriel’s Real World studios
near Bath Somerset in the early summer of 2016. From the first moment they played together it
worked. Toby admitted later that it had been a ‘heart in the mouth’ moment when they began
working on material but thankfully his instincts had proven to be correct.
The recording of ‘Ghosts Of Yet To Come’ took place at Vale Studios in Worcestershire in the
winter of 2016. The album was co-produced with the band and Chris D’Adda who also mixed the
record with Toby.
Once released, Ghosts Of Yet To Come was met with an instant chorus of approval from critics
and fans alike. The first single Until The End had an immediate reaction at radio with Planet
Rock putting it on their A list. Throughout their live campaign, the band played with Inglorious,
UFO, Saxon and Steel Panther amongst others as well as headlining their first tour in April of
2018. A crowning moment for the band was an appearance at the Download Festival in
Donnington UK in June 2018, when they played the Dogtooth Stage to a beyond capacity
audience that crammed the tent
The second album The Truth Ain’t What It Used To Be went into production in December 2018
and was finished in April of 2019. Once again the album was recorded at Vale studios using the
same team as the Ghost sessions – Chris D’Adda engineering, co-producing and mixing. A more
introspective record, ‘Truth’ features a broader sonic palette but the essence of the work is still
very much embedded in hard rock once again.
The album finally emerged on the 11th October 2019, with first song Joke’s On You going straight
onto the playlist at Planet Rock. As a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, the band’s operations and
plans were curtailed in March of 2020, meaning the planned UK headline tour and the opening
slot on the Main Stage at Download Festival had to be postponed.
However, rather than waste that time the band decided to forge ahead with the recording of their
third album, using some of the unsuspecting backing tracks from the Truth session as a starting
point as well as cutting three brand new songs in October 2020 to add to the material.
The album – Even Up The Score – was released 2021, and continued the alt-pop-rock credentials
of the first two with stand out singles Even Up The Score, Bloody Typical and arguably the
bands finest moment Faith In Fools. The band then took to the stages of the UK following the
records release which culminated in a triumphant opening slot on the main stage at the Download
festival
Following a hiatus the band returned to the sages of the UK in January 2024 which saw them play
to packed houses playing songs from all three records. Summer 24 saw them play the Maid Of
Stone Festival in Kent and due to demand an Autumn tour for 2024 is also planned.
New music is planned which will see the band start a brand new chapter in their ever evolving
career, a career that is defined by music that seeks to excite, enlighten and inform as well as rock!
