1 September 2025
Every Monday I will be bringing you an interview with an independent band, duo or music artist. This week, I caught up with Huntingdon artist Oli Bruce to find out more…
Where are you from and how did you first get into music?
I’m from Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire. At the end of 2022 I reached a crossroads in my life with mental health and wanted to try playing guitar. I was inspired by attending Reading Festival and numerous concerts that year. Music started off as a hobby, but has come something much more from writing songs to performing to new listeners far and wide. I’m eagerly excited for my journey ahead as I continue writing more material.
Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
When I started music I was inspired by artists like Kelsea Ballerini, James Taylor. Starting off with my debut EP Missing You which is a style of Folk/Singer Songwriter. Material I’m making now is inspired by more artists like Beabadoobee, Michelle Branch and Kacey Musgraves.
How would you describe your sound?
My music has a distinguished sound, I’ve often been told by many listeners that I have a unique relaxing voice. My songs now often float between Indie Pop and Pop Rock with a few exceptions. I like to experiment a variety of flavour in my music, always looking to improve and add more texture and styles from different genres.
What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
My latest release Summer Day was out on the 8th August. The story behind the song, is a classic upbeat Pop Rock happy song, made to make you want to dance. It’s all about enjoying the day and making the most of the time, living in the moment. Creating this song I had many different influences including Santana and Michelle Branch hit Grammy collaboration winner The Game Of Love. However I also was inspired by some modern music, including Camilla Cabello’s track Bam Bam and older Pop Rock songs like Mexico by James Taylor. The song mainly takes a South American style from the rhythmic Drumbeat and brass section.
What’s your local music scene like?
My local music scene is full of lots of great artists, who I know quite well, having performed at a variety of gigs with them and being played on local radios together. We all continue supporting each other, often offering support slots, liking and listening to each others songs on social media and on all the streaming platforms.
What do you have planned for the next 12 months?
The next 12 months are exciting for myself. I’m starting to expand my solo project to a band project, with support of friends and musicians helping to form the Oli Bruce Band performing at gigs. The plan is to release an EP/Album with all the new material on and hosting a launch date with a few friends supporting. Next year, we are hoping to perform at festivals nationwide to reach new listeners and promote new material.
Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
This is a really difficult question, as there are lots of musicians I would love to collaborate with. However, if I had to choose, I would pick Kelsea Ballerini. I’m a really big fan of her new album Patterns and how she continues to evolve her sound across a multitude of genres and the experimentation that goes on in her music. It would be a real honour, to collaborate with her on a track.
Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
Being relatively new to the industry, I can’t really think of something off the top of my head. However, playing some pub gigs have been fun, hearing the audiences getting into the music and myself trying not to laugh whilst singing, when hearing some of the stories ongoing in the background.
What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
I really enjoy the process and the excitement from writing a song, releasing a song and performing the track live. It’s a buzz which doesn’t get old from getting the track stuck in your head and every time you pick up the guitar, it’s all you want to play. From promoting the track and hearing all the positive comments people say about your song. To performing live and seeing the joy on people’s faces, vibing to the track. This always makes me feel proud of myself and inspires me to continue writing.
Upcoming live dates and performances
Sunday 14th September 2025 – The Seven Wives, St Ives
You can find out more about Oli on his website or via Apple Music, Bandcamp, Instagram or Spotify, and you can find upcoming gig information here.
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