Wildwood Kin are an acclaimed indie/americana trio from Exeter in Devon comprising of two sisters, Beth and Emillie Key and their cousin Meghann Loney.

The music is a mix of their own beautiful and thought provoking original songs with a few stunning arrangements of some better known covers. Their voices meld perfectly in effortless and sublime close harmony and they accompany themselves on a range of acoustic instruments.

The voices of three young women harmonise effortlessly, there are shades of Simon & Garfunkel, Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac and the churchy cadences of the first Fleet Foxes album in the beautifully gentle folk rock melodies, and lyrics address profound themes like love, loss and spirituality in an unforced fashion. But above all, there is a spirit to the record that is as wild and free as the West Country moors Emillie,Beth, and Meghann  grew up on.

“Both of our mums play instruments and sing, someone was always on the piano, and we spent childhood car journeys harmonising on the back seat,” says guitarist Emillie on how this family group, who emerged from Devon to have a surprise hit in 2017 with debut album Turning Tides, found their sound. “There was a lot of Cat Stevens, Joni Mitchell, Tracey Chapman and Stevie Wonder in the house. It was a very musical family.”

It was also a forward-thinking, spiritually open family; something reflected in the mysterious quality of the album’s epic opener Headed For The Water. “We’re not a Christian band, but that background does inform us,” says Meghan, 25, Wildwood Kin’s drummer and the most outspoken of the three. “Our first performances were in church settings, and I’m not sure if we would have had the confidence to get up in pubs and clubs if we hadn’t started in that safe family environment where everybody is nice to you.” Beth, the quietest and youngest at 22, who plays bouzouki, adds: “We want to give an uplifting message and make a space for positivity and peace. Music is a healing thing, after all.”

The journey began when Beth was finishing her GCSEs, Emillie was studying for A levels and Meg was meant to be on a gap year, but her visas for a foreign internship had not come through and she was at a loose end. Finding the process of applying for and deciding on university courses all too stressful, Emillie suggested they take a year out to travel a bit, try out singing together in public, and generally have fun. They cut their teeth with open mic spots at an 800-year-old pub with a thatched roof called the Church House Inn, in the tiny Devon village of Stokeinteignhead, where Emillie shook a tambourine, Meg banged a cajon and they were all so nervous that they had to do the whole thing sitting down. Nonetheless, the reaction was encouraging enough for them to decide to forego university and make a go of it as a group.

Their journey happily continues on their 2022 tour and their long awaited visit to Acapela Studio.