Bailey Tomkinson & The Locals’ classic Californian vibes with a modern pop twist, has earned the Cornish collective growing comparisons to Stevie Nicks and HAIM. Highlighted as a BBC Introducing One To Watch For 2025, the band’s London show at Lafayette was attended by pop royalty in the shape of Dua Lipa. As attention around them intensifies, Bailey Tomkinson & The Locals now share their new EP ‘Witching Hour’ which features its brand new title track and focus single. Listen HERE.
The single ‘Witching Hour’ showcases Bailey’s growing powers at distilling a fresh cocktail infused from melancholy ‘70s country-rock and the brighter yet still nostalgic tones of ‘80s pop. Its sweetly layered vocals and warm, live instrumentation casts a spell of teenage infatuation – the inevitability of wanting someone who is unobtainable.
Bailey says, “‘Witching Hour’ is about that teenage ache of wanting someone you can’t have and being jealous of the girl who does. It’s that mix of longing and magic, when love feels impossible but you can’t help falling anyway.”
The new single completes the ‘Witching Hour’ EP, which is completed by the band’s previous three tracks: ‘Supermoon’, ‘Moonshine’ and ‘Chrysalis’. Collectively, the EP channels Bailey’s take on full-feeling, lived-in emotions into widescreen, heartland pop-rock, music that sits somewhere between Sabrina Carpenter and Sam Fender: open-hearted, melodic, and full of momentum.
Bailey adds, “This EP captures us at full stride. It’s about growing up and everything that comes with it, first loves, heartbreak, jealousy, hope, and the moments that change you. ‘Supermoon,’ ‘Moonshine,’ and ‘Witching Hour’ all orbit those feelings of youth and longing, the mix of desire and discovery that defines your early years. And it ends with ‘Chrysalis,’ which feels like breaking free, shedding old skin and stepping into something new. It mirrors our own journey too, we’ve grown so much together through making this music, and in many ways this EP feels like our own transformation, a closing of one chapter and the start of another.”
All four songs were written by Bailey Tomkinson. Ian Barter (Dermot Kennedy, Amy Winehouse) co-wrote ‘Chrysalis’, while the band’s guitarist Jordan Lee Collins co-wrote ‘Moonshine’. The EP was produced by Josiah Manning (Seth Lakeman).
Bailey Tomkinson and Jordan Lee Collins were recently married in Hawaii. Together with the rest of the band – completed by Tadhg Cullen (bass), Callum Masters (drums) and Daniel Woodfield (saxophone) – had spent the summer attracting big crowds at festivals across the land, particularly at home in Cornwall at Boardmasters and Kernowfornia. Their big stage potential has also previously been highlighted with sets at Black Deer, Wilderness, The Long Road and The Great Escape, and with gigs as support to Keane and Simple Minds. They launched the ‘Witching Hour’ EP earlier this week with a sold-out London show at The Waiting Room.
Music is the core platform for Bailey, but her passions have led her to speak about environmental issues and grassroots activism as part of Music Declares Emergency’s No Music on a Dead Planet campaign. Her boho chic style is also in demand from brands such as Wrangler, Free People and Levi’s.
