Lucy Rose

Lucy Rose Parton, known simply as Lucy Rose, is a singer/songwriter from Warwickshire, England. Originally, Rose began playing drums in her school orchestra and when that didn’t satisfy her creative ambition, she began playing and writing songs on the piano in her parents’ house. She later bought a guitar and began to write pastoral, folk-inspired pop music. It wasn’t until she left home — after deferring a place at University College of London — at the age of 18 that she shared her material with anybody. Her fragile, emotive songs drew comparisons to Laura Marling, with whom she shares influences such as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.

After leaving home in 2008, Rose set about finding other musicians to experiment and perform with. After a while she met Bombay Bicycle Club frontman Jack Steadman and they soon became friends. Once Steadman had heard Rose sing, he asked her to perform vocals on the band’s acoustic album Flaws in 2010. During this time, Rose began playing her own shows, endearing audiences and instead of selling traditional merchandise — t-shirts, CDs, and posters — she sold an interesting mixture of her own "Builder Grey" tea and her own-recipe rhubarb and ginger preserve. She started to assemble a band for live performances and to match the ambition of her songs; on-and-off bandmembers included former Razorlight guitarist Björn Ågren, drummer Sam Nadel, and Broadcast 2000 bassist Joe Steer. With only a small budget, Rose shunned traditional recording studios and instead opted for live videos shot by close friend Orestes Mitas, which she posted online. She continued to tour throughout 2011, playing with contemporaries Ben Howard, Daughter, and Pete Roe along with headlining her own shows.

In 2012 Rose was signed to Columbia Records and released her debut Like I Used To. She returned to her quaint hometown in the Warwickshire countryside where she and her bandmates set about recording the album in her family home, the nuclear bunker in the basement, and the local village hall. The full-length release features many of her road-worn tracks such as the hazy “Night Bus” and the lovelorn “First.”