The Dreaming Spires

One of the best live bands in the country – Andrew Marr (BBC, Andrew Marr Show) 

The quality of the songwriter is beyond reproach, with the music and lyrics appearing to simply flow into existence. – No Depression 

The Dreaming Spires are brothers Robin and Joe Bennett, Jamie Dawson, Tom Collison and Nick Fowler.

Robin and Joe formed early 2000s Oxfordshire indie band Goldrush, who signed to Virgin Records. Over the last decade they have toured the world as part of Saint Etienne’s live band, and of course the award-winning Bennett Wilson Poole. Jamie is in constant demand on drums for touring US artists such as Annie Keating, while Tom plays keys in Danny & the Champions of the World. Nick joined Goldrush for their 3rd and final album before they split in 2008, and is band member of choice for the likes of Gaz Coombes and Peter Buck. 

The Dreaming Spires released debut single Everything All The Time in 2012, following up with an album, Brothers in Brooklyn, in 2013, both on Clubhouse Records. The debut album was compared to  “Big Star by way of Gram Parsons and Teenage Fanclub” in The Independent, and detailed experiences on the road in the US during Goldrush’s many tours there, when the real story is in the people and relationships found along the way, and “the real show” is back at someone’s house in the desert hours after the gig finished.

Next year marks a decade since the release of second album “Searching for the Supertruth”, which was another acclaimed release on Clubhouse in 2015. The band were nominated for Album and Artist of the year at the inaugural UK Americana Awards, where they performed “Dusty in Memphis” onstage. The album featured contributions from Tony Poole (Starry Eyed & Laughing) and Sarah Cracknell (Saint Etienne).

Americana UK writer Graham Bollands recently put “Searching for the Supertruth” in his Top 10 British Americana albums of the 21st century, noting the band’s “distinctive harmonies in the tradition of The Byrds or The Everly Brothers, and at times the sound has the anthemic qualities of Big Star or Gram Parsons.”

https://americana-uk.com/auks-top-10-americana-albums-of-the-21st-century-graham-bollands

The AMA nominations led to an invitation to appear at Americanafest in Nashville, and on the same 2016 trip the band found time to record material at the legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis, still home to Jody Stephens of Big Star. These songs formed part of the “Paisley Overground” EP on At The Helm Records.

The band subsequently took something of a break, apart from occasional live performances, while other projects such as Bennett Wilson Poole came to the fore. Now, they are back not just to celebrate their anniversary, but also to prepare the ground for release of some brand new material in 2025.