By Ash Young
Mesmerising melodies interwoven with electrifying riffs alongside infatuating vocals for raw lyrics, Joan & the Giants consistently turn it up to eleven when it comes to concerts. They take to the stage and catharsis hits the audience in waves. Between sharing the stage with names as big as P!NK, Tones & I, and The Fray, playing the Optus Stadium, and performing at SXSW, there’s clearly something special about Joan & the Giants. Naturally, we had to ask them about everything from musical inspiration to dream venues, to when we can next hope to see them back in the UK. Here’s everything front-woman Gracie Newton-Wordsworth had to say.
1. The Great Escape marked your live debut in the UK. How does that feel? How do you hope audiences left your set feeling?
It felt surreal and so incredibly exciting to be coming over together for the debut of Joan & The Giants in the UK. This has genuinely been a dream for years, and it’s really exciting to get the opportunity. We hope audiences left our set with a cathartic mix of feeling seen and accepted, but also letting out some big emotions they’ve been keeping in.
2. You’ve shared the stage with artists like P!NK, Tones and I, and The Fray, to name a few. Are there any other big names you’re hoping to accompany in the future?
Oooh, there are COUNTLESS artists we’d love to play with! Some big inspirations to us are artists like Florence & The Machine, Coldplay, Sam Fender, Holly Humberstone, Kings of Leon, Middle Kids, The Last Dinner Party, and Wolf Alice, to name a few.
3. From playing small venues to the Optus Stadium, what does the perfect show look like to you? Do you have any dream venues that you’d like to one day play?
A perfect show to me looks like everyone in the room is deeply connecting with the music and being present in a space together. Music connects us all, and sometimes you can really feel that wholeheartedly in the more intimate venues. One of my favourite shows I have ever seen was Raye in a tiny jazz club in Perth, where I’m from. It was the most incredible, intimate, personal, raw show I’ve ever seen, and everyone felt like they were part of the story.
Some dream venues for us internationally would be the Royal Albert Hall, Madison Square Gardens, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre – these are ones that immediately spring to mind. In Australia, we’ve been lucky enough to play some of our dream venues, and I just keep pinching myself over this.
4. You performed at SXSW last year in Austin, Texas. What was that experience like?
Loved it, from beginning to end. Our gigs were really fun, and we got some great opportunities out of it. Amazing music, wonderful people, super fun being amongst so many incredible artists. The margaritas and Texan BBQs were pretty damn good too!
5. Do you have any songs that are personal favourites to perform? What about your latest release, “Mamma Don’t Cry”?
Everyone’s got their favourites. Riley’s favourite is ‘Part of Me’, it’s such a fun banger to play live. My favourite is most definitely ‘Wolves’ – we released it years ago, but it still goes hard live, and the lyrics are some I will hold onto forever. I’m really excited to play Mamma Don’t Cry live as this song means a lot to me.
6. From your first release in 2019, “Hold Me”, up to “Mamma Don’t Cry”, how would you describe the way your sound has developed? How does your discography so far compare to what’s coming up next for the band?
I think our sound and storytelling have really developed over the years. I like to keep our older songs on Spotify to show how much we’ve shifted and changed, and tried new ideas and grown up together, really.
This band has a long history together, and we’ve had some really hard times too, and it’s all documented in the music.
Up next, we’re cooking up some songs with Oscar Dawson in London when we’re there. He is one half of one of my favourite Australian bands ever, Holy Holy. I’m really excited to be working together on two new songs coming later this year.
7. What inspires you most when it comes to making music? Life experiences? Other artists?
For me, it’s most definitely life experience. I throw my life into the music, and it’s pure therapy for me. I’ve had a really tough couple of years, and a lot of that has been reflected in the songwriting. I am from a farm in Western Australia and grew up on country and folk music, and I think I’ll always want to tell deeply personal stories at the heart of whatever genre we’re making. As a band, we’re all inspired by a diverse range of artists and genres, which makes each song sound a little different from the last.
8. You’ve won multiple WA Music awards, as well as being named a runner-up, and with several more nominations to boot. What’s that been like?
So much fun being a part of those nights and part of the WA community – there is so much talent from Western Australia, and whilst Perth is the most isolated city in the world, there is a beautiful aspect to that.
Community is everything, and it’s really allowed us to craft our sound, try, fail, and try again.
9. You released your second EP, “The Five Stages of Grief”, last year in August to much praise. Are there any plans for an album release?
This is something I am working on musically and financially (it’s a dream, so yes – one day).
10. As you continue to add more countries to the list of where you’ve performed, is there anywhere you’d love to go? Can we look forward to more shows in the UK?
YES – we have plans and goals to come and play all over Europe. We’d also like to come back to the UK a lot more over the next few years.
Now back in Melbourne, Joan & the Giants continue to enchant crowds from the sparkle of the limelight. If you’ll be in Perth this July, be sure to get your hands on a ticket to their headlining show on the 3rd at The Bird in Northbridge. Tickets are on sale now via oztix.com.
For more music interviews, live previews, and culture features from The Great Escape and beyond, explore SALT’s latest music coverage.
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