Rising star Will Joseph Cook sat down with me at Victorious Festival last weekend, taking the time out of an incredibly hectic weekend for a chat. Will wasn’t only playing the Portsmouth festival, but he also had an evening slot on the Festival Republic Stage at Reading and Leeds.
When asked how he would compare the two, Will seemed a little stumped. “Oh God, maybe ask me that later”, he said, eventually deciding that Victorious was more eclectic. “It definitely feels like Portsmouth’s festival, as opposed to Reading and Leeds which is more of an international thing”.
It’s been a big year for Will Joseph Cook. Named one of 2017’s rising stars in The Edge‘s List back in January, his debut album Sweet Dreamer has been met with acclaim. Speaking about the difference this has made to his set, Will observed, “It’s definitely good knowing that if someone’s a fan, they would have heard it. It’s good that, as a new artist, we don’t have to win people over with festival sets like before.”
But festival season is by no means the be-all and end-all for Will, who will be touring his debut album in small towns and cities he’s never visited before, such as Edinburgh. He’ll also be playing the Electric Ballroom in London – his biggest venue to date.
What it means to be a wjc fan is getting so obscure. https://t.co/VT67z1OxxO
— WJC (@WillJosephCook) August 22, 2017
Naturally, his fan base is getting bigger and bigger, and seemingly more bizarre. On Twitter, fans are showing their support for Will in some strange ways. One fan tweeted “Thinking about you” with an image of Percy Pigs, to which Will responded “What it means to be a wjc fan is getting so obscure”.
I asked Will the meaning behind this. “It was one of the most successful tweets I’ve ever done”, he explained. “Percy Pigs has a range called Reversey Percy where they swap the ingredients round, which is obviously really wrong. So, I just tweeted ‘everyday we stray further from god’s light’ with a photo and it did better than my album release tweet. I was like sh** this is me now, I’m in the wrong game”.
Every day we stray further from gods light. pic.twitter.com/nlxYxZu2jQ
— WJC (@WillJosephCook) August 4, 2017
So what does it mean to be a Will Joseph Cook fan then? Well, other than Percy Pig memes… “It’s always been a music first thing. People feel emotionally attached to the tunes I guess and that’s what it’s built on”. If you want to hear more great music by more up and coming artists, Will himself recommends the fantastic ‘Older’ by Parcels and ‘Folk Rock Song 1’ by Okudaxij.
Check out Will’s title track from his debut album Sweet Dreamer below.
