Bio

What happens when two dedicated songwriters coincidentally create almost identical Facebook posts, each seeking a band?

In 2018, Kyla and Meredith met via two nearly identical posts posted eleven days apart on a Waiheke Musicians Facebook group. It didn't take long for them to realise that something special happened when they wrote together - and thus The Rocky Bay Midnights were born!

The Rocky Bay Midnights (The RBMs) are a group of experienced musicians from Waiheke Island who love to make music with soul. An all-original soul-rock-jazz-psychedlic extravaganza, their songs span a range of emotion as well as sound. Their debut album, Songs About People We Know, is a collection of songs that feature histories, lessons, and experiences of the writers - that listeners can relate to. Their songs are sometimes comedic (Light My Candle), sometimes painful (You Must Stay, about a phone call from from a suicidal loved one), and occasionally a bit staunch and fearless (Leave Him, about a best friend in an abusive relationship). Their songs are all “true stories” and have a fierce yet vulnerable, emotionally raw but simultaneously polished, quality to them.

The RBMs are Meredith Wilkie (vocals & percussion), Kyla Dyresen (keyboard/piano) Simon McDowell (drums), Dione Denize (bass) and Julion Wright (guitar, saxophone). Meredith (The Reputations, Troubadour, Damaged Goods) and Kyla (Royal Falcon) often laugh about the revolving door that they had at their early rehearsals, auditioning five guitarists, four bassists, two drummers - holding out for the perfect people - and eventually were thrilled to find Dione Denize (The Solomon Cole Band, Tight Knickers) to play bass, Julion Wright for guitars and saxophone (Radio Rebelde, Krispy and the Pooch) and Simon McDowell on drums (Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran).

The Rocky Bay Midnights are rapt to release their debut album, and hope to share it with the world. As dedicated songwriters (already finishing the writing of their second album), part of the RBMs dream is to publish their music worldwide whether in film, television or alternate media.

“Musically, the album revels in Meredith and Kyla’s wide breadth of inspiration - from the deep soul-rock of opener Flint and Steel to the more contemporary Kiwi RnB sound (and a stunningly wigged out guitar solo crescendo) on closer You Must Stay, there are plenty of genre-departures into the worlds of psychedelia and soul, and quite wonderfully on Scaredy Cat, a kind of cabaret jazz that sits somewhere between Nina Simone and Cab Calloway.” - James Belfield, music critic for Stuff.co.nz, The Listener and the Waiheke Gulf News.

Band Members:
Meredith Wilkie (vocals)
Kyla Dyresen (keyboards)
Julion Wright (saxophone, guitar)
Dione Denize (bass)
Simon McDowell (drums)

Links

• Artist Website
• Facebook Page
• Youtube Page
• Instagram Page
• Bandcamp Page
• Spotify Page
• Apple Music Page