First of all, tell us about yourself, who are you and what do you do?

We’re Thieves of Liberty, a female-fronted 4 piece rock band from Sunderland with a focus on upbeat music that everyone can dance to.

Why did you choose to become a musician/songwriter?

It’s something we’ve all been passionate about from a very early age and it just meant too much to us to just do it as a hobby, so we decided to dedicate time and effort into making a career of it. It’s our dream to be able to make a living doing what we love.

As a young musician/songwriter, who were some of your biggest inspirations?

We are really inspired by artists from a variety of genres. Royal Republic are certainly a group we take a lot of inspiration from. That fun, upbeat, dance-along sound really makes writing fun for us. But even heavier artists like Shinedown, Alter Bridge, Black Stone Cherry and of course Halestorm. They rock, and that’s all we want to do.

What do you feel is your biggest achievement in music so far?

Our biggest achievement to date is definitely landing a slot on the Fuelling The Fire Tour 2019, alongside Less Than Jake, Goldfinger & Save Ferris. Playing O2 Academy main stages across the UK to thousands of people each night is beyond amazing. 

What are your biggest aspirations within the music industry?

We want to just keep writing and performing for as long as we physically can, so being able to do this full time is the main goal. There’s nothing we love more than touring so to keep heading out on the road, not just in the UK but worldwide too would be amazing. Then one day, Wembley!

If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice as a young musician/songwriter, what would it be and why?

Don’t be afraid to put anything you create out there, don’t keep songs to yourself cos it could just be an absolute banger! Also all musicians are still just humans and not something to be afraid of, the majority of people in the industry are lovely people who’ve been in your shoes at some point in their life.

Why is music education so important? 

It gives people a chance to speak freely and express themselves without feeling judged. It’s a universal language for a reason, and that reason is because it can be so impactful and powerful for people. Without teaching music, we would be robbing the next generations of a powerful tool of communication and resolution, and a wonderful skillset of self confidence, passion and creativity.