Shop Front Heros - Plus Support

Join us for an awesome night of mid Wales talent with the phenominal "Shop Front Heros' with support from Bag of Cats and The Vulcan Straight! Bar & Kitchen open all day. Gig doors open @ 7PM with the first band on at 8PM.

Shop Front Heroes are a five piece, original rock band from Mid-Wales. Taking influences from a vast range of artists and songwriters (including Queen, Bowie, The Killers, Arcade Fire, Leonard Cohen, Simon Garfunkel, Pixies, Foo Fighters), their style smacks you with rock, pop, classic rock and alternative. It can be fast or slow, tender or nasty- but always has a penchant for the epic and grandiose.  In The Beginning

Former member of Bristol band Halo and founder member of Shop Front Heroes Stevie Yeomans (lead vocals, acoustic guitar and piano) had found a muse and an outlet for the weird couple of years he had just gone through. The muse keeps changing, but  the outlet was always songwriting.  A lot of songwriting.

After both being bored of not being in a band anymore, he and drummer Matt Whitehouse proceeded to drink heavily one night and make plans to play all these songs in a new project. A listen back to a muffled phone recording of the pair during their debauched evening revealed the name "Shop Front Heroes" and a  heartfelt plan to make good out of what was once bad.

The next stage was obvious. It had to be Jake. Sitting at the bar in a Bristol pub after gig in their long defunct covers band, Stevie asked Jake Owen (lead guitar) to get on board. Jake was, as expected, extremely keen. Then, on returning to Wales, Stevie persuaded one of his oldest friends and influences from teenage days in the school music room, Stuart Hill, to take on bass duties. The final piece of the puzzle was to get another guitar player. That guitar player need to have an incredible voice  and after years of hearing Tom Jaques sing harmonies and play guitar with his sister, he was propositioned to join Shop Front Heroes at an open mic, in the toilets, at the urinal. Tom was in.

Rising Up

“One of the best 2020 tracks we’ve air-played” – Radio KC, Paris, France – On “Kicking In (Jonny)”

Things then moved quickly for Shop Front Heroes. Their first gig was a headline slot at a local festival and soon after, they recorded their first release in 2019: The Vices EP.

Then followed some incredible gigs and fantastic early support slots (The Weeks, Blue Aeroplanes), helping Shop Front Heroes build a solid and excitable fan base from those who saw their live shows.

2019 also saw the band release their debut single and video "Kicking In (Jonny)" with tremendous success and airplay all over the world, including regular plays on BBC Introducing.

Further singles "Curses" and "You Can't Decide Who Makes Your Heart Beat Faster" followed suit and were released in  Spring and  Autumn 2020 respectively to critical acclaim.

Recent success includes a headline show at Lakefest 2019 and Camper Calling 2021, as well as packed out shows at Wychwood Festival and Camper Jam in 2022 on the BBC Introducing stage, receiving great reviews:

"Band Of The Stage. A class act. Go watch 'em!!" - Festivals For All

"Great entertainment. One of the best bands we saw all weekend" - Slap Magazine

Lockdown

Shop Front Heroes used the time in lockdown wisely. The songwriting bug had returned to Yeomans, who penned another batch of songs, all stylistically different and challenging, exploring themes of youth, hope, dread, nostalgia, family, friendship and uncertainty. Towards the latter stages of the pandemic's prison, when the band could be together again, they worked hard collectively with the writing and arranging, and sculpted the basis of what was to become their debut album. Stuart Hill left the band to focus on other things in Winter 2021, so  Stevie and Jake made the decision to share the bass playing on the recording.

"Just so, so good.” - Michaela Wylde - BBC Introducing Shropshire

The Future

After recording in the legendary Rockfield Studios, Shop Front Heroes are due to release their debut album 'SuperPowers' in 2023. The album was mixed by the incredible talent of Stew Jackson (Massive Attack, Emily Breeze, Marc Ford) and was then mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Sean Magee (Beatles, Queen, Rush).

In Summer 2022 Alex Middleton joined the band full time, bringing fantastic energy and good times, taking over bass duties from Stu.

Shop Front Heroes will be releasing three singles in early 2023 before the album debut and will be touring and showcasing 'SuperPowers' at various gigs and UK festivals over the the course of the year.

Please contact the band at shopfrontheroes@gmail.com for bookings and enquiries.