It’s not a common thing to see a band of four youngsters inspired by The Beatles making it in the music industry. Yet, Milou Sky has managed to gain fame, especially on social networks, sharing their unique sound with 100,000 followers on Instagram and having 2,000,000 streams on SoundCloud. It’s not just The Beatles who played a significant role during the band’s early days, though. Milou Sky is a group of musicians inspired by many other legendary artists, and they blended several genres and eventually created their own, unique sound.
Just who is Milou Sky?
The band’s history starts with two stepbrothers, Ryan Beckett (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Zach Ninfo (drums). Despite disliking each other in the past, these two eventually bonded over their mutual love for The Beatles. That source of inspiration can be heard in Beckett’s guitar, whose riffs remind of George Harrison’s style of play. When Liam Meadowcroft (vocals, rhythm guitar) joined with Beckett and Ninfo, the band was officially formed as “The Reasons”. The stepbrothers accepted Meadowcroft with open arms, respecting his deep love for Nirvana and Arctic Monkeys. The trio started working together and eventually changed their name to Milou Sky. Sometime later, they added a fourth member to the team, Nolan Meadowcroft (bass guitar), Liam’s brother. Milou Sky’s sound is a fusion of classic 60s rock, 90s grunge, and modern pop. The band’s lead vocalist, Ryan Beckett believes that listening to diverse music empowers the creativity in artists:
“It’s important to listen to a lot of different music because it can influence what you write. We’re inspired by the music we like, and we feed off of what we hear to create our own songs and sound.”
The road to success
Milou Sky is not a band stuck in the past. Their goal is to create something unique. At first, the band was playing in Reading, Pennsylvania, where they have managed to create a large fan base. Milou Sky used to play in local venues, TV shows, and festivals before they finally managed to release their debut EP. Robert Cutarella, the award-winning producer who has worked with The Police and Eric Clapton, helped the band release their debut single. Just like their debut EP, the single is also called “Compromise”. This work was inspired by the ups and downs of teenage life. Beckett stated:
“These songs are meaningful to us because we can share what we feel with our audience. The EP’s title track is about the typical frustrations guys feel when dealing with girls.”
The band of influencers
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on musicians everywhere. Just like other bands, Milou Sky had most of their gigs canceled too. So, the band had to find another way to stay in touch with their audience. Through social networks, the band continued to interact with their fans, building a fine reputation along the way. Ryan Beckett believes that social media opens new doors for artists, especially in these dire times of COVID-19:
“I think it’s important to really just use your account to communicate with fans since there are no large gatherings, it is important to regularly post more home recordings. Social media is definitely the way we communicate with our fans, it also gives our fans a chance to message us and comment on our posts so we know how they feel about us.”
Besides communicating with their fans, Milou Sky also uses social networks to promote other bands by giving them shout-outs. It has turned out to be a smart move because they have established contact with various other artists who are giving them shout-outs as well. By sticking together with other musicians who are grounded due to the pandemic, Milou Sky has established a large network of contacts that helped them build their reputation further.
