The Virginmarys

Three players from Macclesfield once made up The Virginmarys, and the English rock duo they became still carries that grassroots history in its approach. Before any record deal, they released a run of self-financed EPs and a mini-album, Cast the First Stone, produced by Toby Jepson and mixed by Mike Fraser. Their touring history reads like a support bill for rock's established names, with slots alongside Slash, Shinedown, Ash, Feeder and Queens of the Stone Age, plus headline shows across the UK, Europe, the US and Japan.

Their debut album, King of Conflict, came out in February 2013 on DoubleCross/Cooking Vinyl and Wind Up Records in the US, and iTunes US made it Editors' Choice after its singles 'Bang Bang Bang' and 'Just A Ride' were picked as Singles of the Week. That year the record earned an Album of the Year nomination at the Classic Rock Awards, which also named the band Best Breakthrough act. Second album Divides, produced by Gil Norton, followed in May 2016, previewed by 'Motherless Land'. In 2017 the band chose to go it alone, releasing the EPs Sitting Ducks and Devil Keeps Coming and the album Northern Sun Sessions.