This instalment of the ‘Folk & Mirrors’ blog is a brief history of 'Act Happy’. We began as two musicians who bonded over our love of bad jokes and Pearl Jam. We were introduced by mutual friends, in a pub of all places (those who know us will not be surprised about this). We joke that we felt like twins, separated at birth and re-united as adults. It was the start of a friendship that neither of us could now be without.
We had been friends for a few months when we started discussing our dreams of writing and performing music. We were in ‘Le Pub’ (Newport) as usual, when we planned our first rehearsal and we had high hopes of being a good musical match. The first cover we learned was ‘Ain’t No Sunshine'. We filmed it and put it on YouTube - a piece of Act Happy history (you can find the link to our YouTube channel and other socials at the bottom of this page). We had so much fun that we decided to keep going. We met up every week for ‘Music Mondays' to learn and practice new cover songs. When we felt ready to go to our first open mic we realised we needed a band name.
We talked about many things on Music Mondays, including our personal experiences of depression. We joked that we were both known for our friendly and goofy personalities that do a good job of hiding our sadness - we were good at ‘acting happy’ - and so we found our band name. It wasn't all deep chats and doom and gloom - we also had a lot of laughs and still do at every rehearsal. You can find some funny behind the scenes footage on our social media pages.
Our debut performance was at Tiny Rebel in Cardiff, May 2022. It was terrifying and we were both so nervous. We
look back at the videos now and laugh at how tense and strained that performance was, but it's a special memory. After that open mic we really picked up momentum. We started writing original songs and kept adding new cover songs to our repertoire. We played lots of open mics and several gigs over the summer, each time growing in confidence.
December 2022 was a real turning point for us. We had quite a few bookings and were playing in busy pubs during the festive season. We also organised our first fundraising event in aid of Feed Newport. The Act Happy Christmas Special was held at Le Pub - a venue that we had both been really eager to play. It felt a like a big achievement to draw out a crowd and get a good amount of ticket sales. We are passionate about using our love of music and performing to give back to our local community who have supported us from the start.
Almost 12 months later we have organised and hosted three more successful fundraising gigs, as well as performing at other local charity events. We have played gigs in Newport, Cardiff, Barry, Swansea, and Abergavenny as well as private events. We have also had the opportunity to perform our original songs on large stages at events like Newport Food Festival, Love Spreads as part of Newport Pride, and Barry Island Festival Of Food. We have recorded and released six original tracks as part of our first EP - ‘Acoustic Sessions’ (more on this in a future blog post).
But it's not just about us. We are proud to be a part of the incredible music community in Newport and have had the opportunity to meet so many talented and wonderful people as a result, many of which have become very close friends of ours. We love our musical life, and want to take you on the journey with us. So, what are you waiting for? Join our mailing list to keep up to date with the latest Act Happy News and instalments of the ‘Folk & Mirrors’ blog.