On April 4th, I caught up with coastal indie rock band Winyah, originally from Pawleys Island, South Carolina, before their first-ever, sold out San Francisco show at Cafe du Nord. They describe themselves as “the friend your parents don’t want you hanging out with, but you do anyway, because it’s always an adventure.” It’s a charm that thrives in chaos, a passion that shows in every moment, and a stage presence that makes their connection with the crowd electric.
The band—Thomas Rowland (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Stephen Russell (bass), Luke Gordon (lead guitar), Robert Buffington Jr. (keys), and Jacob “Jake” Riley (drums)—has been building momentum with sold-out shows across the country and festival sets at Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. Their nostalgic, guitar-driven sound anchors modern rock while drawing from indie, country, and classic rock influences like John Mayer, the Allman Brothers, Parcels, Flipturn, The Backseat Lovers, and many more.
Following their debut album Lot to Learn, Winyah is still evolving and ready to keep releasing new music. Before their set in San Francisco, the band shared what they’re excited about, how friendships in the industry have shaped them and their music, and their eagerness to keep playing for fans everywhere.
Izzy: You’re in a really cool space within emerging indie rock and indie folk music. Can you describe Winyah’s sound to someone who’s never listened to you before?
Thomas: Mmm. It’s a Saturday with all of your best friends. You’re going to the beach, drinking a million beers, and then waking up the next morning and going to Waffle House hungover.
Love that. Who were your biggest musical influences growing up, and now?
Jake: Mm. That’s a good question.
Stephen: It’s pretty diverse among us. Luke and I did the cover band thing in high school and college, classic stuff like the Allman Brothers and Skynyrd. Now, it’s more modern; Parcels was a game changer after seeing them live. We love their sound. We all like McGee, MJ Lenderman, Flipturn, The Backseat Lovers, and Wunderhorse.
Thomas: I listened to a lot of John Mayer growing up, which was a big one for me.
Stephen: These days, it’s really shaped by each other’s tastes. Whatever the others are into, I get into too.
Thomas: Yeah, it varies. I listen to whatever Mitch, our tour manager, has on aux, honestly. (Band laughs in agreement)
You’ve described Lot to Learn as very experimental. Do you think album two reflects a clearer vision of what Winyah is, or are you still evolving?
Thomas: I think it’s both. It’s a little more cohesive in terms of sound and lyrical themes, but it’s still an evolution of the first album and reflects where we’re going. We wrote the second album with bigger stages and audiences in mind, which pushed us to dig deeper into song structure, melody, and lyrics. It was a good experience for us as writers and will only help us get to whatever’s next. We haven’t even released anything from the second album yet and we’re already excited to start working on the third one.
Did the move to Nashville influence anything at all?
Thomas: Nashville was really great for us. Cutting our teeth and being around the scene.
Stephen: We have good friends there, for sure.
Thomas: Definitely. We were inspired to work harder because of them. Over time, though, it was tough for all of us, coming from the beach, to be so landlocked and deal with intense weather. It’s either 90 degrees and the hottest you’ve ever been, or 20 degrees and a tornado’s coming. Mixed emotions for sure, but we’re thankful for our time there. It’s always fun to go back and visit.
For sure. I’m from a beach town as well, so I get that.
Thomas: Heck yeah, gotta stay by the water. It’s a blessing and a curse sometimes.
100%. I really love Winyah’s features on “Lose a Friend” by Evan Honer and “Inner Wave” by Flipturn. You guys added a really cool spin to both tracks. How did those collaborations come about?
Luke: We paid them $1,000. We begged. (Band laughs.)
Thomas: We’re really good friends with Evan and his band, we opened for them last year. “Lose a Friend” was something he and I wrote together when I was opening for him in 2024. We’d always talked about doing a song together, and it just worked out that he wanted us on that one. It was really cool that he trusted us and let us do our thing. For Flipturn, it was similar. We haven’t toured together, but we’ve become friends through festivals and mutual connections. They called us one day and asked us to do it and we were honestly shocked. It was totally spontaneous. Evan and Flipturn are friends too, so it’s all kind of connected.
That’s awesome. Do you have a dream artist to collaborate with in the future?
Thomas: There are a few. I think it’d be cool to do something with—
Stephen: Mine’s Weird Al.
Thomas: That’d be crazy.
Thomas: I don’t want to sound corny, but maybe The Backseat Lovers.
Thomas: Kings of Leon would be cool, or Tame Impala. I’d love to have him produce an album for us. Or maybe write with the Geese crew. They make wild stuff; it’d be fun to be a fly on the wall in their process.
Winyah has been playing great festivals recently, like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. How has connecting with festival crowds compared to headline shows felt?
Luke: They’re both great in different ways. At a festival, it always feels like a happy place, the energy is crazy and wild. It’s definitely good energy; not that there’s ever bad energy at shows, but it’s just different.
Stephen: I feel like I could compare it to when we’re opening or just starting out, playing in front of people who’ve never heard us. Sometimes those crowds can be tough, but at a festival, people just love music. They’re usually really stoked to hear what we’re doing. The response is great. It’s different from a headline show, but it’s super fun.
Thomas: For me, festivals come with a chip on my shoulder because I want to convince everyone who’s never heard of us to become interested in our band. But, I love headline shows because we get to play everything we want. Festivals are tighter on time, which can be stressful, but both are awesome. Festivals are more of a discovery place and headline shows are where we really settle in on the stage and feel comfortable and let it fly.
I know you’ve been playing some unreleased songs live. How has the audience reaction been? Does it make you excited for what’s next?
Thomas: Yeah, it’s different every time. The better we play them, the stronger the crowd reaction. It’s always a little scary to play the new stuff because it’s not as familiar or as ingrained in our muscles and minds as the songs we’ve been playing over and over. But it’s really fun. Lately, at the past couple of shows, the new songs have felt great, and the crowd response has been awesome. I think I speak for the whole group when I say we’re all really eager to get them out. I want people to be able to sing along. It’s kind of weird sometimes to play songs that no one else knows, because we feed off the crowd so much. I’m ready for all those songs to come out so the audience can be part of that energy too.
Definitely. Ending with a fun one, could each of you give me an adjective or activity to make your own Winyah (Spotify) Daylist? For example, mine today was “indie garage rock surf crush Saturday afternoon.”
Luke: 5 p.m. on a Friday.
Thomas: Bowling.
Stephen: Wistful.
Robert: Where are we at so far?
Thomas: Wistful bowling, 5 p.m. on a Friday. Literally say anything.
Robert: Drinking a Bronson.
Thomas: Well…
Robert: At the bowling alley? I can’t get a beer?
Thomas: Haha, you can.
Robert: Hell yeah.
Jake: Sunday morning, fresh fruit bowl.
Thomas: So it’s “Friday afternoon bowling wistful beer Sunday morning fresh bowl of fruit”?
(Band collectively agrees, laughing.)
Luke: When you just got out of school in middle school, hanging out with that friend you shouldn’t be but always have fun with anyway, the one you get in trouble with all the time.
That’s perfect. Thank you guys so much.
Interview and photography by Izzy Hory
