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Sunday Smoke are a London-based trio, recently formed and steadily releasing tracks inspired by classic rock and post-Britpop alike. With online support from The Kinks, the band have a keen eye on glory, hoping to ramp up their touring schedule after the release of their most recent single, ‘Already Know’ – an acoustic endeavour evocative of a stripped-back Travis ballad. We asked Sunday Smoke ten questions to understand what fuels the fire beneath the smoke.

How would you describe the sound of Sunday Smoke?

Our sound is a mix of Indie Pop and Rock whilst trying to blend old school guitar riffs and solos into modern day story writing! Our biggest influences are Arctic Monkeys, The Beatles and Dire Straits, so I like to think if you put those bands into a metaphorical blender our sound would be the outcome. 

What are your biggest non-music influences?

Movies and art have always been important to us. Before music, I always wanted to become an actor – I think that ignited some sort of creative passion for me which ended up leading down the music route. The same with drawing, I always found myself doodling in class in school. 

If you had to cover any song and put a Sunday Smoke spin on it, which would you choose?

That’s tricky, I’d say a Jim Croce song but I think his sound perfect as they are. Maybe do what Led Zeppelin did in their 1973 Madison Square Garden performance of ‘Dazed and Confused’ where they played ‘San Francisco’ but in a rock genre. 

What does 2026 have in store for Sunday Smoke?

2026 will include lots of gigging around the UK. We’re hoping to play new venues, festivals and cities. We’ve also got more songs at the ready to release gradually, and we’re hoping to put these towards either an EP or an Album. 

Where do you want to see Sunday Smoke in 5 years?

Playing the O2 for sure! I’d like to see us playing over the UK to packed gigs, and for music to be a full-time gig for us. We’re sort of in that awkward middle ground of not quite enough momentum to commit full time, but we’re getting there. 

How did Sunday Smoke come together?

Me and Oliver are brothers, and Marcus, our drummer, was in Oliver’s year at school. He reached out to Marcus last summer as we were drummer hunting. I actually thought it was quite a long shot as they hadn’t spoken in a while but we clicked really quickly which was nice. 

Your cover of ‘Sunny Afternoon’ was reposted by The Kinks official account. What is their best song and why?

Yes it was, and I didn’t realise for 2 weeks! ‘Sunny Afternoon’ is definitely up there, as well as ‘You Really Got Me’. Though we’ve got a soft spot for ‘Village Green’ because of Hot Fuzz. 

How did you find transitioning from playing covers to playing your originals live?

Transitioning playing originals live from covers was relatively easy for us, as we’d built up our chemistry from cover gigs. So it still felt quite natural, though posting them on social media was a little nerve-wracking.  

I saw that you might be looking for a fourth member. If you could pick any musician to fill that slot, who would you pick?

Probably a rhythm guitarist – but we might as well get Mark Knopfler in. I’m not sure he’d appreciate it all that much… 

Where does the name ‘Sunday Smoke’ come from?

It was an early Sunday morning after a night out, like 3AM early, and Oliver kept quoting ‘Smokinnnn’ from The Mask. Further adding to the headache of realising it was Sunday. I guess the words just kinda crossed over and we didn’t look back!

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