Will Orchard is one of the most astonishing musicians of recent years. Originally hailing from the state of Rhode Island, he began making music in 2014 under the strange and immediately eye catching moniker “LittleBoyBigHeadOnBike.”
Armed with nothing but an acoustic guitar, he released his self-titled EP on December 30th, 2014. However, he did not even come close to slowing down there, proceeding to release an EP every week from December 30th, 2014 up until 2016. To date, he has amassed over 100 releases under his belt.
Most of these EPs contain sparse, plaintive songs featuring Will and his acoustic guitar. However, other EPs feature instruments such as bowed guitar and keyboard, as well as guest vocalists.
As he put out more and more music, Will also began to cultivate a following by playing live frequently. Although he started out hovering around Rhode Island and Massachusetts, by the middle of 2017, he was venturing out to states such as North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Around this time, he began to update and remodel the music that he released, recruiting other musicians to help him round out his ideas. His official debut album, God Damn Wonderland, came out on June 23rd, 2017, and contains some of the most beautiful and unique music to date. While the sounds and styles of his previous works still dwell in the undertones of the album, they have been augmented with atmospheric yet personal production, as well as a wide variety of instruments including banjo and clarinet. The album truly catapulted Will into a league of his own as a musician, displaying his knack for crafting intricate melodies and nostalgic lyrics that emit an almost childlike sense of wonder.
The touring became even more constant as Will and his band canvassed the country multiple times every year. What makes this even more shocking is that Will did all of this independently; there was no record label backing him. Even more mind blowing is the fact that during this time, Will joined another band, The Brazen Youth, as their touring bass player, meaning that he then went on even more tours. The Brazen Youth have also done well for themselves, even playing a coveted set on Audiotree.
Following the release of his debut album, Will continued to release self-recorded EPs as well as two other albums, 2018’s Big Blue Butterflies and 2020’s Old Friends On The Mountain, the latter of which was the first album released under his own name rather than LittleBoyBigHeadOnBike. Both of these albums were very well received by numerous indie publications as well as his audience.
Despite the pandemic, Will has stayed productive: he has played on numerous live stream concerts, signed a record deal with Better Company Records, and released a new album, I Reached My Hand Out, on May 7th, 2021.
Photo by Jack Downey
