Always hot on the heels of a breaking story, we sent our very own Andy Murray – the Alan McGee of the modern music world – to Piece Hall in Halifax to meet up with a young Yorkshire band he’s tipping to go all the way.

Halifax has a habit of producing bands with grit, charm and a stubborn refusal to follow the obvious path.

Piece Hall academy band The Caymans — four lifelong friends who grew up between Bradford and Halifax — are the latest to carry that tradition forward, and they’re doing it with a confidence that belies their age.

At just twenty, they’ve already weathered the kind of setbacks, reinventions and lucky breaks that usually take bands a decade to collect.

And their hard work has now been rewarded after they were named as the first academy band to come out of the Halifax venue.

The lads were spotted at a musical masterclass and impressed so much they were chosen to become the first musical prodigies of Piece Hall.

As well as support with rehearsal space, promotions, recording opportunities and booking gigs, the band also benefit from legal advice in navigating the notoriously cut-throat music industry.

Their story began, fittingly, in lockdown. With school reduced to glitchy Teams calls and muted microphones, lead guitarist Ewan spent his days learning blues licks instead of coursework.

Bassist Jacob picked up his instrument out of boredom. “We didn’t have any intentions at first,” he says. “Then about a month later we decided we were going to try and be the biggest thing ever.”

What started as mates messing around in a bedroom quickly became something more serious. Instead of rushing to play live, they spent the immediate post Covid years practising — an unusually patient approach for teenagers desperate to get onstage.

“We had three quality years of just laying the foundation,” says Ewan. “Learning how to play with each other and that chemistry is everything.”

That chemistry sharpened again when frontman Luca joined in 2023, bringing a voice shaped by rock school summers, a musical father, and a childhood obsession with charismatic frontmen. “Every musician I loved was the singer guitarist,” he says. “I just fancied giving it a go.”

The Caymans

Their influences are eclectic — grunge, funk, rap, Britpop, soul — but they’re united by one shared instinct: to be as unique as possible.

Their early material leaned toward the post punk revival, but the band made a conscious decision to evolve and not simply follow the crowd.

Luca said: “Everyone else was doing that so we needed to find our own niche. You’re not just competing with the charts anymore, you’re competing with everyone who’s ever made music.”

Their newest material reflects that rising confidence, including a forthcoming single, “Nowhere, NW,” shaped in part by New Order’s Tom Chapman, who produced and contributed ideas after hearing an early demo.

“He pushed us in the right direction without taking control,” the band says. “We learned so much.”

Momentum has been building ever since and fresh from their first headline show at The Trades Club in Hebden Bridge, they are building up a strong fan base.

Piece Hall stage

Having already supported The Libertines twice, earning praise from Pete Doherty himself, who called them “absolutely brilliant,” their rise shows no sign of slowing down and in August they support The Wombats at The Piece Hall.

It’ll be a big step up for a band still barely out of their teens but with a growing catalogue, heavyweight support slots, and a work ethic that borders on obsessive, The Caymans aren’t just another local band with potential – they’re a band in motion — upward, outward, and fast.

For more information please visit thecaymans.co.uk or follow them on Instagram @caymansbanduk