Bby

Bby have become darlings of England’s underground rock scene thanks to a no-holds-barred live show honed with consistent rehearsals that the quintet allowed fans to partake in. On record they have an exuberant sound to match, with their 2023 debut single “hotline” gaining millions of streams.

The five London-raised musicians in Bby -- singer Benjy Gibson, guitarists Jessy Jacquet-Cretides and Tommaso Medica, bassist Deon Graham, and drummer Tom Parkins -- have an unconventional if thoroughly modern origin story: they connected through social media. After collectively making overtures to start a band, the quintet finally met in person in a Dalston rehearsal space in early 2023. Their nascent jams proved they had good chemistry together, and they retained an anything-goes live spirit by staking a claim to a rehearsal space in Shoreditch.

It was there that things really started to come together for Bby. Meeting every Wednesday night to practice and hash out new material, the band invited fans and social media followers to attend at random. These “hangs,” as they were known, were peppered with U.K. music tastemakers and inspired the group’s debut single, “hotline,” accompanied by a video shot of one such "hang." Weeks after the song took off on streaming, Bby appeared on-stage at the All Points East and Leeds Festivals in England, and garnered more buzz in 2023 and 2024 with the self-released singles “u come near,” “spinnin 88” (off the two-track EP i just want next year to be better), “Kill Me,” and “Breathe.” ~ Mike Duquette