Written by Annie Barber
Photos by Studio SODIUM and Tom Parkinson
Hailing from Leeds, rising artist Lois had a very exciting 2025. She released a successful EP, played live at the Royal Albert Hall, and launched a community event to celebrate female and non-binary creatives. But she’s not stopping there. She’s currently on a mini-tour round England, including a headline show in Leeds, as well as concerts in London and Manchester. Before embarking on the tour, Lois sat down with Karma! to talk about what her plans are for the year ahead.
The cities Lois is visiting on tour were chosen specifically, with the headline show in Leeds being a particular highlight for her, due to it having been her home for the past five years. Speaking about the music scene in the Northern city, she says “I love the city so much and I just wanted to kick it off here where everything started”. She explains that Leeds is a sort of self-sustaining creative hub, where everyone gets inspired by, and is supportive of each other. This environment has clearly had an impact on Lois, allowing her to flourish and develop her own creativity. Her headline show at the city’s beloved Oporto was a huge success, with her playing new and old tracks to an adoring crowd. Originally from Morecambe, Lois picked Manchester because it was a “home away from home” for her in her younger years. She adds that London was an obvious choice because she’s often in the capital for writing sessions. Therefore, its unsurprising that she “felt it was the right time” for her first headline show in the city.
This tour is going to be something different, according to Lois. She says “it’s going to be a very new setup [compared to] what we’ve done in the past; we now have a keys and synth player in the band.” Lois adds that the new music required an expansion of the team because “it’s a whole new set that we’ve never played before.” Despite some changes, she says she will still be touring with the same band as usual. She describes the group as being good friends and having worked closely together for the last four years, making for a close knit touring family that gives her a sense of normality when on the road. Her admiration for and collaborative relationship with her bandmates is clear when she says one simple phrase: “I wouldn’t change them for the world.”
She has a new EP due this year but most of the information on it is currently under wraps. I asked if she could give us any hints and she divulged the musical influences behind it. Prince, David Bowie, and Talking Heads have been longstanding inspirations for Lois. She says that she is drawn to them because of “their complete desire to do something different and to be completely themselves… their music is always changing, they’re always evolving.” Another thing that attracts Lois to these artists is their refusal to conform; something which she has struggled with herself: “I don’t need to be this one dimensional artist. Looking up to these artists that have inspired me has given me permission to do that myself, especially with the new music.” She reveals where her taste comes from, saying “my musical influences mainly come from my dad. When I was younger, driving to school, he would put different cassettes in the car and that was my first introduction to music.”
Despite these artists constituting a longstanding influence on Lois, she says that her new work emerged during a time when she was delving into new wave music. She credits The Cure, The Sundays, Scritti Politi, and Prefab Sprout as all having had a major impact on her upcoming project: “[they] kind of shifted from the punk times into this new wave, polished, kind of glittery 80s sound.” This inspiration is clear throughout her new songs, which are sure to be very popular with her listeners. Speaking specifically about an unreleased track, Lois says that the band Yes, and their song ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’, were a particular influence on it. The new project marks a departure for Lois, especially in terms of theme. She says, “I got to a place personally with my writing where I wanted myself to have fun and not be defined by my experiences. I think [with] everything that’s going on in the world right now, people need a bit of fun, people need somewhere to escape and to set themselves free.” Lois describes the EP as “tongue-in-cheek and a bit camp,” perfectly summing up its carefree vibe.
Last year saw Lois launch ‘Project Phoenix’, an event series celebrating for women and non-binary creatives in Leeds and raising money for local charities. Inspired to take some positive action for the community, she decided to set up the initiative, named after a song on her first EP which chronicles her experiences as a young woman and the expectations society imposes on women more generally. She feels that the project was borne out of necessity for a safe space for herself and fellow creatives who have experienced harassment. She said that, following conversations with other women and non-binary people in her circles, she realised that she wasn’t alone; every one of them had been on the receiving end of unwarranted attention or actions by men. This spurred her on to turn a negative into a positive, establishing ‘Project Phoenix’ to bring everyone together.
Fashion is an integral part of Lois’ artistry. However, she says that she used to find it difficult to connect her style with her music as, following a negative experience, her approach to styling herself for the stage changed. One night when playing a gig, a sound tech made an inappropriate comment about her body. This experience led to Lois feeling uncomfortable when performing, opting for lots of layers and baggy clothes to cover up whenever she took to the stage. The experience had a profound impact on her, leaving her feeling unsafe in a space that she had previously found solace in. After looking to icons like Grace Jones, Blondie, Bowie, and Prince, she picked out her favourite elements from each of their fashion and reclaimed the space
through her newfound sense of style.
In 2026, Lois is hoping to “play as many shows as possible, keep meeting new people, keep pushing the boundaries of my music.” She adds that she wants to “wear more blazers, and more ties, and more brooches” referencing her signature sense of fashion that helped her to fall in love with playing live again. One other aim that she has is to support an artist that she loves — a goal that will surely be fulfilled in no time due to her inspiring creativity and sense of determination. She mentions CMAT, Florence & The Machine, Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, HAIM, and Self-Esteem as dream artists to open for. The ball’s in their court now!
Finally, we turn to the two mandatory Karma! questions, the first being ‘if you or your music were a colour, what would it be?’. She answers, saying “I feel like it’s got to be navy, that’s my colour.” As for a song recommendation for the Karma! playlist, she recommends readers listen to ‘Perfect Way’ by Scritti Politi, describing it as “just so weird, in the best way” — what a review!
Sign up to Lois’ mailing list to be the first to hear about the new project and *maybe* get some of the demos sent straight to your inbox. Get a ticket to one of her upcoming shows to catch her live:
The Castle Hotel, Manchester – 9th March
International Women’s Day show with Charlotte OC at The Grand, Clitheroe, Lancashire – 7th March
Folklore, London – 12th March
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