ABOUT
the Winsome Lost
The Winsome Lost is a fun 5-piece covers band with a folky twist based in Kapiti, New Zealand. Their full band sound featuring fiddle, banjo, mandolin, harp, rhythm section, and soulful harmonies gets a party started wherever they go.
The Winsome Lost excel where the audience is diverse – from the kids through to your nan - which makes them the perfect choice for weddings and events. Their eclectic mix of tunes from Johnny Cash to The Black Keys will have the dance floor cranking all night long. They also specialize in modern folk covers from Mumford and Sons, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Lumineers, and more.
The Winsome Lost has been going strong for 10+ years with highlights including hundreds of beautiful weddings, the 'international act' at the Dumbéa festival in New Caledonia, headlining at the Golden Shears in Masterton, the Shepherd Shemozzle in Hunterville, and the Blackdog Ball in Palmerston North. Close to their hearts are also the memorable gigs at Ballance Bridge Cafe and the Bent Horseshoe.
With consistently raving reviews in regard to communication, musicianship, and fun times - the Winsome Lost offer something a little special and unique.
Meet the Crew
Tyler Leggett:
Tyler honed his craft busking on the streets of Wellington performing acoustic covers from a young age. The past 8 years he's been travelling the globe, playing at venues across New Zealand, England and Europe. His favourite guitar is a Martin paired with a set of Elixir strings to create the perfect match for his soulful vocals. He recently joined the Winsome Lost as their new frontman.
Carrie Eames:
Carrie founded Winsome Lost in 2011. She manages the band and co-fronts on fiddle and vocals and also calls the dances. She grew up in a musical family and played Irish folk and classical music from a young age. Carrie has a degree in Jazz Arranging and Composition and enjoys songwriting.
Hayden Lauridsen:
Hayden lives and breathes drums. He loves restoring vintage kits to their former glory and is the musical director of a large church. He can recite gear model numbers off the top of his head and is a super positive, uber professional guy. Hayden is a sought-after session drummer and plays for many bands and shows NZ-wide, including as chief drummer for the Winsome Lost.
Banjo Pete:
Pete plays banjo, mandolin, and a giant assortment of harps. Pete is our nutty professor (we're not even entirely sure what he does - somethihg along the lines of mysterious alpine daisy hunting). When Pete gets paid he buys more harps...secretly. Pete loves old timey Americana music and will corrupt any willing individual to the dark side of clawhammer banjo, the spoons, washboard and a yeeeehawing good time.
Rob Bradshaw:
Hailing from the UK and a guitar background Rob now plays bass for the Winsome Lost. He loves all things blues, the classics, and of course...Jimi Hendrix. Rob has been playing in bands since he was a young fella and when he's not playing music he drives the city library bus. Rob is also the proud owner of "the man cave"- his very own recording studio (handy!)
Elan VanMills:
Elan was Winsome Losts frontman for many years, until he decided he liked having weekends off (say what!) Now he's our back-up frontman.In his 20's Elan toured the country with his band Paseload, playing with some of NZ's top bands such as Fat Freddy's drop, Shihad, Trinity roots, The Datsuns, The Black Seeds, The Phoenix Foundation, and many more. Elan has a BA in music and runs a music school.
Kane Parsons:
Kane is a musical genius who steps in as frontman, vocalist, guitarist, bassist, and even banjo & mandolinist when needed. He runs the UCOL music program in Palmerston North and is active as a director in the NZ drama scene. He also partakes in a bit of solo piano stand-up comedy. Aside from all this, he's also a heck of a nice fella to have on the team.
Adam Crawford:
Adam fell in love with the drum kit when he was 13 and has been banging away ever since. He enjoys all styles of music including rock and jazz and especially loves playing originals. Adam was Winsome Losts drummer for many years, recenty stepping back from full-time gigging to spend more time with his growing family. We still get to see hime occasionally as our back-up drummer.
Matthew Payne:
Matt is one of our stand-in bass players and is also handy on the keys. He has a passion for coffee, recently developed a coffee-flavoured beer, and is the former owner of the Raumati Social Club cafe which hosts live music on a regular basis. Hailing from the Melbourne music scene he loves the chance to jump back on the bass for a good session.
Daniel Ashcroft:
Whilst he plays drums for us Daniel is a multi-instrumentalist who has a love for...wait for it...heavy metal and opera...he has Puccini's autograph tattooed on his arm and has released several albums of his own composition and creation. He is also a regular on the Palmy music scene with his R&B band for which he produces the backing tracks.