Luca Simian

There’s something about folk and Americana that works best when there’s a real story behind it. For Midlands-based singer-songwriter Luca Simian, latest single Side by Side, released on 20th August, has one hell of a story at its heart.

The four-minute track began after Luca discovered handwritten lyrics left behind by his late uncle. Rather than simply turning those words into a song, Luca brought them together with his own writing, creating something that crosses generations and explores brotherhood, loss, togetherness and those people who remain part of our story even when life takes us in different directions.

And that story fits Luca’s sound perfectly.

Side by Side opens with a driving acoustic guitar before gradually expanding around Luca’s vocal. Percussion, layered acoustic textures and subtle harmonies arrive as the track develops, giving the song a natural emotional build without losing the intimacy that makes it work in the first place.

There’s warmth here, but also a definite sense of nostalgia. It’s the sort of track that could soundtrack a long drive somewhere, a late summer evening around a fire, or simply one of those quieter moments when a song unexpectedly sends your mind somewhere else.

For Luca, the title itself became the centre of the track. Side by Side isn’t simply a line in the song, it represents the idea behind it: remembering the people who have travelled alongside us and carrying something of them forward.

That storytelling instinct has been developing for a long time.

UK-born and Midlands-based, Luca discovered folk and Americana through the music his parents played in the car when he was growing up. By his early teens he was already writing and performing, beginning what he describes as a search for the recipe for the perfect song.

It’s a search that has taken inspiration from a pretty impressive collection of songwriters. Damien Rice, The Beatles, Neil Young and Nick Drake all sit somewhere within Luca’s musical DNA, helping create a sound rooted in folk and Americana but shaped by his own experiences and songwriting.

Over the last few years he’s taken those songs out onto the road, performing both acoustically and with his band and becoming a familiar presence around Birmingham’s grassroots music scene.

That journey has included sold-out headline shows at venues including The Hare & Hounds, alongside appearances at Dead Wax, What’s Happenin’ Digbeth and Moseley Folk Festival. He’s also supported the likes of Brogeal, Jon Allen and Olive Jones, while continuing to build his own audience.

Earlier this year Luca released Give A Little Love, beginning what looks like a particularly busy period for the songwriter. Side by Side is the second release of the year, with another five singles planned through the remainder of 2026 and into early 2027.

There are obvious touchpoints for listeners who enjoy the likes of Gregory Alan Isakov and Ray LaMontagne, but Side by Side ultimately succeeds because the story belongs to Luca.

A handful of lost handwritten lyrics, discovered years later and given another life.

Sometimes that’s exactly where the best songs begin.