After 18 months touring the UK as a solo artist, Polly Mackey formed her band, Polly Mackey & The Pleasure Principle, in autumn 2008. Their debut performances at SXSW 2009 in Austin, Texas earned rave reviews from press on both sides of the Atlantic. Within weeks Polly and the band were voted Band of the Month by Hearsay, America’s College Music Magazine, and were chosen for the “Best Kept Secret” feature by Blurt Magazine in the USA – the first non-US band to be chosen for this feature. Back in the UK, a live session for BBC Radio 1, was followed by appearances at Liverpool Sound City, The Great Escape and Heineken FIB music festival at Benicassim, Spain. 2010 has seen the band being chosen as the only unsigned band to be invited to perform at HMV’s inaugural Next Big Thing Festival in London – a festival dedicated to showcasing the best of emerging UK musical talent. The band is in hot demand for summer festival appearances including Wakestock before they embark on their first national tour in September.

Listen at Myspace or 2010 playlist