College Kids with a Dream: The Origins of Thistle Ridge

Suppose you've been bar-hopping on a Saturday night, sipping wine or tea at Oak House, or simply walking around campus during the weekly Farmers Market. In that case, there's a high chance you've seen the friendly faces of Thistle Ridge.

This band is one of my favorites, but they’re also a fan favorite all around Elon's campus. And for good reason. Thistle Ridge plays popular covers combined with their own music, establishing a great atmosphere for all crowds to have some fun.

I had the chance to sit down with Thistle Ridge's Lucas McKeown. Here's what we got to chatting about:

So, how did Thistle Ridge form?

"I came to Elon my freshman year and started a band the spring semester of that freshman year. We didn't have a name yet; we were just kind of called 'Lucas and Friends.' We played one, two gigs at Oak House, and then I went home for the summer and had some tryouts at my local church with my friend, Cole Campbell.... We formed a band, named it after my farm in Mississippi, which is called ‘Thistle Ridge Farm’."

Who are your most significant musical influences?

"My greatest musical influences are definitely Elvis Presley, The Beatles and The Bee Gees.”

When asked further about his heroes, Lucas explained how those he looks up to further influence his music and songwriting process. He explained, “We write a lot of songs… You write in the frame of mind of your, you know, your idols or your heroes. So, you try to write a song like they would."

One person in particular was very important to Lucas’s growth as a performer and writer: "Paul McCartney has gotta be my number one songwriter. Elvis never really wrote any of his songs, but Paul, I mean, he's unbelievable...Watching the Get Back documentary was what made me believe that I could write songs. It opened up a whole new world of possibilities for music in that regard."

Band Members Lucas McKeown and Cole Campbell

What does your songwriting process look like?

"You have to work on it. You write every day, or you try to. But, if it's not happening, you take a two-week break or whatever until you feel ready. You gotta be easy with yourself, especially when it comes to songwriting, cause there are so many ways you can force it…. And it becomes very complicated very fast."

Then we went into a little deep-dive on songwriting. Although it may seem simple from an outside perspective, for the artist, writing music and crafting a song is a pretty hard process: "Songwriting is a balance. Songwriting is the truth. There's a balance between lyrics and… sometimes you'll get really good lyrics with no melody, and sometimes you'll get a really good melody with no lyrics. The best songs are when you get both together. That's a really, really solid song."

“Writing songs… as soon as you share them, it’s the listener that sketches themselves in right at the end. They’re no longer yours once you’ve performed it or once you’ve shared it with the world. I think songs are meant to be shared.”

What does collaboration look like for the band?

"The hardest part of writing a song is finishing a song. And I find that I do that best with other people in the room. Three is kind of the magic number. One of the songs that we just wrote recently, called "Wild Skies," was the first song that all three of the core bandmates—me, Julian Brown and Cole Campbell—wrote together in the spring…I love collaborating. I think that's the most fun when everybody kind of has a say in which direction we want to go creatively with a song."

What are some of your favorite memories as a band?

"One of the most memorable moments that stood out to me was in the spring. We sang our song, Dogs in the Distance, that came out May 25th, 2023…We sang it at a fraternity party, and people actually sang it back to us. That was, that was crazy."

Thoughts on performing?

"The bigger the show, the bigger the stage, the bigger audience. It's so easy to play in front of a huge audience. It's really hard to play in front of, like, 20 people."

Do you have any advice for others looking to form a band or pursue music?

"Just start. Go out and do it. Get some people together, practice, play the songs you want to play and not anything else. Don't take no for an answer. Find gigs. You get twenty nos, and then you get one yes, and the yes might change your life forever."

What are your future plans?

"Next year, hopefully, the band and I, whoever will come with me, will go to Nashville. We'll really be able to try that, can you play for hours on end and mix in your original material and have people want to hear your original songs. That's what it's all about, the original songs.”

“I just want to write songs. I want to write really good songs that are memorable and meaningful. Just really good songs.”

Thistle Ridge is a band of college kids with big dreams. With their work ethic and dedication to the craft, I think we can all agree they’re going to go far. Go stream their music on all platforms and make sure to keep an eye out for the group on campus.

Photo Credits: @Thistleridgeband