Wily is an indie folk/Americana band from Nashville, TN, blending heartfelt lyricism, soaring harmonies, and rootsy instrumentation into songs that uplift as much as they move. Fronted by banjo player and songwriter Will Davis alongside powerhouse vocalist/percussionist Sarah Gibson, with guitarist Mikel Rafael and upright bassist Luke Sands, Wily crafts music that channels the warmth of The Avett Brothers, the intimacy of The Head and the Heart, and the anthemic spirit of Mumford & Sons—while remaining entirely their own.
Formed through Nashville’s vibrant songwriter scene, the band’s chemistry ignites both on stage and in the studio, where intricate melodies and driving rhythms meet raw emotional storytelling. From their debut EP Always Sucked at Saying Goodbye to their upcoming full-length album Reconnecting with My Shadow—an exploration of growth, hope, and the small steps we take toward connection—Wily continues to deliver an immersive live experience and a sound that celebrates resilience and joy, even in life’s most uncertain moments.
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A History
Wily- a term denoting an intelligence and perceptiveness that achieves its aims through deceptive cunning. An ironic title for a band whose lyrical sincerity resonates through every phrase, yet apt in its encapsulation of their unapologetic optimism: for in a world rife with unexpected- and often unwelcome- twists and turns, facing one’s challenges not merely unperturbed, but with a cheerful smile, is an art of cunning. Oftentimes, the most essential one.
Founded in Nashville, Tennessee, Wily offers a dynamic, uplifting sound that has enthralled audiences across the southern states with declarations of hope and self-acceptance, even as they probe the tribulations of mismatched romance, personal struggle, and repeated mistakes. Each melody is propelled with the unrelenting vigor one might encounter in Shakey Graves or Mumford and Sons, and there’s a rustic elegance to their instrumentation reminiscent of the Avett Brothers, tempered with an introspective depth entirely their own. Some moments, their choruses and bridges resound with layers of proclamatory voices, while in others they croon almost beseechingly. Through their music, one repeatedly encounters priceless nuggets of wisdom that joyfully reiterate how sometimes, one must confront hardship in order to grasp the magnitude of their own strength, as lead singer Will Davis pronounces in Affirmation #3 from their debut EP ‘Always Sucked At Saying Goodbye’: “I’m good enough/ I give enough/ I am enough when it gets tough/ Maybe that’s enough”.
- Will Davis
Raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Will’s musical venture first began in the vibrant music scene of East Village with American-folk group Cardboard Rocketship. Formed with a group of fellow NYU theatre students, their quirky, magnetic outlet quickly became a familiar local staple. It was through this group that Will refined his craft as a songwriter, banjo player, and performing artist, cultivating an alluring breed of folk music both buoyant and sincere, while preserving hints of the riveting dynamism inherited from his musical theatre education. This stint afforded him valuable lessons of friendship and camaraderie, which he brought with him to Nashville in late 2021 with an eager determination.
- Mikel Rafael
It was in Nashville’s vibrant singer-songwriter scene that Will met guitarist and fellow singer-songwriter Mikel Rafael. A single jam session together revealed Mikel’s spirited guitar style, which seemed to inhabit a liminal space of seamless transition between percussive strumming and gently cascading solos. It proved a delightful match for Will’s old-time-inspired banjo-playing, and their chemistry prompted weekly meetings where Will would teach Mikel his music. It was through these meetings that the seed of Wily began to sprout.
A musician with an intuitive ear for folk melodies, Mikel learned the songs at a rapid rate. It wasn’t long before the two began performing throughout Nashville and Clarksville as a duo. Having recently arrived from California, Mikel was a fellow traveller and an enthusiast of a myriad of genres, from Americana to jazz to Celtic to Indian classical. His partnership with Will allowed his untapped potential as an acoustic guitarist to flourish in ways no previous outlet had provided him. Will’s songs, which danced energetically through the cheerful chime of his voice, were suddenly imbued with an undercurrent of nimbly-woven melodies and rippling arpeggios. His exuberant, elastic clawhammer style had found its complement.
- The Birth of Wily
Sprightly afternoons of collaborative engagement spent in Will’s East Nashville apartment yielded an ever-expanding setlist. It was during one such afternoon, while the two were out on a walk on break from rehearsal, that the name ‘Wily’ was decisively fixed for their budding project. Will enjoyed its lexical proximity to his name, and felt a charming resonance in its connotations of playful confidence. Yet as their catalog expanded, the need to layer their two-piece showcase with additional instrumentation deepened. After a brief series of electrifying shows in Will’s hometown of Charlotte with the enlisting of local talents, the search for more permanent membership soon led Will to Sarah Gibson, a recent Berklee graduate who specialized in both classical percussion and contemporary songwriting. She also possessed a magisterial vocal range that could glissando from the tenderly confessional to the dazzlingly operatic.
- Sarah Gibson
Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Gibson is a gifted songwriter in her own right. Her first performance in Nashville transpired almost spontaneously through the promptings of an esteemed show organizer who had taken to her personable, engaging character. She quickly became a standout in local writer’s rounds, entrancing audiences with her emotive singing and eloquent lyricism. It was through these writer’s rounds that her friendship with Will was kindled during his first months in Nashville. Now that initial glint of friendship was to be fiercely reignited through Wily. Before long, Wily performances were elevated by her magnetic presence as a singer who deftly wielded a mini-laboratory of percussion instruments, from shakers and tambourines to the glockenspiel and xylophone. She swiftly advanced from her initial position as back-up singer to co-frontman alongside Will.
The role of bassist was the next to be filled. In the midst of recording their debut EP, ‘Always Sucked At Saying Goodbye’, their producer, Shane Weisman, connected Will with an accomplished stand-up bassist of local renown he had hired for his own projects on multiple occasions. The session that ensued bristled with the same vitality that charged Will’s first jam with Mikel. It wasn’t long before Luke Sands was anchoring Wily’s evolving sound with the polished finesse only years of experience could deliver.
- Luke Sands
A lifelong enthusiast of live music, Luke’s musical education had been shaped by his countless excursions into the raw sonic landscapes of bands such as the Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, and the Avett Brothers. The skillful musicianship that characterized Wily’s then-forthcoming EP had enticed this very appetite for spontaneous experimentation upon his first few listens. “You really caught the tiger by the tail,” he announced with admiration during his introduction to Gibson and Mikel. Luke had lived in Nashville since 1995, working in studios and performing both locally and across state lines with an eclectic variety of artists and bands. There was only one quality he truly cherished in a musical act: the desire to move and unite audiences with an immersive live experience, where galvanizing musical conversations accentuated the song without overshadowing it. In Wily, he saw an abundance of opportunities to do just that. His endearing warmth and youthful optimism instantly won over the Wily team, and after a few short months, Luke, along with his upright bass “Papa Bear,” was christened an official Wily member, much to the joy of all.
The absence of a drummer was now the only remaining obstacle to be overcome, yet a pivotal show at the prestigious Brooklyn Bowl revealed even this was not the predicament it was perceived to be. When a session drummer Wily had hired for the show called in sick hours before they were to take the stage, the crew, undeterred, confidently set foot on stage as a quartet. The results were exhilarating, setting the audience dancing and cheering wildly at every song. Once Luke had descended from the stage, his proud daughter excitedly approached him, exclaiming, “Dad, this has legs!” The electrifying chemistry felt between the musicians onstage and the roaring acclaim from the audience signalled clearly to the members of Wily: a drummer could wait. For now, Wily was complete.
- The Future
Having crystallized their core unit, Wily’s debut full-length album is currently on the verge of completion. Recorded in the prestigious Welcome to 1979 under the deft guidance and instruction of producer Shane Weisman, it encapsulates every creative milestone they have thus far achieved, flaunting their evolving sound in its raw, earthy grandeur. Where ‘Always Sucked at Saying Goodbye’ brims with stirring anthems, with Will’s voice decisively forefronting each tune, this new project exhibits a series of intricate interplays between Will and Sarah’s singing that careen between conversational and soaring. Song structures gush into adventurous territory, some transitioning through distinct movements in a kind of miniature stomp-and-holler symphony. With the enlisting of virtuosic session players, atmospheric keyboards and thundering drums enrich the production. And even as the recording process unfolded, Wily has remained steadfast in its commitment to delivering electrifying live performances, consistently emerging as a standout act amongst each roster of bands in every venue. In a town as brimful of undeniable talent as Nashville, such consistency is no small feat. Though the path forward, as with all budding artists, remains an uphill climb, the four have cultivated a powerful bond and confidence in each other’s abilities. Together, their talents form the sails of the thumping ship that is Wily as it continues its voyage towards the isles of success. But what is more, the united joy they feel in creating music with kindred spirits is a constant reminder that it is the journey itself that makes the destination worth reaching. As Will gleefully exclaims in the soul-stirring ‘Spirit’: ‘Let your spirit shake, gotta feel it in your body/ Only going to break the door that holds you back.’
