The first time I met the boys, I had no idea what I was getting into.
The Castle, Farringdon. A sun-soaked evening, May 2022. Theyād just played their new record (How Will I Know If Heaven Will Find Me) live for the first time to an all-industry crowd. I was floored. The stage presence, the ease of it all. Like theyād been born doing it.
Our managers made the introduction. Matt, gracious as ever, pulled me into every conversation in that pub. I remember telling Chris my Dad thought he was a guitar God. Chris was probably thinking: Who is this girl, and why is she talking to me?
At the end of the night, Matt turned to me and asked the question: āEver thought about being in a band?ā
Hard no. Iām a solo artist. Me, in a band? Funny joke. I meant it.
āā
Fast forward. Cold October, the following year. A WhatsApp arrives. The Zons want me to sing on some new demos. Intrigued, I said yes and the intro to Living A Lie was born. In my bedroom, the walls shaken from me screaming backing vocals into a USB mic and the unsuspecting eardrums of my family - it felt freeing.
āWanna be in the band at my birthday party?ā
Terrified. Obviously, I said yes.
āā
2024 arrived and didnāt hang around. I blinked, and it was May 16th. Chapel Lane Studios, Hereford. That familiar line of questioning slowly started to shift.
āWill you sing on our album?ā
Hell yes.
Somerset House was my Super Bowl halftime show. A cauldron of anxiety and electricity - same thing, really. God, if she could see us now.
āā
Then came 2025, Maida Vale, 21st Century Fiction release, GLASTONBURY, and of course, the best two weeks of my life on tour with the people I had grown to love. By then, the question began answering itself.
Until May 2026 (of course, it had to be May), when it stopped being a question altogether.
āElla, youāre in the band.ā
Hard yes.
No sentence has ever felt sweeter to write.
I FUCKING PERFORMED AT GLASTONBURY
A weekend etched on my heart forever with my pals šš¤š¼šš¼
#zonssummer If you donāt know get to know
šš¼Beautiful dress by @monikathelabel
šø @jesstookthese
Some rogue snaps @_c_j_a
#pringles
Sunday soaring courtesy of @ella.mcrobb š
Video by the amazing @alfheidurmarta and her team who so beautifully embraced the spirit of this collaboration, capturing the spontaneity and flow on camera as well as behind it. Takk! ā¤ļø