Isle Of Wight Radio Emerging Artist: 5 Degrees North

Dominic Kureen
4 hours ago
3 min read

The spotlight for Isle of Wight Radio's newest Emerging Artist falls upon an alt-rock trio who found their niche while studying at Newport's Platform One music college.

5 Degrees North made their Isle of Wight Festival Main Stage debut this year, the result of winning the Wight Noize competition — the annual event seeing a handful of locally based upcoming musical talents go head-to-head at Strings Bar and Venue.

The band consists of Will Morrison on guitar and vocals, Michael Fuller on bass and backing vocals, and Louis "Linguini" Marshall on drums.

They spoke to Isle of Wight Radio about a momentous first half of 2025 and what's in store for the future.

Hi guys, first off – how does it feel to be Isle of Wight Festival Main Stagers?

It was pretty crazy — it's pretty much the biggest achievement you can get as an Island musician.

How important a step for you was it to play at your home festival?

We're moving to Brighton (for University) and it's a great experience to have had.

It's a really useful resource as well for future events, to say that we performed on the Main Stage of a major music festival.

What was the build-up like?

Wight Noize was really competitive, and it could have been anyone's for the taking, so to win it this year was amazing.

It was our second year in a row doing it, and that really helped because we were a bit calmer this time around.

For us to win was one of the best nights of our lives.

Platform One has been integral to you getting to this point, how did you find your time there?

If it wasn't for the two years we had at Platform One then I don't know where we'd be right now.

We've built a really good foundation through P1 and its connections to Strings.

What do you think it is about the Isle of Wight that's seeing so much local musicians make waves all of a sudden?

Musicians are secluded over here, and it's such a small scene that the things which do go on make it easier to break through.

We owe a lot to Wet Leg for breaking through into the mainstream, that's why bands like The Pill and Ugly Ozo are doing so well — they're part of that new-indy Wet Leg genre.

Did you get to meet any of your fellow Main Stage acts or was the day totally focused on your own set?

We saw the Stereophonics sound-tech, he was setting up the entire stage.

You never really see anyone and there's a sort of unspoken rule that if you do, you don't say anything because it's a place for the artists to relax out of the spotlight.

You’ve been making waves this year, also being nominated for the Indie/Rock/Alternative Act of the Year category at the Portsmouth Music Awards... Was that a shock?

That was very unexpected, we knew we weren't going to win it but it was a cracking night.

The good thing is it was a public vote and we were the only Island band to be shortlisted — there was free popcorn and J2O as well, so it was a good night!

What are your aspirations for the rest of 2025 and beyond?

On August 27 we'll be doing a farewell show to the Island, and we're going to try and get another track down before we head to Brighton.

Which other Isle of Wight musicians would you recommend people check out?