It's been a year of transition and hard graft for folk pop trio Alex Quinn and the Man In the Street.
But after years of struggling for recognition the long hours and relentless travelling to gigs are starting to pay off.
Enthusiasm for their live show means venues and promoters are now ringing them and fans are humming their tunes as they file out of their packed gigs.
The change in their fortunes has all come on the back of two developments – the release of their new album, Noisy World, and the inclusion of manager, Darren Hollingworth, into the fold.
After mainly being the preserve of pubs around Huddersfield and the Holme Valley, the past 12 months has seen the band step up to bigger music venues and festivals both home and abroad.
“We've had the best year we've ever had,” said frontman Alex.
“It's gone from strength to strength and we've played quite a few big gigs – it’s been a hell of a year.
“We are starting to see people coming back to watch us and for the first time we're getting fans who aren't friends and family,” joked Alex.
Bassist Jon Abdy said the band’s new dynamic, which has seen them part ways with their fiddle player, had also played its part.
He said: “For whatever reason being a three piece seems to work.
“It's quite stressful being in a band but we get on well.
“In the past we've had a couple of different fiddle players, who were talented enough musicians, but it didn't really work.
“You've got live in each other's pockets and the three of us have been friends for a very long time.
“When our last fiddle player departed we were a little bit worried but we carried on playing as a threesome and people seemed to like it, so we've just kept going.”
Alex said: “We’ve talked about should we get someone else in but I often say there's not anybody alive who would give up their life four or five nights a week to devote themselves to a band that's not necessarily making a lot of money and playing here, there and everywhere.
“There's just nobody who would do it – these guys are just insane.”
Percussionist, Thomas Sutcliffe, paid tribute to their manager’s efforts.
He added: “In the past we've never had the confidence to do anything, but now we've got Darren on board, that's got us loads of gigs and we've got the confidence to carry it forward.”
Even the inclement weather last March couldn’t quell their burgeoning fanbase.
The band had been patiently waiting to launch their new album and decided to book a spring date to avoid the bad weather.
But on the night of their big event several inches of snow fell, causing travel chaos across the county.
But despite this dozens of hardy fans still turned up to watch.
Recorded live at Paddock’s GN Studios, Alex said the new album was something they were immensely proud of.
He said: “I'm quite sure it's something I'll be proud of in 10 years time.
“When we play people are singing our songs.
“We've worked really hard to get the quality of our music up.
“We must have written 30 songs for this CD and trimmed it down to the best 12.”
Alex said his focus for writing the new album had been to cover issues that really matter.
Subjects covered include songs like ‘Always Remember’ – a homage to people like Martin Luther King and others who shaped the 20th century, and ‘Walk The Line’, a semi-biographical tune about the highs and lows of trying to make it as a band.
The band’s preference for writing about things that matter is most clearly demonstrated in their single about American inmate Nick Yarris.
Alex explained: “He spent 23 years on death row for a crime he didn't commit but he was eventually exonerated in 2004.
“He did a lecture tour in Britain and I went to see him and his story absolutely blew me away.
“I wrote this song for him all about his life and I sent it to him.
“He loved it but we didn't talk for a long time.
“We finally launched it earlier this year at the Ukrainian club and he came and we got to play it for him.
“It was a fantastic day.
“The stuff we write might not always be commercially the best thing to do but we like to write songs about ‘things’.
“If I feel strongly about something I might write a song about it.
“A lot of people comment on the lyrics and say it's quite refreshing to hear a band where the song's actually about something rather than just 'I love you baby' sort of thing.”
Percussionist, Thomas Sutcliffe, said it had been a tough old time developing the band but it was looking like they were on the up.
He said: “It's been really hard work but it seems like it's paying off.
“We're continually developing as musicians and we need to carry on recording and get the next album out.”
Said Jon: “We've just done eight gigs in 14 days because it's festival season.
“It's great to be busy, we love it.
“An example of our work ethic is we had a gig in Leeds the other week and it was quite clear from the get go that it was a non-starter.
“So we decided, stuff this, and we went off to another pub and there was a band playing.
“We had a word with them to see if we could play and we did an absolutely scorching set and we sold some CDs.”