US musicians We Three take mental health message on tour

US musicians We Three take mental health message on tour

The sibling trio have been performing in the UK, spreading a message of good wellbeing on the way.

Siblings Manny, Bethany and Joshua have released two albums and an EP. (We Three pic)
LONDON:
American band We Three are doing what many musicians can only dream of at the moment – travelling abroad and playing for live audiences.

The group, made up of siblings Manny, Bethany and Joshua Humlie, have been in Britain for a week, performing in London and Liverpool and spreading a message of good mental health along the way.

“It still feels like a dream to come to a different country and play a show of all your original music,” lead singer Manny said. “It kind of blows my mind.”

The Oregon-based trio grew up in a musical family, performing in their father’s band and forming their own group in their teens.

But it wasn’t until Manny, initially deemed “not cool enough to join” by his siblings, began writing original music that they found their direction, said bassist Bethany.

That led to an appearance on “America’s Got Talent” in 2018, where they wowed judges with “Heaven’s Not Too Far”, a tribute to their mother who passed away from cancer, and advanced to the season 13 semi-finals.

We Three have since released two full-length albums and an EP, and have toured extensively.

Comfort and honesty

Youngest sibling Manny writes their songs, using lyrics to express his emotions and observations.

“My goal any time I show someone a song is to feel uncomfortable with what they’re hearing about me. I feel like if I don’t feel uncomfortable, then I wasn’t honest enough in the song.”

That candour manifests itself in “Half Hearted”, a track from their 2020 album “Dear Paranoia, Sincerely, Me”, which Manny wrote while going through a divorce and mourning the end of the relationship.

“Sara”, another one of their songs, became a social media hit after they performed it at a livestream concert for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

“In terms of mental health, we always say it wasn’t intentional for us to talk so much about it,” said Bethany. “I think we are – maybe to a fault sometimes – honest people, which I think is scary, but it can be obviously beneficial.”

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