Sydney’s Queer Indie Rock Band Maybe in May Joins Iconic Lineup for 2025 Laneway Festival
Maybe in May has secured a coveted spot on the lineup at next year’s Laneway Festival – courtesy of JMC Academy – performing alongside some of the biggest names in music, including Charli XCX, Beabadoobee, and BICEP.
The band, formed by Marissa (Lead Vocals), Grace (Bass), Sarah (Drums), Gab (Lead Guitar), and Gabby (Rhythm Guitar), has quickly made a name for themselves with their unique sound and mission to give a voice to queer youth.
We spoke to Marissa, Grace, and Gab ahead of their Laneway debut, and the excitement is palpable. “It’s a very surreal experience, it hasn’t quite hit any of us yet and we don’t think it’ll feel real until we’re on the stage playing.
It’s really awesome to get the opportunity to play on a stage that big with artists that big and we can’t thank JMC enough. We’re really excited to show everyone what we’ve got and hopefully gain a few fans that aren’t our mums (we love our mums sm xx).
Playing with icons like Charli XCX, Beabadoobee, Remi Wolf, Clairo etc is just mind blowing. We’re all such big fans of their music and can’t wait to play for all the gay pop girlies and theys in the audience.”
With Laneway just around the corner, Maybe in May is preparing to introduce their music to a wider audience—and, as the band puts it, to offer something even more important: “It’s important that young queer youth see themselves in our position and that we create a space that we didn’t have ourselves when we were young. “
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
MAYBE IN MAY: Most of us are currently melting from the heat. #ilovesydneyweather.
HAPPY: Tell us a little bit about where you are from, what do you love about it?
MARISSA: 4/5ths of us grew up in various parts of Sydney. Sarah and I actually went to the same high school in Dundas.
What we love about Sydney is that the music scene is crazy.
There are endless talented bands and so many gigs to go to, it’s hard to keep up.
Gab however is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
GAB: My favourite thing about Rio is definitely how easy you can find live music of the most different genres and backgrounds. There’s also a beautiful sense of community.
HAPPY: Maybe in May —how did you come up with the name, and what does it represent for the band?
MAYBE IN MAY: There are many conflicting stories on the origin of our name “Maybe in May” – we will leave it up to you to speculate.
After our name came to be we’ve centred a lot of iconography around the Lily of the valley flower. It not only is the flower of the month of May but it also represents “a return to happiness”, which encapsulates our music pretty well.
We make music about our experiences, both happy and sad, and most importantly about growth in a dreamy yet down to earth way.
HAPPY: What’s the songwriting process like for you? Do you all collaborate closely, or does each member bring their own unique contributions to the table?
GRACE: When it comes to songwriting Marissa definitely takes the lead lyrics wise and the Gabbies with chords/music, but we all contribute until we’re happy with the sound of the song we’re writing.
We all share input of lyrics and progressions. It’s a very involved process with each member.
MARISSA: A lot of the songs are written by myself but then I take them to the band and we flesh them out together.
Nothing would be as good as it is without the help of everyone. I usually just bring basic chords/lyrics/melodies to everyone and then they all pitch in, in different ways to rearrange the music around what I’ve written.
GAB: We have a few new songs too which we wrote together in all aspects when we took a 4 day trip together in Hawks Nest.
My main contributions to the songwriting process included arranging the songs, adding tension and counter melodies/riffs.
I am a huge music theory nerd and love to find new ways to break the rules.
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HAPPY: Laneway Festival is massive—how does it feel to go from JMC Academy to sharing a lineup with global icons like Beabadoobee and Charli XCX?
MAYBE IN MAY: It’s a very surreal experience, it hasn’t quite hit any of us yet and we don’t think it’ll feel real until we’re on the stage playing.
It’s really awesome to get the opportunity to play on a stage that big with artists that big and we can’t thank JMC enough. We’re really excited to show everyone what we’ve got and hopefully gain a few fans that aren’t our mums (we love our mums sm xx).
Playing with icons like Charli XCX, Beabadoobee, Remi Wolf, Clairo etc is just mind blowing.
We’re all such big fans of their music and can’t wait to play for all the gay pop girlies and theys in the audience.
HAPPY: Your music is all about giving a voice to queer adolescents. How do you channel those stories into your songs, and why is it so important for you to create that space in music?
MAYBE IN MAY: Showing people that they are not alone in their own experience might make their journey easier, because sharing a sense of community definitely helped out our own path.
We work together a lot and talk about what feelings and experiences we have as young queer people and it CAN be difficult to put those into words, but it’s all about putting it into perspective for people who might not understand.
It’s important that young queer youth see themselves in our position and that we create a space that we didn’t have ourselves when we were young.
GRACE: If I had grown up with a band like ours, I would’ve been a lot more comfortable with my gender and sexuality from an earlier age and avoided the shame I think.
HAPPY: Maybe in May’s sound blends so many elements. How would you describe your style, and how did the band find its unique voice?
MAYBE IN MAY: Our sound is a mix of indie alternative and rock music. Everyone in the band has their own music taste so we work where we can to combine different elements of the genres we listen to into our songs, i.e. creating riffs from genres we listen to.
Our unique sound definitely comes from having many different backgrounds and influences, ranging from Paramore to Led Zeppelin to Spacey Jane to The Last Dinner Party.
HAPPY: What’s been the biggest challenge for Maybe in May so far, and how have those challenges shaped the band’s identity?
MAYBE IN MAY: Balancing our different personalities and influences within the band is sometimes an issue.
Generally we are all on the same page with each other though, but when we’re not it can be tricky to overcome issues within the band when it comes to stuff like where we want to take a song, songwriting wise for example.
It’s definitely made us closer as friends and bandmates to work through these challenges and come to an agreement or compromise. Other than that just the usual troubles that broke musicians go through.
HAPPY: If someone in the Laneway crowd has never heard of Maybe in May before, what’s the one song in your setlist you hope they walk away remembering?
MAYBE IN MAY: ‘Teething’ is always really fun to play. It’s our newest song and the message behind it really aligns with what we’re about. It’s got a cool riff too that hopefully is catchy enough for people to remember.
Performing live can be nerve-wracking. What’s your pre-show ritual, and how do you get into the zone before hitting the stage?
Lots and lots of kisses and cuddles (mostly metaphorical). Being surrounded by love puts us in the best mood for a show and just telling each other that we know we’ve all worked hard and whatever happens will be okay, calms us all down.
Perhaps a bottle of wine to share too.
HAPPY: Laneway is a celebration of creativity. How does your identity as a queer band influence not just your music, but your creative vision as a whole?
MAYBE IN MAY: A big part of being queer is fashion and image, so we try to express who we are through our merch, iconography and how we dress on stage. We strive to be daring and bold while still having a sense of community in mind.
HAPPY: Who were the artists or bands that inspired Maybe in May to start making music, and how do those influences show up in your work?
GRACE: One of our biggest influences is Paramore, and is a personal favourite band of mine. I think we have shaped our dynamic as a band very similarly to theirs, and we have a broad range of sounds that we experiment with like they do.
GAB: We come from a vast background so that would trace back to what made each of us get involved with music. My personal faves are Led Zeppelin, Hozier, Milton Nascimento and Nina Simone.
MARISSA: A lot of my lyrical songwriting influences come from more indie/ folk/ rock artists like Angie McMahon, Middle Kids and Julia Jacklin.
I love the stream of consciousness, raw, emotional lyrics that they all carry in their songs. I think that there’s nothing more cathartic than being able to therapise yourself through songwriting and then sharing that with people (there’s nothing scarier either).
It’s a weird experience to get up on stage and sing about my issues to people but at the same time when people come up to me and say that they relate to what I’ve written it makes it worth it.
Any time I’ve seen my favourite artists live, I walk away with such a sense of belonging and community and that is all I ever try to convey with my songwriting and this band.
HAPPY: In general we all have different influences individually but when we come together we all have the same drive and passion that these artists have given us.
MAYBE IN MAY: JMC Academy’s Ana Kypreos has been a mentor to the band. How has her guidance shaped Maybe in May’s musical journey so far?
GRACE: I’ve known Ana since I started at JMC in 2021 and she’s always been looking out for me and supporting me. She’s encouraged me to be myself and be confident, and let other people know it at the same time. We wouldn’t be here without her.
MARISSA: Ana definitely helped me with my confidence in the band throughout my time at JMC. Grace and I especially, worked closely with her during our final project.
The multiple meetings, check-ins and words of encouragement haven’t been forgotten and even now she’s on the sidelines rooting for us and giving us opportunities like assisting us with our recent performance at SXSW.
HAPPY: You’re about to hit the stage at Laneway, but what’s next for Maybe in May? Is there an album, tour, or dream collaboration on the horizon?
MAYBE IN MAY: There are some singles and a possible EP in the works, it’s just a matter of polishing up what we have already.
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you happy?
MAYBE IN MAY: Making music and having fun in our little gay band!!
Head here to checkout the lineup for Laneway Festival 2025.
