SYMPHONIC, textural, groundbreaking, cross-genre – there are so many ways to describe the music of rock band Radiohead. The quintet rarely perform live, but two tribute acts have made their way to Truro recently: Let Me In played at Truro Cathedral in February, and hot on their heels is The Radiohead Project at the Hall For Cornwall on Tuesday, April 14.

Fans are promised a show that captures the depth and detail of the Radiohead sound, covering music from seminal albums such as The Bends, OK Computer and In Rainbows. The set includes faithful renditions of tracks including Fake Plastic Trees, No Surprises, Creep, Just, Karma Police and many others.

The Radiohead Project was assembled by singer and Radiohead fan Will Sharp. An alumnus of London College of Music, 27-year-old Will graduated in 2021, he joined The Simon and Garfunkel Story and spent a year touring the world. “It was an insight into the logistics and practicalities of a touring theatre show, and I thought I’d like to do something like that myself,” he says.

“As Radiohead was my favourite band, I put the two things together. I have a big network of musicians and had worked out which ones I thought would work well. As soon as we got into rehearsals, it was clear things were going well. Everyone put in so much work to replicate the sound of the band.”

Will was introduced to Radiohead by his dad, and soon became the bigger fan. “I became obsessed,” laughs Will. “Dad was really into The Bends and OK Computer, but not the other albums. My favourite track is Nude from the 2008 album In Rainbows - it’s a gorgeous song and I love singing it live.”

Ask why he likes Radiohead, and he’ll wax lyrical. “The music is masterfully complex, but at the same time there are lots of simple melodies and chord progressions. I love Jonny Greenwood’s virtuosic, boundary-pushing guitar playing, and the emotion behind Thom Yorke’s vocals and lyrics – which I’d describe as bittersweet rather than the stereotypical glum.”

The latter is what Will, as singer, has the challenge of delivering. “Thom’s voice naturally sits in a similar register to mine, and I spent many hours in private tuition running through songs in the show,” he says. “I don’t completely copy him – there are moments when I sound a bit more like me, but people say I do a decent job.”

The audience is more widespread than you might imagine. “We thought it would be mostly men over 40, but it’s probably 50/50 male/female, and there are lots of teenagers who have heard songs on TikTok.”

As a seasoned tribute act performer, Will defends his art to the hilt. “People have asked me, what’s the point? Why not play something original? Firstly, it’s incredibly hard to make any money from original work nowadays,” says Will.

“Secondly, bands like Radiohead don’t tour much, and when they do, they don’t always play the songs people want to hear, or visit little pockets around the UK that don’t have ready access to larger venues. So when people who love the music recreate it for those audiences, I think it’s great, and there’s a lot of demand for it.”

Have any band members seen the show? “I’ve tried reaching out to them, and hope that at some point they will see what we’re doing and say they approve,” said Will. Given that Yorke has owned a property in Crackington Haven on the North Cornwall coast, maybe this could be the moment? “That would be terrifying,” he admits.