Interview Chvrches talk festivals: “We always love finding new bands at festivals”
The Scottish trip have a jam packed summer ahead of them - this weekend, they’re taking on Glastonbury once more.
From being Class of 2013 stars to headlining the Hydro in their home city Glasgow, over the past few years Chvrches have gone from strength to almighty strength. With a fevered fanbase both sides of the Atlantic (and most other places too), there’s little wonder the trio - Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty - have a jam-packed summer ahead of them. Glowsticks at the ready: wherever the band’s mammoth light show and even bigger songs find themselves, you can be sure they’ll transform it to a mega-disco.
Ahead of a stint that’s got them playing massive stages at the likes of Latitude, Glastonbury, and Reading & Leeds, and shortly after having joined in the fun on Paramore’s cruise, Parahoy, we spoke to vocalist Lauren.
You’ve just been sailing the seven seas with Paramore – how was that?
It was great! We really love Paramore’s music and the vibe was really awesome – from the bands to the other crews and their fanbase. It’s nice to play with bands who try to create a community around what they do.
Are festivals on a boat the way forward?
There was a lot of sea sickness involved so I think that would pose a problem if all festivals became sea-based…
There’s also the not-so-small matter of a co-headline in the States with Death Cab For Cutie…
Death Cab were a very formative band for me in terms of songwriting, especially when it came to lyrics, so it is a real honour to be able to play with them.
"We always want to put a lot of energy into our shows, regardless of the location."
Do you plan your festival set any differently to a regular one?
You can’t control the environment of the show at a festival in the same way you can at your own headline shows, but there is a different kind of positive energy that comes along with that. The sets are often shorter too so we need to think carefully about what songs to keep in and what to drop.
How does moving to bigger and bigger tents (and then those giant outside spaces) work?
We always want to put a lot of energy into our shows, regardless of the location, but in some ways you do need to work harder at festivals as the people watching might not have come to see you specifically. But that also has the upside of new people discovering your band, and we always love finding new bands at festivals too.
You’ve played a lot of festivals in the States, how odd is it to play somewhere outside when it’s dry, sunny, and you’ve no need for jumpers, let alone wellies?
It will definitely be a mixed summer of sunhats and sun screen, then raincoats and wellies when we get back to the UK. One of the rainiest festivals we’ve ever played was in America though - a really beautiful one in Washington called Sasquatch! – so it’s not all sunshine and palm trees.
And… you’re gonna have practised this one, right? Your #1 top festival tip. Yes, we hear you groan.
Hand sanitiser. All day.
Chvrches will play Open’er (29th Jun - 2nd July), Bilbao BBK Live (7th - 9th July), Latitude (14th - 17th July) and Melt! (15th - 17th July), where DIY is an official media partner. Tickets are on sale now. Visit diymag.com/presents for more information.
Taken from the Festival Guide 2016. Subscribe to DIY below.
Records, etc at
CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe (10th Anniversary Edition) (Vinyl LP - black)
CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe (10th Anniversary Edition) (Vinyl LP - clear)
CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe (10th Anniversary Edition) (Cd)
CHVRCHES - Screen Violence (Vinyl LP - black)
CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe (Vinyl LP)
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