Rising up the UK Music Scene: The Snuts

The-Snuts-Press-Shot Scottish indie band The Snuts have really been making a name for themselves on the UK music scene these the past few months. Along with playing and selling out their own shows, the summer saw them perform at festivals including Trnsmt, Live at Leeds and Reading and Leeds.

Remarkably, they are yet to release their anticipated debut album and have gained adoration from fans by simply releasing demos and singles. Impressively, the band has already amassed over one million streams on Spotify, as their fan base continues to grow. After comfortably selling out venues across their native Scotland, October saw the quartet embark on their first headline tour.

The tour was UK-wide and saw the band play intimate venues in Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle among others. Their gig at Oporto Bar in Leeds sold out the quickest out of all the English dates, clearly indicating how their music resonates with the Leeds crowd.

I caught up with drummer Jordan Mckay and bass player Callum Wilson before they took the stage at Oporto to have a chat about their current tour and they gave me their thoughts on the Leeds music scene.

Footage taken from their Leeds Oporto gig.

Aside from the gigs in Scotland, Leeds sold out the quickest. Are you looking forward to this gig especially?

CW: Really looking forward to putting on a show man, definitely. It sold out absolutely rapidly, so we feel people deserve a show.

You played Leeds Festival and Live at Leeds, so this is your third time in Leeds in a matter of months, do you think the Leeds crowd responds positively to your music?

CW: Definitely, we have to say it’s one of the best receptions we get in any towns down south, they’re always up for it and they always love it which is class. It’s really brilliant to have that feeding back to you and it really helps how you play.

You’ve already surpassed 1 million streams on Spotify before even releasing an album, how do you feel about that?

CW: Happy man!

JM: We’ve concentrated really on demos, so people who come (to the gigs) had something to refer back to and to give them a chance to learn the lyrics and appreciate the songs and then come and see them in a live environment. We feel that really kind of drove our success because you go to gigs and bands only have one single out, and fair enough there’s a reaction to the single, but then there’s another five songs. You know it’s easy to lose somebody’s interest, no matter how good you are. So, we really feel the demos have kind of prepared us for the next level and has allowed us the freedom of where we are now, and we can release singles. Rather than rush the first album, take your time and craft something special man.

You’ve played a variety of gigs across the UK and sold out multiple venues, do you feel as though your fan base is growing?

CW: Aye, very much so man. Especially in the south, we’re trying to concentrate on the south, just south of the border and then definitely further afield. Just trying to spread our music a bit further.

JM: This is kind of out first proper UK-wide tour and it’s really nice to be filling up venues up and down the country, rather than just in Scotland. Every venue we’ve played has filled up really nicely and there’s been great crowds that have gave us a lot back, so it’s really been positive so far.