From their many successes over the years, The Leisure Society have truly built a name for themselves in the folk/rock scene. In anticipation of their show at The Joiners on September 22nd, I caught up with The Leisure Society to find out more about them and their music before I see them perform this upcoming weekend.
For those who don’t know you, how would you describe your music?
Melodic, harmonious, uplifting, heart-breaking.
Where did the band name come from?
Maynard Keynes, an economist who saw the rise of mechanisation and predicted we’d all be living lives of leisure by now. Scuba diving, writing poetry and baking cakes. Nick used the name when he shared his first solo demo (Pancake Day) years ago, then when he and Christian started making music together, they kept it.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Beach Boys, Beatles, Neil Young, The Band, Grizzly Bear, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Low. We love inventive arrangements, meaningful lyrics and bold production basically.
Is there any venue that you dream of playing one day?
We’ve ticked the Barbican box now, so next up is probably the Royal Albert Hall (saw UMO there this year and they smashed it) or Sydney Opera House.
Do you have a favourite venue that you’ve played in the past?
The Barbican show we played with The Heritage Orchestra was very special indeed.
With your new album Arrivals and Departures out earlier this year, are you feeling eager to play all your new tracks or do you think you’ll stick to a playing a mixture of new and old?
The new album really lends itself to live shows, so we include at least half of it in the set, but we have to bring out some of our most popular tracks too because we know they have special meaning to the fans, and we want them to leave with an amazing connection and memory of the night.
Lastly, I hope you enjoy playing in Southampton at The Joiners! Will this be your first time playing in our city?
No, it’s our 3rd time. Looking forward to coming back and hopefully making some new fans!
Grab your tickets here to see The Leisure Society at The Joiners this week.
