Festival Q&A:
No Hot Ashes

Who else are you excited to see?
We are big fans and good friends of The Blinders. They’re always brilliant to watch live. You never know what to expect.

What’s your best festival memory?
We’ve been very lucky to play at a number of high-profile festivals over the last two years, including Kendal Calling, Y Not Festival and Neighbourhood Festival. In particular Y Not Festival in 2016 – we were second on the bill and on at around midday and we were expecting the tent to be a ghost town but we walked on stage and the tent was rammed. A good few hundred people had got down so early to see us and it was amazing. Similarly at Neighbourhood Festival we were opening band at one of the smaller staged venues at around 1pm and we had a queue of fans waiting outside for us, which was incredible.

What are your festival essentials?
Strongbow Dark Fruits, rum, cigs, a good (waterproof) tent, Dairylea Lunchables and a pair of Dr Martens.

How does playing a festival differ from playing your own gig?
Our own gigs are always great. You are playing to your own fans who know the words to the songs and there is a sense of security. Festivals are trickier because you tend to be playing on a bigger stage (further away from the crowd) and nobody knows who you are so it’s kind of like a big test to get them onside and that’s a challenge we love. With bigger stages the importance of stage presence becomes even greater. You’ve got to get that crowd on your side otherwise you are missing the opportunity to get fans from the audience.

What’s your favourite part of playing a festival?
Performing aside, probably just the four of us and our manager being together, the travelling down and camping. We always have a proper good laugh and just enjoy the band lifestyle.

Rec Rock is working closely with the Big Issue North to highlight the problem of homelessness. Why did you choose to get involved?
Homelessness is a big issue in our hometown of Manchester. Everyone deserves the right to be offered help in finding a roof over their head, so we were proud to be involved with such worthy causes.