Sheffield sweethearts The Rosadocs are set to play Meadowlands Festival in Nottingham this Friday alongside the likes of Gerry Cinnamon and fellow South Yorkshire heroes The Reytons.
Having released their eagerly anticipated EP ‘Two Wrongs Make a Riot’ and completed three headline gigs across the UK, including a hometown Sheffield gig, the five piece are buzzing to share their sound with bucket hat-wearing crowds.
“We’ve been absolutely blown away with the reaction at our gigs so far” frontman Keelan Graney said.
“It was the first time we’ve ever played in Birmingham, it was completely sold out and people knew every single word to every song – even the unreleased ones. For example in Settle Down, the third track off the EP, we played slightly differently because we’ve added a pianist into the band and it has changed the set completely. I mean we could barely hear ourselves on stage for the crowd singing the words back to us.”
Despite their national success, The Rosadocs are proud to stick to their northern roots – even basing song No.54 around the Chesterfield bus Graney took to school everyday.
“Gigs are always going to be different in Sheffield because I think it’s a northern city, the artists that come from Sheffield are very much in love with the working class type of lyricism and we play with that and want to make proper shows.”
“We will always have a love for this area because it’s where we’ve been based since we started. So obviously we’ve had a lot of support from here and we’ll always come and play it because the gigs are so special.”
Yet the band is determined not to keep all their eggs in a Sheffield basket:
“We don’t want to just tie ourselves to one area. We like to think that we’re trying to make music that’s varied and that will be popular in all different areas. And we don’t want to leave anywhere out. We just want to try and grow equally by doing something for everyone.”
Having had the EP in the works for two long, covid riddled years, it’s no surprise The Rosadocs – named after red Dr Martens – were keen to finish releasing the EP.
“We released each song as a single until the EP came together completely. I think every song is different in its message, the first four music videos followed the same character, which was a brilliant idea at the time and then when it came to logistics of doing it over two years, it became a bit harder to finish off.”
“It’s about what kind of normal everyday stuff people around our age go through, and it’s just kind of documenting that in song. I guess it’s just observations of being a northern lad really.”
And with so many indie, Arctic Monkeys-wannabes with regional accents to battle with for the top spot, the band are determined to establish their own sound.
“If we listen to a song by ourselves in a practice room but think that sounds like whoever we’ll then try and steer it away from that. We’re very conscious that we want to sound like us. We’re trying to establish what the Rosadocs sound like and I think we’re kind of finding it – we’re trying to sound as less like anybody else as we can. So when people listen to our music they’ll go “oh that’s a Rosadocs song I could tell straight away.””
“It’s quite a good telltale sign if you have a demo or something like that and you show it to a parent and they’ll always be brutally honest. And they kind of say, ‘oh, that sounds like this and that sounds like that’ – then that’s getting completely changed!”
Having perfected their parent-approved sound, The Rosadocs explain how they are looking forward to a summer of festivals, including headlining Barnsley live – a hometown gig for drummer Callum Raynor.
“We feel like we’ve finally got the set and everything perfect and we’re just ready for festival season – in the sun, a few beers with the lads and just hit it.”
“Festivals are unique in that you don’t know who’s going to turn up and I like how it creates a challenge, especially when you play the first few chords and you just kind of look at crowd and wait to see what their reaction is going to be – are they just going to stand there clapping or – as we did at Tramlines – got credited with the first mosh pit of the weekend, which is already on my CV.”
“When people decide to come and see you, that feels really rewarding. Iit makes it feel worthwhile doing when you see people you’ve never seen before, they’re just attracted by your sound then they come, they have a listen. And then you might get them at your next headline gigs.”
“We played Tramlines in 2019 and people literally just came to watch us and stood in the rain and we were hoping we weren’t gonna get electrocuted, but it was amazing.”
MEADOWLANDS have announced the final additions to the Gerry Cinnamon headlined all-dayer. Taking place on the Friday (3 rd June) of the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend, Meadowlands is a brand new festival held at Nottingham’s Victoria Embankment. Across three stages, MEADOWLANDS will play host to some of the nation’s much loved and established live acts alongside some of the hottest bands to emerge over the last year.
Tickets £45
Tickets at eventim.co.uk
Accessibility tickets at eventim.co.uk
