ARMED with relentless ambition and a refreshingly diligent approach to his craft, Louis Berry’s rapid rise to fame over the last couple of years has been remarkable to witness. Having seized our attention from the very formative stages of his career, we were hugely excited to reveal the Liverpool singer-songwriter as one of the latest additions to this year’s Tenement Trail.
Set to be one of the star attractions at the multi-venue festival on 30th September, it’s fair to say that Berry has already made a significant impression north of the border. Speaking to TTV ahead of a fantastic performance on the King Tut’s stage at Glasgow’s new TRNSMT Festival two weeks ago, he revealed his love for Scottish crowds and what he’s got in store for the year ahead.
“You know what mate? Scotland is honestly my favourite place to play, especially Glasgow. Can’t wait to get up there and I’m really looking forward to it. The last gig I played in Scotland (before TRNSMT) was King Tut’s and it absolutely went off, absolutely crazy and everyone was jumping so I love the place and I can’t wait to get back up”.
Ranking the legendary venue as one of the best he’s ever played, he added: “The atmosphere in there is great and I’ve always had amazing support (in Scotland) so I can’t wait to get back.”
With support for Berry now growing all over the UK, his recent success was solidified when he played his biggest headline show to date back in May at London’s Koko. A rite of passage for any breakthrough artist, it was a night that vindicated years of hard work for Berry: “Playing in venues like that from where I started is a massive difference and you do have those moments where you think ‘I didn’t expect that.’ I remember playing that venue as a support and thinking ‘how do you do this?’ So yeah, I feel like I’m definitely moving”
The singer believes that much of his recent success can be attributed to the release of ’25 Reasons’. Easily his most popular offering to date, the track displays all the qualities that have earmarked Berry as such a fine songwriter; full of raucous energy, gritty vocals and infectious melodies.
“I think that was the intention behind it really. When it first came out, it did really well without us planning for it do well and it’s one of the tracks that people go mad for when we’re playing live over here and abroad. Mainly the idea behind it was to help them discover who I am as an artist.”
Now a firm favourite as part of his rapturous live sets, Berry will be following up his memorable TRNSMT performance with even more UK and European festivals this summer. It’s an exciting time ahead for the singer-songwriter as his appeal continues to grow beyond the reaches of his home country: “Yeah man, this is the first time I’ve really went out and done gigs abroad and I’ve been doing a lot in Holland; the numbers over there are fantastic, and Germany has been great too. Really looking forward to getting to Scandanavia for the first time and it’s going really good over there so I couldn’t fault it. It’s almost like I’m playing gigs here now so it’s brilliant.”
Most excitingly for his exponentially growing Scottish fanbase is his upcoming set at our very own Tenement Trail in September. With the nation holding a special place in the Liverpudlian troubadour’s heart, it’s safe to say that he share our excitement about a return to Glasgow:
“Yeah I’m made up for that man, as I’ve said absolutely love to get up there and Scotland has always had a lot of support for me so I’m really excited, it should be a good one!”
With work on his debut album all but finished, there’s no immediate plans to get back in the studio after summer. However, that overwhelming drive and ambition comes to the fore yet again when he states his plan to keep things fresh along the way: “I’ve got a little sneaky plan to put a tour on after the summer so I probably won’t be getting in the studio before then. I’ve sort of done everything I need to do recording-wise at the moment but I’m always writing and I haven’t been sending my songs to the management or label just now cos I’ve just been banking them for now so I’m sure they’ll say ‘come on we need to get back in.’ I like to always play new stuff, I hate when people come to see the same gig so I always like to get something new in there.”
As fans wait patiently on the arrival of the debut record, it’s clear there’s so much more to come from Louis Berry. It’s safe to say that the next few months are going to have a lot in store for the singer-songwriter as he looks to make his mark on the music industry once and for all: “The album is probably going to come out in January 2018 so I’ll be pushing to make sure I achieve all the goals I set before it comes out and make sure it does what I want it to do. I enjoy being on the road and I love doing gigs as I feel most at home on the stage.”
See Louis Berry at Tenement Trail on 30th September. Tickets available here.
