IN the next instalment of our TENEMENT TRAIL SPOTLIGHT series, we catch up with Tom Rowan from Soapbox.
The Glasgow punks made their first appearance at Trail two years ago and since then, they’ve skyrocketed – making their presence known well beyond the confines of their hometown.
And while that early afternoon slot BAaD in 2023 feels like a distant memory, they’ve still retained that unpredictable, firebrand punk energy that drew us to them in the first place – harnessing it into something all the more powerful and potent to make them the formidable live act they are today.
Now with two hard-hitting EPs to their name, ‘LOCK IN’ and ‘HAWD THAT,, the last couple of years have been non-stop – selling out numerous shows, headlining the Art School and traversed across Europe and taking their adrenaline-fuelled anthems to new, fervent audiences at every turn.
A band who are unafraid to take on anyone in their path, be it Glasgow City Council, Starmer’s Labour government, the music industry or even alt-right figure Gavin McInnes. there’s no denying that Soapbox will be one of the most eagerly anticipated sets of the day at TRAIL. So, if you like the likes of Amyl and the Sniffers and Soft Play, you don’t want to miss these guys when they set the place alight on 11th October.
Find out what they had to say about the show below. But first, get your tickets HERE.
What does TENEMENT TRAIL mean to the band?
Tenement Trail is quite a special one for us. It was the first festival that we ever got to play. Pretty iconic one for Glasgow bands and an important one for you to get onto. It’s responsible for giving us a lot of the opportunities that have allowed us to kick on and do some of the stuff that we’ve been doing in the past couple years as well.
What can we expect from your set?
You can probably expect a lot of chaos, a lot of noise. The Glasgow crowds always turn up so well for our sets and we’ve not played here, it’ll be about six months since our last set by the time that we get on that stage. So really looking forward to being in front of home crowd again because they always give us so much energy to work with, which is what makes our set so special.
What are your best memories of the festival?
My favourite part of the day is always the. The McChuills late night sets. I think it’s just a great way to finish off the day. You always end up bumping in a few people that have been enjoying themselves for quite a while. And the energy in that room come midnight is always just amazing.
What makes Glasgow crowds the best?
I think just because Glasgow crowds are so game for absolutely anything, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Tuesday night or if you’re not the headlining band, someone somewhere in that crowd will always be up for giving you a bit of energy and a bit of back and forth, which isn’t true everywhere else in the country.
What has been the highlight of your year so far?
We’ve had an amazing, crazy summer this year. Played a lot more gigs than we ever have before. Got the chance to go over to Europe a few times and play to their crowds, who have just been amazing. Specifically, we were in the Netherlands the other week playing a place called Lowlands, and it was just one of the most incredible, beautiful atmospheres I’ve been at as a performer or as a punter at a festival. And that was really special.
How do you feel you’ve evolved since your last appearance at TRAIL?
It’s been two years since we played Tenement Trail, so, I mean, a lot has happened in that time. We put out two records, played a lot of shows with a lot of different really cool bands. So I think you’ll see a lot of influences from what we’ve been doing on the road and the bands that we’ve been lucky enough to meet and play with in that time.
What else have you got coming up? What are your ambitions for the band?
We’ve got a big old tour coming up in September. We’re away for pretty much the whole month. Going away for a few weeks with Meryl Streak, who is just honestly amazing and so exciting. Super excited to spend some time on the road with him. And then another couple of weeks with Snayx who we’ve been away with before and just love playing to their crowds and excited to do more with them. And I think the week we get back, we get to finish it off with a Glasgow show at Tenement Trail, so that’ll be sweet.
Photo by Victoria Sykes
