By Morgan James
Indie band Blossoms just completed a strong tour throughout their homeland in the UK promoting their self-titled album which released in August of last year and went to #1 in the UK within its first week. Exploding into popularity now in the US and around the globe, this Stockport native band, looks forward to a fully loaded tour schedule this Spring and Summer including Lollapalooza, Bonaroo Music & Arts Festival, Firefly Festival, Governers Ball, and our own Coachella Festival April 15th and the 22nd. I spoke with Tom Ogden, lead singer and songwriter for Blossoms, about the band’s recent successes, songwriting, upcoming tour, and the opportunity to play at Coachella Festival.
About gaining in popularity in this last year, already selling out Manchester with over 8,000 seats for a show this Summer, Ogden states “we are really thrilled for that show and looking forward to it, but we really are just taking each show one at a time. We have so many festivals coming up, but as a band we just focus on each one you know? We leave tomorrow for Coachella and that is definitely our focus now and we can’t wait to play there.”
Although the singer will have his head in the game so to speak, he is personally looking forward to seeing other acts in the lineup. Ogden gushes “I am excited to see Father John Misty, Banks, of course, Mr. Carmack… I am a big fan of Father John Misty though so I think that will be great.”
When it comes down to the songs themselves, Ogden feels a deep connection with each one as he has poured his emotions into them. When asked which songs in particular he would like to share at this year’s Coachella Festival he states, “I am looking forward to playing “Honey Sweet” at Coachella as it is a song that is deeply personal to me, although all of our songs really are meaningful, so it will be great to share them with the audience. Of course “Charlamagne” is our big hit so that will be fun.”
Our discussion further examines the songwriting process as Ogden explains, “As a songwriter, I just can’t think about anyone else when I am writing and how it affects them or it would be hard to say what I have to say.” The songwriter goes on to tell me that it is a sort of “release” to write his feelings out, yet would be overwhelming to think about how others will perceive it until it is out there released into the public. Although, Ogden continues, “Once the songs are released and out there, fans are telling me how much they connect with what I wrote and how meaningful the songs are, you know, that they are not alone in what they are feeling. It’s a great sense of connection with our fans.”
After recently completing such a successful tour in the UK, Ogden notes “it’s incredible how everyone knew all of the words to the songs and sang along, especially “Charlamagne,” which has gotten the most publicity and everyone went crazy for it.”
After being asked to divulge some favorite moments of Blossoms UK tour, the lead singer says “really the last four shows we played were just really fun and well, the thing is that we were just playing a few years ago in this little pub called The Monarch which is right across the street from The Roundhouse which is this huge venue that we just played and it’s amazing that we have come back around to that street and were now just playing across the street to this huge audience.” Even though this last year has taken the band on a wild ride as they have touched the hearts of many enthusiastic fans, Ogden explains “We are still the same guys from a few years ago even though we have had this success in the last year or so.”
Looking ahead, Ogden opens up about writing for a new album, divulging that the band has already begun the process, however “we probably won’t get a lot of writing done on the road,” then going on to recount the band’s focus on each show as it comes. When asked about the dynamic of the band and touring together Ogden states, “We get along really well because we are all very focused on what we have to do as a band and we all want the same thing, success as a band, to be playing our music.” Keeping up spirits and focus while on tour is important and Ogden laughs about it “We have a lot of inside jokes and things that probably only we understand and think are funny, but we are always making each other laugh. We do a lot of impersonations of each other that keeps things funny and fun.”
