Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard will be the first Welsh band to play a live show again in Cardiff after the national lockdown. The band’s historic show will take place in the iconic 1,500 capacity outdoor setting of Cardiff Castle on 27 August. The event is part of a Cardiff Council plan developed with Cardiff Music Board to put culture at the heart of the city’s recovery from the pandemic and welcome live music back to Wales.
Frontman, Tom Rees says, “We haven’t played in Cardiff since Tyler, The Creator released Igor so it feels only right that we should make a massive overstep and play the biggest venue we could get our hands on.”
The date coincides with the release of their latest single Crescent Man vs Demolition Dan, inspired by the real-life politics of Cardiff, where a beloved street of independent businesses was demolished despite the protests of the local community, and follows a fictional superhero (Crescent Man) and villain (Demolition Dan) narrative.
Since forming in 2017, the Cardiff-based four-piece, Tom Rees, guitarist Zac White, drummer Ethan Hurst and Rees’ brother and bassist Eddie have become one of the most talked-about new bands in the UK. Driven by an exciting, dynamic energy presented at a host of magnetic, hype-building live shows, the band’s debut EP The Non-Stop then followed in summer 2020.
Tom Rees recently revealed his music inspirations to Andy Howells.
What was the first song that made an impact on you?
Really really REALLY it was probably The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’ – as lame as it is, I can’t deny that it was a formative song for me. So much so that I played it at a school talent contest and tried to convince the whole audience that I wrote it. I know for a fact that my teacher Ms Rodrick bought it (little victories I suppose).
What was the first single /download you bought?
The first single I got was ‘Hey Baby (Uhh, Ahh)’ by DJ Ötzi which I’m sure you can hear in all of our musical releases – it just bleeds straight into the tunes you know, so influences are undeniable.
What was the first album you owned?
That was ‘Your New Favourite Band’ by The Hives, which actually isn’t an album album – it’s a compilation, but I didn’t realise that when I was a kid. I thought it was their first album – I was blown away. I was like ‘MAN EVERY SONG IS AMAZING HOW ARE THESE GUYS NOT THE BIGGEST BAND IN THE WORLD’ – turns out they were pretty big, but I guess that’s just being a child. I went to loads of their shows and they were a real formative band for me, from the recordings to the live show to everything.
What’s your constant go to track?
Whenever I feel like all music is awful and it doesn’t do it for me anymore and maybe I should just get a job at a law firm I listen to ‘Things That Would Have Been Helpful To Know Before The Revolution’ by Father John Misty and I have all of my faith restored once again. When you’re working on music all the time (which is a blessing) it can get a little bit like that sometimes – like eating hot dogs every day for dinner, you can’t tell the bad ones from the good ones after a while, so you just need a hot dog that mother made you when you were a kid to even it all out.
What’s your constant go to album?
Further on the previous answer it’s either ‘Pure Comedy’ by Father John Misty or, more recently, ‘Rumours’ by Fleetwood Mac. I had a big Mac phase when I was in university so it’s nice to go back to that one every now and again and remember everyone I lived with and what I got up to. I was filthy back then, man.
Who’s your latest music discovery?
There’s this guy called Kanye West I think he’s going to be real huge someday. All joking aside, I never listened to Kanye and I have been recently, which I know seems like “HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK MAN” but I’ve just been stanning 70s rock for so long I’ve only just gotten round to it – ‘College Dropout’ is one of the greatest albums of all time.
What’s your own track that best defines you as an artist?
I would say ’New Age Millennial Magic,’ just because it’s the only time I’ve managed to balance the ironic stuff well enough with humour so it doesn’t seem too preachy, like I know what I’m talking about because I read a couple of pages on a book about Marx. I also love it because it’s not hugely ROCK ROCK ROCK and I feel like sometimes people lump us in with Oasis and all those awful rock bands (which I respect I just don’t vibe on), so it’s a good palette cleanser.
What’s the track that best defines you as a person?
Interesting question… I think I’d really only ever let somebody else answer that – I think it might be a bit disingenuous to assign myself some track like ‘BORN TO BE WILD’ and come off as a real loser – but one of my favourite songs of all time is ‘Only You Know’ by Dion, so maybe that.
See Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard live in 2021:
- 27 August Cardiff Castle
- 29 August Brighton Find Joy
- 30 August London All Points East
- 16 September London Electric Ballroom*
- 18 September Leeds Brudenell Social Club*
- 19 September Newcastle St Dom’s*
- 20 September Glasgow – The Garage*
- 22 September Sheffield Leadmill*
- 23 September Nottingham Rescue Rooms*
- 24 September Birmingham O2 Academy 2*
- 25 September Oxford O2 Academy 2*
- 27 September Bristol Thekla*
- 28 September Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms*
- 29 September Brighton Chalk*
- 30 September Manchester Albert Hall*
- 8 October Wrexham – Focus Wales
- 15 October Norwich Wild Paths
- 20 October London – The Social (SOLD OUT)
- 21 October London – The Social
- 30 October Amsterdam – London Calling
* supporting The Blinders