U.K. rock band The Struts, comprised of singer Luke Spiller, guitarist Adam Slack, bassist Jed Elliott, and drummer Gethin Davies, have toured with the likes of The Rolling Stones throughout the U.K. and Europe in recent years and made their U.S. concert debut just this past February at fashion designer John Varvatos’s Bowery Live event during New York Fashion Week. Stateside, they have gone on to perform their single “Could Have Been Me” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and kicked off their U.S. tour this Labor Day weekend at the main stage of the Budweiser Made in America music festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We had the chance to talk to the band at the festival after their performance:
So you guys just played on the main stage—how was it?
It was really cool, really fun; a bit hot and a bit sweaty -- exactly what we like.
What do you think about Philly?
There are obviously a lot of amazing things about Philadelphia. In England we have spreadable cheese, but here it's fantastic.
How is Made in America compared to other festivals?
This one's possibly one of the most vibrant, wide, and spread-out demographically out of all the festivals we've ever done so it was a great challenge for us. It's also our first ever American festival.
You guys had played at the John Varvatos show in February. Was that your first time playing in the U.S.?
Yeah, and our first proper headlining show was in San Diego, and then this is our first festival.
What venue in the U.S. would you really want to play at?
Madison Square Garden! Or the Raccoon Lodge in TriBeCa...shoutout to the Raccoon Lodge!
What's your favorite song to play live?
"Where Did You Go," which is the fourth track from the EP. It just makes people want to dance, and it's quintessentially English so it represents us perfectly.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
Spice Girls...Well, obviously we take a lot of things from the 60s and 70s but in all honesty, it's just music that we love. It's spread out from a lot of different genres, a lot of different rock and roll bands, just anything that turns us on musically, really.
You are going to be touring around the U.S. in the upcoming weeks. Is there anywhere you're particularly excited to visit?
New Orleans; we're doing Voodoo Fest there, which is on Halloween, so that should be good fun. Also Texas and Nashville because of the history...I think for us it's all new as well; we've never really explored the States. We also just love meeting people.
Other than the U.S., what other foreign country have you enjoyed playing at?
Paris, France is always good to us. We have a great show every time. We just love performing; if it's a great crowd and a great vibe, then we have a good time.
How do you guys pick out your outfits?
I mean, it's hard; there's not enough room in our suitcases to fit our entire wardrobes so we're having to recycle different outfits and wearing a lot of the same things more than five times. But anything that screams out and gives more of a visual impact for the band, that's basically the goal.
What's next for you guys?
We've been in the studio a lot; when we're not on the road and touring we're in the studio so it's a lot of back and forth.
Is there anyone you'd really want to see if you had the chance here?
Obviously Beyoncé, and it was her birthday yesterday. We're considering this as the unofficial invitation to her birthday party. We're crashing Beyoncé's birthday.
Anything else to add?
To anyone who's a fan of the band, thank you; we have a ton of upcoming tour dates in the U.S. all on our website, so check it out and get your tickets. We also have our merch on there so you can get some merch before coming to a live show.
