We chatted to SAM RICHARDSON AND THE RENEGADES ahead of THE GREAT ESTATE FESTIVAL....
Ahead of the Great Estate Festival which takes place at Scorrier House in Cornwall over the Jubilee Bank Holiday Queen’s extra long Coronation thingy weekend, we chatted to a band called SAM RICHARDSON AND THE RENEGADES. We covered loads of topics including musical influences, getting lost at Boardmasters, their love of ‘The Boss’ and new material in the pipeline with another Cornish legend. For all of this and WAY more, read on…..
Please tell me who you are and what you do….
I am Sam Richardson and me and my band Sam Richardson and The Renegades are a 4 piece heartland rock band from the north Cornish coast - Think Springsteen, Tom Petty, Sam Fender and The Killers all rolled into one!
When did you start your musical journey?
I remember hearing Springsteen’s ‘Live In New York City' for the fist time as a kid and nothing has been the same since! I probably began playing guitar around age 10 but started properly writing songs and gigging about 17 (Ten years ago! Ouch!)
You're a Cornwall based band, looking at your socials, you have quite a few local events lined up this year, which are you looking forward to the most?
We can’t wait for The Great Estate Festival this year! We always love the bands they have on across all the fantastic stages. We love our local festivals and can’t wait for Boardmasters and Gone Wild too! We have our only ticketed headline gig of the year on 14th July at The Cornish Bank in Falmouth which will be a belter for sure!
There seem to be more Cornish festivals popping up all over the county these days, what is it about them that keeps people coming back year after year?
I think Cornwall has something special about it. We have some wonderfully talented musicians and event organisers down here that seem to pull perfection out of the bag every year.
What style of music do you play?
We have the classic Springsteen / Tom Petty sound but a little more 21st century. They lyrics reflect the struggles of life in the area, and the lives of people living at the end of the tracks
Who would you say are your musical influences?
It’s always been Springsteen for me, but watching the rise of Sam Fender has given me a lot of faith that there is still room out there for US inspired rock groups.
Have you any new music in the pipeline?
Can’t wait to release a new collaboration with the wonderful Bailey Tomkinson in June and a brand new EP in July! I’m off on a 23 date theatre tour with Newton Faulkner in the Autumn so excited to get these new tunes on the road and into people’s ears.
Do you know what day/time/stage you're playing at the Great Estate Festival?
You can watch us on the Main Stage from 1:45pm on Sunday 5th June. Fingers crossed for good weather!
What can the audience expect from your live show?
Expect high energy and great musicianship. We’ve been playing together for over 5 years and are pretty tight! I’m very lucky to have some of the best musicians in the region in by band so have to practice a lot to keep up with them!
The bill is looking pretty good for this year, who else would you recommend the festival goers make a beeline for?
Obviously the Manic Street Preachers need no introduction! But my good friend Ashley Harding is playing Friday at 1:30 on the Gin Garden Stage - He’s got to be one of the most talented guys in Cornwall! Also check out Will Eason at 2:30 on Saturday - Madame Wong’s stage, an insanely good keys player and cracking guy!
Tell me a funny story about a festival/show that you've attended in the past….
I love this one - Boardmasters 2016 - It was about 2:30am and my brother called me:
“where the hell are you? I’ve been wandering around the campsite for hours and can’t find our tents. I even unzipped the wrong one earlier!”
I poked my head out of the tent and saw him sat, slumped on a bench about 10 meters away from me, he couldn’t believe he had been sat so close the whole time!
Give me 3 bands or artists that you would like to headline at your own festival (you can choose ANY band/artist dead or alive)
Let’s start with Elvis! The king of rock and roll in Cornwall? Heck yeah! Maybe Tom Petty and Springsteen to close the show?
Lastly, tell me your top festival survival tip?
It’s all about the wet-wipes for me! If you can’t make it to a shower then it’s the next best thing!
We’d like to thank Sam for taking the time to chat to us, we wish him and the band every success for the future and if you’re heading to The Great Estate Festival, you can catch them playing the main stage on Sunday 5th June at 13:45, be there or be square! To keep up to date with Sam and his musical exploits, click on the social links below.