Ireland and the rock resurgence in the UK: Just Mustard, The Coronas, join Fontaines DC in the next wave
All-star cover band Fontaines DC aren’t the only band coming out of Ireland or the UK at the moment – in fact, there’s been a palpable increase in rock and punk-adjacent artists crossing over the pond and finding favor with North American audiences. .
A crop of North Atlantic rock bands are about to join them in the hearts of North Americans.
Idles, a British group formed in 2009, struck gold with their debut in 2017 Brutalismfollowed the following year with Joy as an act of resistance. Their fourth album, Crawler, was released in November. With an average of 1,115 tickets sold per show and an average gross of $28,854, the band are currently making their way into North American theaters after kicking off their tour at “This Ain’t No Picnic” in Brookside Park at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Just Mustard, who recently backed label mate Fontaines DC on several of his US dates, is also from Ireland. The quintet, behind singer Katie Bell, averages 800 tickets sold per show and gross $17,425. He is currently headlining clubs in Europe before returning to North America for a showpiece run including Baby’s All Right in New York, 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis, Barboza in Seattle and Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco.
Dublin-based band The Coronas were set to take America by storm in 2020 with an acclaimed album but, like Fontaines DC, found themselves unable to tour behind it.
That’s changing with a new album, aptly titled Stopped timeslated for an October 7 release and, finally, its long-delayed North American tour which kicks off November 2 in Toronto and concludes November 19 in Los Angeles.
Coronas manager Jim Lawless says he’s noticed an increase in the number of up-and-coming rock bands over the past five years or so, contrary to any narrative that rock music is dead.
“I think I’ve also noticed these kinds of guitars coming back,” Lawless said. Pollstar of a tourist bus in Dublin. “You know, that seems to be what it feels like, it’s getting more and more independent or some kind of DIY – people make music for themselves and then sign up [to a record label] rather than the cumbersome A&R path.
“You know, living is what we do best,” Lawless continues. “That’s where we really excel and where, like most bands, we make that connection with our fans, especially after not being able to for so long. Not having that was quite difficult.
Read more: Fountains DC: Dublin’s latest export makes punk rock poetic