Eight questions with George Holroyd

(c) Jack Margerison Photography

First up, who is George Holroyd?!

I'm a 23 year old acoustic singer/songwriter originally from Suffolk and now residing in London, with a love for energetic live performances.

How long have you been making music… any special influences?

I've been playing guitar for over 10 years but didn't really start singing or writing songs until about 4 years ago, while at university in Nottingham. In terms of influences, I'd say Paul Simon, Van Morrison and Bob Dylan for the storytelling aspect of their songs and Ben Howard/The Tallest Man on Earth for their guitar/live style.

Your new Demons & Dust EP is due out very soon (9th) - how does that feel to almost have it out in the world?!

I'm absolutely psyched to finally have it out there, it's been over 2 years since I released my last EP (Peru). I tried to give this one more of a cohesive feel as the Peru EP was more of a collection of the songs that I'd written to date, I wanted more of a common theme and I think I've achieved that with Demons & Dust. While we're on this actually I'd also like to say a massive thank you to Sam Winfield for producing the record and to Cailean Couldridge for shooting the cover art, two massively talented guys who are a pleasure to work with.

You’re celebrating the EP with a launch show at one of Tigmus’ favourite London venues The George Tavern - what should fans expect from the set?

Yes I'm very excited to be playing there! I still play a solo set, fairly stripped back in terms of effects (just me and the guitar throughout). It'll be a nice intimate atmosphere in the early parts of the set with some of the quieter songs that I've written before opening up into some rowdier tracks towards the end as everyone's working their way through the contents of the bar, expect some crowd participation by the end of the evening and one or two well known covers thrown in!

Have you played alongside Felix M-B and Daisy Chute before?

I first saw Felix play about 3 years ago at Rescue Rooms in Nottingham and was instantly taken by his style, he has so much presence on stage and his songwriting is next level. Since then we've played a couple of gigs together and it's always an absolute pleasure, can't wait to see him play some of his new songs on Friday. I experienced a very similar reaction when I first saw Daisy play at a Tigmus gig in Hampton a couple of months ago; her songwriting is fantastic and the harmonies that she created with her band were breathtaking. I can't wait to see them both perform again and I'm honoured to have them supporting for the launch.

Who is your audience and how do you connect with your fans?

My audience is anyone who'll listen! I've met people of all ages after shows who've said they enjoyed what I've done and I like to think that my songs don't necessarily fall into one particular "bucket" or style. I think that the best way to connect with people that listen to the music is meeting them after shows and trying to foist my CDs on them/having a drink and a conversation.

What would your dream gig entail? Any particular venues you’re desperate to play or artists you’d love to play alongside?

I would love to play both Union Chapel because it's a beautiful venue and Brixton Academy because of the history and the amount of amazing shows I've seen there over the years, I feel one is currently more attainable than the other though! When I think of gigs I would personally love to have played (i.e. live albums that I played to death growing up), the ones that really stick in my head are Simon and Garfunkel's Concert in Central Park and the Red Hot Chili Peppers gig in Hyde Park (which I was at aged 11) back in 2004 - they had James Brown supporting them! Final one - as already mentioned, I would love to play alongside The Tallest Man on Earth.

What does the rest of 2017 hold for you after the EP launch?

Playing more shows to promote the D&D EP and getting to work on some new songs! I pretty much took 2016 off in terms of music so I'll be looking to not do that again, I've got a few ideas for the next steps I want to take songwriting-wise and I'm hoping to experiment with expanding the live sound a little too.

George Holroyd launches his Demons & Dust EP at The George Tavern in London tomorrow evening (9th June) with support from Daisy Chute and Felix M-B - tickets available here.