“As long as they can get as much enjoyment out of it as we do, then that’s what it’s all about.”
For The Cases, Truck Festival marks another milestone in an increasingly busy summer. The four-piece, Harry Hornsby, Will Bullen, James Maher and Matt Barron, arrived at the This Feeling tent for their first ever Truck appearance, with excitement understandably high ahead of their set.
“I’m so excited,” Harry says. “It’s our first time playing Truck and I’ve heard it’s one of the best.”
“All the other bands say to us that it’s the best festival, so we’re buzzing!” adds James.
Truck is just one stop in a packed run of festival appearances for the band, who have already played Isle of Wight and Gone Gathering this summer, with Y Not? and Kendal Calling also on the horizon.
The latter will provide another major first for The Cases, as they prepare to make their debut on a festival main stage. “We’re actually playing our first main stage next week too at Kendal Calling,” Harry reveals.
It is another sign of the momentum building around the band, with their latest EP, Mr Penny, also giving fans plenty to get excited about. “Quality, so good,” James says of the release.
“It’s been a long time coming, hasn’t it?” Matt adds. The wait has certainly made the EP’s arrival all the more satisfying for the band. “I feel like because it’s been held back for so long, fans were waiting for ages, so it’s so good to finally get it out,” James explains. “It feels like a weight off our shoulders.”
The Cases have also been able to bring some of the EP’s tracks into their live set, something Harry is particularly looking forward to. “Obviously we’ve got a few songs from that to play tonight, so we’re excited for that,” he says.
“We release music all the time, so it’s hit or miss whether the fans are going to connect to it, but with this one it feels like it’s all done really well.”
The EP’s title track has an equally interesting origin story. Mr Penny was born from a combination of a nursery rhyme, a takeaway and a healthy dose of Beatles obsession.
“Me and Will used to work in a kitchen back in the day, and I kept messing around with this nursery rhyme,” Harry explains. “We used to get the bus back from college and there’s this takeaway called Mr Lab. We were into The Beatles at the time, like, ‘Make a song Mr Lab’, and then along came Mr Penny.”
Before long, the entire song had been written. “Then in a night we’d written the whole thing. It’s one of my favourite tracks to play actually.”
That love for performing is shared across the band, with the adrenaline of playing live proving difficult to replicate anywhere else. “I think the adrenaline, you know,” James says. “You kind of zone out and you don’t realise where you’re at. It’s an out-of-body experience, you can’t really explain it.”
“It’s a mad thing, isn’t it?” Matt agrees. “When you come off, the adrenaline dump you have afterwards, especially a gig that goes amazingly.”
For Harry, however, the best part of performing comes from the connection between the band and their audience. “You can’t really describe how special it is,” he says. “You give everything and anything to do it all the time, and we’re luckily getting into a position where we can.”
“I’m there for the fans. I love seeing their faces and their smiles, singing our lyrics back, and we have a lot of personal messages get sent to us about how relatable our music is and how it helps people through tough times.”
“And that’s what it’s about for me. As long as they can get as much enjoyment out of it as we do, then that’s what it’s all about.”
The Cases have already experienced some memorable festival moments this summer, with Y Not? providing one of Harry’s favourites. “We walked out at Y Not and there were about 10 people there for the line check,” he recalls. “Then before going on to play, we thought, ‘We’re going to go back and it isn’t going to be massive, this.’”
Instead, the tent was packed. “It was absolutely rammed. It was mental.”
James’ favourite memory is somewhat more surreal, involving a fish mask and a man who apparently wasn’t actually called Richard. “What about Fish?” he asks. “A band called Spangled brought out their mate Richard, who isn’t even called Richard, but we called him Richard all weekend. He had a fish mask, so we called him Fish… and Richard.”
If you’re unfamiliar with The Cases, the band have a simple pitch for what to expect when they hit the stage. “Your mum’s gonna love us, your gran’s gonna love us, and all of the younger generation are gonna love us,” Harry says. “We’re very easy listening, we’re not gonna puncture your earholes, but we’re gonna leave a nice soulful tune in your ears.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean their shows are lacking in energy, however. “Fans mosh to my bass solos and we’re all for it,” James laughs.
“As an artist, when you see a pit open, it is mental,” Harry adds. “It’s what you want,” James agrees. “You don’t want a crowd standing there, but if they’re jumping around then I’m buzzing.”
And if The Cases’ festival run wasn’t already busy enough, there is plenty more on the horizon. The band are heading to Manchester for a headline show at Academy 2, with the 900-capacity venue already close to selling out. “We’ve got a headline show at Academy 2 in Manchester,” Will says. “900 people, like 100 tickets left. It’s been on sale for about a month, so get your tickets!”
There is also new music in the works, although the band are keeping the exact details firmly under wraps for now. “We’ve just been in the studio,” James reveals, “so we have a nice new longform, not an album, thing to look forward to with more than one song.”
“Keep your ears peeled!”
With Mr Penny making its mark, a first festival main-stage appearance and a near-sold-out headline show ahead, The Cases are clearly entering an exciting period. And if their Truck Festival debut is anything to go by, there’s every reason to expect plenty more soulful tunes, and perhaps a few more mosh pits, along the way.
