“That was me in the crowd when I was young, and then you see that again from the other side.”
For Overpass, returning to Reading Festival was always going to be a special occasion. Speaking backstage ahead of their Friday performance on The Ballroom stage, Indie Armstrong and Elliot Rawlings were preparing to return to a festival that already holds plenty of personal memories for the band.
“We can’t wait,” Indie says. “We played Reading & Leeds last summer and it was great, so it’s fun to be back again. The stage looks amazing and The Ballroom tent looks really cool, so yeah, we can’t wait!”
For Elliot, however, the occasion carries an additional significance. Before taking to the stage as part of one of the UK’s fast-rising indie bands, he was once standing amongst the festival crowds himself.
“Definitely, especially knowing that I came when I was younger, when I was like 16, and did the whole weekend here,” Elliot explains. “You really feel like it’s a full-circle moment and you’re like, ‘That was me in the crowd when I was young,’ and then you see that again from the other side.”
“It’s definitely one of the most special ones in the UK for sure.”
The band’s festival memories have naturally become increasingly memorable, although Elliot admits some are easier to remember than others. “They’re all a bit hazy as we were drinking as we’re singing,” he jokes.
Indie, meanwhile, recalls one particularly impressive Reading lineup from his own time as a festivalgoer. “I remember I came one year, a bit older than 16. I think it was Wolf Alice, Fontaines and then Arctic Monkeys. Those three in a row were insane.”
Of course, Overpass have now created plenty of memories of their own on festival stages, with their live performances becoming an increasingly important part of the band’s rise. Asked which songs they particularly enjoy performing, Elliot picks out Union Station.
“I really enjoy playing Union Station, I’d say.” For Indie, Is This Real has become a particularly satisfying way to close a set. “I really like Is This Real. It’s a nice closer to the set.”
The track features on the band’s debut album, Elsewhere, Always, which was released earlier this year and gave Overpass one of the biggest milestones of their career so far. “Its been great,” Elliot says of the album’s reception. “The one thing that shocked us the most was the chart position. We couldn’t believe we got number five. That blew our heads off.”
But the success of an album doesn’t truly sink in until the songs reach a live audience. “It’s been great when we’ve done the gigs this summer and had everyone singing the album songs,” Elliot continues. “It’s so rewarding. It’s great. We’re really happy.”
That connection will only continue when Overpass head out on their upcoming UK tour this autumn, with Indie revealing that the run of dates has now sold out. “Yeah, we can’t wait. I think it’s sold out now, to be fair, so it’s going to be crazy,” she says.
The tour will see the band visit some of their biggest and most iconic venues to date, providing the first opportunity to properly take their debut album around the country. “We’ve got some quite iconic rooms, some pretty big venues, so it’s going to be great doing a full tour of the new album for the first time and seeing everyone’s reaction to it.”
For Elliot, there are particular venues on the itinerary that represent another full-circle moment. “There’s a lot of rooms we’ve wanted to play for a really long time,” he says. “We’ve supported bands in those rooms before and thought, ‘One day we’ll headline…’ and now we are, so we’re buzzing.” One venue stands out above all others. “Especially the O2 Academy in Birmingham, that’s like our hometown and such a big room.”
The venue has particular personal significance for both members, having played an important role in their experiences as music fans before they ever joined a band. “I remember supporting Inhaler at the Academy about three years ago,” Elliot says. “That felt massive, so to be doing that is great.”
“It’s where I grew up going to gigs really,” Indie adds. “The Academy and Institute in Brum, so it’s cool.”
Those experiences underline just how important the grassroots music scene has been in Overpass’ development. From rehearsal spaces to smaller venues, Elliot believes the band’s journey simply would not have been possible without them. “We wouldn’t be here without it,” he says. “All those rehearsal rooms around Birmingham like Mother Studio, Sunflower Lounge, Dead Wax, without those places you couldn’t do it.”
That live experience has also helped the band develop an understanding of exactly what makes a festival crowd special. And at Reading Festival, they have some clear requirements. “For us, singing along is a big one,” Indie says. “Just hearing that back so loud to you. Also, people being on shoulders is a classic, but it’s really nice to see when you look out onstage and see someone singing on shoulders.”
Elliot has a more concise formula: “Jumping, singing and shoulders.”
“That’s like a kids’ nursery rhyme or something,” Indie laughs.
Their Friday performance would ultimately provide plenty for Overpass fans to sing about. During the set, the band brought out Nieve Ella for a special duet of Fall in Love, prompting a huge reaction from the Ballroom crowd. With their debut album having reached No. 5 in the UK Album Charts, and a sold-out UK tour on the horizon, the band’s focus after festival season remains refreshingly straightforward: keep improving.
“Keep recording and writing better music all the time,” Elliot says when asked about Overpass’ next milestone. “That’s what we strive for as a band.”
“We love live shows, of course, but we also take a lot of pride in making the best music that we can, so that’s the future plans for sure.”
And if Overpass could curate their own dream festival lineup, their choices suggest they have excellent plans for the day ahead. “Geese, Fontaines DC, Charli XCX,” Indie says before laughing, “Oh wait, that’s who we get to see today!”
Elliot would add a few more names to the bill: “Stereophonics in the middle, I really want to see them. I’m going to keep it basic and say Oasis to headline, just because I’m a huge fan. I saw them in Manchester last year and they were amazing.”
“And then the opener, maybe someone cool like Keane!”
From attending Reading Festival as teenagers to taking to one of its stages themselves, Overpass’ journey has undoubtedly come full circle. There’s plenty more music still to come, and it seems their story is only just getting started.
