This month Scottish five-piece Vida bring their brand of indie-rock to the Independent in Sunderland in the middle of a very well supported tour that has sold out north of the border.
Formed in 2013 by school friends Nathan Evans and Jamie Pollock (no, not the ex-Boro midfielder), they have gone through a few line-up changes and are now a settled band with the additions of Jamie Piggott, Craig Scobbie and Greg Ballantyne.
The band’s sound is heavily reminiscent of indie in its mid-90’s Britpop hay-day and, although they wear their influences proudly on their sleeve, there is enough of a fresh approach to make their anthems feel current and relevant in 2018. If you haven’t heard any tracks by Vida just yet, think The Verve, Cast and the best that era of mainstream indie had to offer.
Their debut single, ‘Fade Away’, was released in 2016 to much acclaim and carried them from local favourites to ‘ones to watch’ UK-wide. Their debut EP, ‘Masquerade’, garnered further attention with its lead single, ‘When I Call’, given its UK debut on Soccer A.M. The boys have also become must-haves on the festival circuit, having pulled large crowds at the Isle of Wight Festival, Y Not Festival, TRNSMT and Reading & Leeds.
They have also recorded with Steve Cradock of Ocean Colour Scene and joined the Sherlock’s as support on their full UK tour. The band released their new single, ‘Let You Believe’, in March and it’s a summer anthem in the making.
Vida plays Independent, Sunderland on Friday 20th April. Tickets, priced at £4.00 in advance (plus booking fee), are available from independentsunderland.com and Hot Rats Records.
