On Wednesday 30th September, I had the pleasure of seeing Little Grandad support Madra Salach at Exeter Phoenix. The band are at the centre of much buzz in the indie music scene with expectations that they are ‘speeding towards stardom’ (NME). Speaking to Harry Lower (guitar/vocals) and Ned Ashcroft (guitar/trumpet) afterwards, the band’s ambition is undeniable, yet they are clear in their intentions to honour the roots of their success in independent venues.
The hype around their unique sound is truly deserved and characterised, at least in part, by their use of trumpet. Although it is perhaps an unusual addition to what would otherwise be quite a conventional indie four-piece, the band have masterfully integrated the instrument into their music in a way that adds to the emotional weight and depth of their music. On their decision to use the trumpet, Harry and Ned expressed their mutual love of Chet Baker and how this has been a foundation of their musical relationship ever since; ‘we scatted a Chet Baker solo when we first met.’ The trumpet, therefore, pays homage to this influence, given that ‘we both really like jazz, but we knew that we didn’t necessarily want to make jazz, so this is kind of the way to incorporate it into what we do’.
As a band that values the ability to play music live over anything recorded, their drive is rooted in near-constant gigging. ‘In a calendar year we did over 100, so that’s like a gig every four days.’ Plus, ‘half of it we kind of had jobs, so it was really hard for the first six months,’ but the following half of the year they decided to commit to their instincts and sound because then ‘you can give your all to music.’
With their sole focus now on music, the new year brings a host of new opportunities and ambitions. The pair joke about their big goal to ‘break Japan,’ but their main focus is to keep playing their music live with the aim of ‘maybe 150’ gigs in 2027. The new year also brings their debut album titled “Speak Softly, Son”, but they aren’t taking the opportunity to slow down; instead, ‘we wanna already maybe start the next one […] just to keep the ball rolling!’
However, they recognise that these achievements and future ambitions would not be possible without independent venues. Such places have been a crucial part of the band’s career thus far, and they even ‘played only independent venues for Independent Venue Week on tour.’ It is their belief that ‘you can’t grow as a band if you don’t have independent venues because they are the ones who will let you play and not really care how much money you’re bringing in.’ As Harry simply puts it, ‘we wouldn’t have a career without independent music venues.’
“We wouldn’t have a career without independent music venues.”
Harry Lower
Ned highlights that ‘they’re also run by very real people’ and ‘a lot of their life, their time on earth’ is spent on keeping these venues alive. The band is so passionate about the issue that independent venues seem to be wrapped up in their very ethos, saying ‘we really want to grow and we’re quite ambitious but regardless we still want to be able to play at The George [Tavern] or The Windmill [Brixton] at least a couple times a year.’ In fact, they hint that ‘if you have your wits about you there’s a chance you’ll be able to find us around Christmas somewhere there pretty much for the rest of our lives.’
Just in speaking to Little Grandad, it seems that the friendships they are building being part of a band manifest themselves as a kind of warmth that bleeds into the way they share the stage and the way in which they interact with fans. Simply put, they have the quality of a band that should be regularly headlining their own tours, and I consider it essential to hear their music live.
Listen to their debut album, “Speak Softly, Son” due for release 22nd January 2027.
