The Blinders have had one hell of a time of it recently. From their amazing sold out shows to their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Columbia’.

We got the chance to chat to the band before their latest headline tour, great opportunity to discuss the reaction to ‘Columbia’, festival season and their partnership with Safe Gigs For Women.

Gigslutz: Can you reflect on the year you’ve had, with your debut album ‘Columbia’ being released?

The Blinders: It’s certainly been a ride. When you’re in the bubble as we often put it, it’s sometimes hard to really notice or even at times appreciate all that is going on. When you take a minute and contemplate some of the things that we’ve done such as SXSW or the festivals we’ve played it’s quite incredible, even to us.

How long have you been together and how did the band form?

It’s been around four years. We all knew each other from school. It was very much a natural process of three friends who were into music or similar music and decided to start a band. Of course, we never expected it to take us this far.

Your album artwork has become very popular, where did that idea come from?

We laboured heavily over the artwork or at least Sam Crowston did who creates most of the visual aspects of the band. As with the album, we wanted it to be representative of where we were at the time. The face paint had became this quite iconic thing and was maybe the thing people knew us for to a degree. It was agreed pretty early that the eyes would form the artwork. It of course then went through various forms until we found that one that worked.

Are you looking forward to your upcoming tour? Any surprises in store?

We’re desperate to get back on the road. It feels like we’ve been doing very little for a while. In truth, we’ve been busy writing new material and focusing on building a show that’s suitable and fits these bigger venues. The show is certainly developing therefore. There may be a couple of surprises in the form of a new song or two.

What do you have lined up for this year’s festival season?

We’ve got a show with Blossoms in Stockport which is certainly going to be a thrill. We’re honoured to be asked to perform. We’re also heading to places like Bearded Theory Festival which is a new one to us before we play Benicassim which feels like another huge milestone for us.

What’s your end goal with this band?

We don’t really set goals and just let things take their natural course. Our current aim is to deliver a memorable show on tour and to make sure that the next song we write is ‘better’ then the last. If we can achieve that then we will see where that takes us.

You recently announced the news that you’re teaming with the very important company, Safe Gigs For Women, on your upcoming tour. Can you tells us more about that partnership?

It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a while so have finally been able to put it into action. We’ve seen a lot of their work in the past and its obviously incredibly important. We want to ensure that our gigs are safe to all and that all feel comfortable coming to the gigs and having a great time. We would hate to think that anyone would be put off due to the behaviour of others. Safe Gigs for Women are there to help us achieve this.

Whats next for The Blinders?

Plenty of writing so keep your ears open for that.