We sat down with Jack from Edinburgh band THE RAH’S to talk about the bands early years, their current plans what is yet to come.

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How did The Rah’s form?

Jack: Originally we were a covers band playing in pubs at 16 years old, but we started to write our own music after doing it for a few years.

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What is the music scene like in Scotland?

Jack: As a whole, Scotland has produced some of the best bands around. It varies quite a lot, Glasgow leads the way in terms of the up and coming scene. Edinburgh is quite hit and miss, we’ve lost half of our venues over the years so it’s made it more difficult for bands to get shows. The population of a lot of places in Scotland doesn’t really justify bands to play there, so that’s why Glasgow gets chosen for most UK tours.

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Do you see yourselves having to travel to England regularly to get more shows?

Jack: The north of England is a doddle to us, Newcastle is only a couple of hours away and even Sheffield is four hours. It’s not too bad, but it’s when you get shows in London that’s when the hours start to rack up.

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You have teased recently that your second album is now complete. How different was the writing and recording process compared to your debut release?

Jack: Musically its a lot more mature and solidity to it. The first album was like a big jigsaw. Some of the songs were recorded years apart. We feel it’s a level above, it’s got a real swagger and groove with a lot of energy to it too. It’s a good unit of music and we’re really looking forward to getting it out there.

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When can we expect to hear new music from The Rah’s?

Jack: I’ve been discussing this for almost six months now. Best case it will be this side of the year, worst case the start of next year. We’re hoping around March we’ll release the album.

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You are set to play with The Sherlocks as part of their upcoming UK tour, how excited are you to play some big rooms?

Jack: We just put our name out there that we were interested in playing with them. We’ve known them for nearly ten years now, there’s quite a funny story to do with our bands. We were playing a show together in 2013, and they were under 18 so we were given the headline slot as they weren’t allowed in the venue past 8pm. The second one is we played a show in Glasgow which was the night I met my wife, but I also lost my guitar that night too because I left it behind when going after her. We had a catch up at Godney Gathering as well earlier this year which was cool.

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How excited are you to play those two shows?

Jack: We’re really looking forward to playing St Lukes’ in Glasgow. The sound in that venue is incredible. I went to see We Were Promised Jetpacks there and I’ve wanted to play that venue since. We’re playing in Newcastle but it’s a new venue for us so that will be a nice change. It’s a good opportunity to play a support slot as you can attract some new people at the shows. I have seen people commenting on our socials that they are looking forward to seeing us, and even some of our fans are traveling to see us because a night out in Newcastle on the piss is quite appealing.

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What has been your favourite show of 2023 so far?

Jack: Godney Gathering was really good. We have had a bit of a quieter year this year but the shows have all been great.

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What other plans do you have set in stone for 2024?

Jack: There are two shows confirmed on our UK tour, which will hopefully be announced soon once the dates are filled up.

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Do you have any goals you want to achieve for next year?

Jack: Success on the tour is a big one, you always want to do well especially on a headliner. Our next hometown show will be our biggest one yet. I would like to play more festivals, and just have fun really.

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What would be your perfect rider?

Jack: Definitely getting pizza. Endless amounts of Guinness on draught. Lets go for Jager as well to spice it up. Some finger food and a standard table of refreshments like water, Irn Bru and berocca to help with the hangovers.

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A huge thank you to Jack for spending his evening with us to talk about what The Rah’s have coming up.

The band’s UK tour is scheduled for March/April 2024, with dates to be announced soon.

The Rah’s will be playing across the UK in 2023 on the following dates:

12th October – St Luke’s Glasgow w/ The Sherlocks
13th October – University Newcastle w/ The Sherlocks
28th October – SWG3 Glasgow, The Gathering Episode 9
25th November – SWG3 Glasgow w/ Brooke Combe