Photo Credit: Press

Ahead of their biggest UK headline tour yet and their upcoming single ‘Rock My Love’, we sat down with Dan and Ben from Liverpool band KEYSIDE to chat about their run of shows, their picks to look out for and their local music scene.

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What has the reception been like on your previous single ‘If You Don’t Try’?

Ben: People love it live. It’s one of the ones you want to play live. If you listen to it, you are better off listening to live. It’s one of the tunes that gets people going that I’ve noticed.

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Does that give you an idea that if some songs are better heard live, that a live recording could be released in the future?

Ben: I don’t think the song is better live compared to the other tunes we’ve got. They are quite jangly and poppy whereas this one is more rocky from the get go. I’ve never thought about doing a live track though. 

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Your biggest UK tour yet is coming up in November. How excited are you for this one?

Dan: We can’t wait man. It’s going off. We sold out our tour in March, which was really good. We’ve doubled the capacity now across all the dates, so we are expecting big things. 

Ben: It’s close to 4000 tickets on sale for the whole tour, which is wild.

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Are there any dates on the tour you are looking forward to the most? 

Ben: Birmingham. That one shocked us when it sold out first. We’ve played a few festivals there before so we’re buzzing for that one.

Dan: People in Birmingham are really up for it which is really cool. 

Ben: They took to us like the Glaswegians. 

Dan: They’ve got that vibe haven’t they. 

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Across the tour there are a number of support acts joining you. Is there anyone in particular people should be looking out for?

Ben: The Cases.

Dan: Cherryholt. The Harbours are good. They’ve got a song called ‘Scarlett’ which is really good. The Kowloons are a Liverpool band. There’s loads. I was in the Jacaranda and I spoke to a band called ATH who supports The Cases. They are on our Manny gig now 

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As a Liverpool band, what makes the local music scene so special?

Ben: I think people take to it like we do with football. I support Everton. Danny supports Liverpool. But when people are into bands, they support them like it’s their club. People get right behind you. Scousers always want to see other Scousers doing well. Everyone is just happy for you.

Dan: We’ve got such a rich history in Liverpool with music. We travel alot and experience music scenes in different places but trying not to be biased, but Liverpool has got something special about.

Ben: All of our venues are within walking distance to each other so it is very tight knit.

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Live at Leeds in the City is the final festival of the year. Are there any bands you are looking forward to catching while you are there?

Ben: Radio Free Alice. Keo are on as well. I need to see them. 

Dan: I met the singer in a guitar shop in London, he’s dead sound. Arkayla are on who we know quite well. 

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Can we expect any new music from Keyside in the near future?

Dan: Yeah man, before the end of the year. There are some teasers on our Instagram now.

Ben: Next year is a big one we hope

Dan: This year has been boss for us, so we’re going to sign off with something we’re really proud of. It is my favourite song we’ve done so far. It’s about a woman hitting rock bottom. 

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Has the creative process changed with this new single?

Dan: I’ll get the melody at home and then bring it to life in the studio. There have been a few songs that we’ve taken into the studio to do it there and then, a bit like The Beatles did. ‘Michael (Whats Your Call?) is a good example of that. I wrote it the day before we were going into the studio, and we recorded it there and then. It wasn’t originally meant to be on the EP but the lads agreed that we needed to do it. 

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As your upcoming single is going to wrap up 2025, what can we expect to see from Keyside next year?

Ben: Festivals. 

Dan: New tunes. 

Ben: More gigs.

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Finally, what message do you have for your fans, new and old?

Dan: Whenever we do our live shows, we always make it a thing to have a drink afterwards and talk to them. We absolutely love every one of them. They are all very individual people when we speak to them, so it’s nice to hear how they interpret the songs and their own angle on it. I find that so inspiring and it’s a pleasure to speak to them. There has been occasions where people have told me their life story and it’s inspired me to write a song which will be coming out next year. 

Ben: They make it make sense. 

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Keyside will be touring the UK this month on the following dates:

November 2025
13th – Glasgow, Oran Mor
14th – Edinburgh, Mash House
15th – Live at Leeds in the City
18th – Newcastle upon Tyne, The Cluny
20th – Sheffield, Sidney & Matilda
21st – Liverpool, O2 Academy
26th – London, Camden Assembly
27th – Manchester, Band on the Wall
28th – Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
29th – Birmingham, Sunflower Lounge

December 2025
01 – Bristol, Louisiana
02 – Southampton, Joiners
04 – Nottingham, Bodega