‘Nothing beats a British festival’

Drummer Adam, lead singer and acoustic guitarist Andy, guitarist Joel and bassist Ryan all say they are excited to see their Luton fans at the concert in Popes Meadow.

The guitar-pop group who cite Maroon 5 and Coldplay as their influences formed about four years ago “over a couple of pear ciders”.

Their big break came with The Wanted’s theatre tour in 2011, when Adam says they were lucky enough to tick off many of their dream venues.

Adam said: “Now we’re really looking forward to Friday. Every time we do a show with The Wanted it’s like a lads’ holiday, we get on so well. We have a couple of drinks backstage and it’s really good fun.”

It hasn’t all been glamour and rock & roll for the boys, as when they first started out they toured the country in a “battered-up old van”.

Adam said: “One of the worst gigs we played was in Manchester when we turned up and there was absolutely no one there and the drum kit and PA were all broken.

“We knew it was going to be the worst gig ever so we had a few drinks before we started playing. I had a few more drinks than the others and had to run off stage being very ill by the end.”

“In the early days, we played dodgy gigs everywhere. In Clapham, someone threw a plant pot at the stage so we were all covered in soil.

“We just enjoyed playing with each other so much though that we were never tempted to give up.

“It’s good because you make all your mistakes when you first start out, and everything that can go wrong already has, so when it comes to playing awesome places like Luton, you’re prepared.”

Fortunately, the boys have come a long way since the days of plant pots and rubbish PAs, and their first single When She Was Mine debuted at number 4 in the charts in May.

Adam said: “Now, whenever we are doing anything amazing we take a step back and think about the time when we couldn’t even dream about things like this. We appreciate it so much more having worked so hard.”

Lawson recently filmed their new music video for Taking Over Me in LA, and hope to return to America in the future, but for now they are concentrating on the UK.

Adam said: “It’s most important to us to do well in our own country as it’s where our friends and family are.

“We’re really looking forward to the Love Luton Festival. The vibes at British festivals are just the best in the world, maybe it’s the mud or something but you can’t beat a British festival.”

For the full rundown of all the acts performing at the Love Luton weekend, see the Luton News and Dunstable Gazette this week.