Bloodstock 2019 – Band Feature/Interview: 28 Double

Bloodstock Open Air 2019 is nearly upon us and to say we’re excited is an understatement. We adore the festival and this year’s line-up is simply phenomenal. From the Ronnie James Dio Main Stage to the Sophie Lancaster Stage to the New Blood and Jägermeister Stages, there is something for everyone! Not got your tickets yet!? What are you waiting for!? Head over to the Bloodstock Festival website here and join thousands of like-minded head-bangers for a weekend of quality rock and metal.

28 Double are a 5 piece, high-energy Hard Rock/Groove/Metal band from Derby. Taking influences from bands such as Alter Bridge, Down, Black Stone Cherry and Clutch (to name a few), the Double bring together groove, catchy melodies, intoxicating solos and driving heavy riffs bundled in a fresh modern package!

Formed in 2014 by Rob Tallant (Guitar), Josh Woodhouse (Drums) and Nick Ward (Bass 2014 – 2015, Vocals 2015+), 28 Double first took to the stage performing their heavy and raw sounding riffs around the Midlands and set to work on the debut EP ‘Freedom’s Key’ (released in 2015 with accompanying video ‘Crossroads’).

After the release, Nick made the switch to vocals which brought a new sound and higher energy into the band, leaving room to introduce Kieran Agnew (Bass 2015-2017, Guitar 2018+) into the 28 Double family after being in a previous band with Nick and Rob!

In 2016, 28 Double had a good run of gigs (including shows with Power Quest and IamI)  and also entered the Mansfield Metal 2 the Masses where they managed to build a new fan base and as dark horses make it to the Grand Final where Witch Tripper took the crown! From the new relationships that had been built, they were one of the first bands involved in the United in Fuzz Community and lead on to gigs further afield and to growing audiences in following years to come.

2017 saw the Double’s 2nd release ‘Risen’. A hard-hitting EP and music video that encapsulates 28 Double’s post 2015 sound! Gav Archer (Bass 2017+) also joins the band and they continue to gig regularly and tighten the live shows! Getting involved with S.O.P.H.I.E Foundation fundraisers and opening for Tribute acts like Hi-On Maiden refined 28 Double to a high energy rock show.

In 2018, the band carried on gigging regularly and also put on a new charity gig ‘Air Aid’, in aid of the East Midlands Air Ambulance in memory of one of their relatives and fans. Managing to raise over £1200 with a successful evening of live music, 28 Double are looking forward to seeing the return of the event in the future! Kieran also rejoined the band on Guitar completing the sound for live shows, giving audiences more oomph!

For 2019, the band’s main focus, Metal 2 the Masses Leicester. As an outside band, 28 Double took the gamble and hit the competition hard, engaging new audiences and gaining more fans as the events progressed, culminating in being crowned the winners and given the chance to perform at Bloodstock Open Air 2019 on the New Blood Stage!

28 Double are also set to release a new single ‘Grind’ with music video around the time of their BOA appearance. Later in the year, the Double will be continuing to gig and venturing as far out as Newcastle for the first time to take part in a cracking line up for Rock the Foundry 2.

They will be playing the New Blood Stage on Sunday the 11th August 2019.

Interview

1. Congratulations on winning the Leicester leg of the M2TM and earning your slot on the Bloodstock New Blood Stage. What made you decide to take part?

Cheers! Well, having the opportunity to play Bloodstock was a nicely dangled dream-fulfilling shaped carrot! Also, we previously entered M2TM back in 2016 for the Mansfield region where we managed to reach the finals. Throughout, we met some great people, had a lot of fun at the events and managed to do a lot of networking. So, although not winning the first time around we had a rewarding experience. This time we wanted to come and compete in the Leicester region because we’ve not really played Leicester before and they’ve produced quality bands over the years in the competition!

2. What were some of the highlights of your competition run?

Obviously the major highlight was the finals and the announcement that we entered for! But alongside that we’ve met some really cool people, rocked out with new fans, had the chance to play new venues, getting to know new bands and wanting them to do well through the competition through the mutual comradery that builds over the events. Oh yeah, managing to draw the last slot on each bill out of the hat for each of the M2TM rounds was epic!… who’d have thought it?!

3. Describe the feeling if you can upon hearing your name read out as the winners?

A massive rush of euphoria, shock, amazement, over the moon… too many to really properly describe! We had set out to fulfill a milestone dream and had managed to make it a reality! It took us days to come down off cloud 9!

4. How big of an opportunity is playing the New Blood Stage for 28 Double? We’ve seen some bands really grow from it over the years!

Massive opportunity! Bloodstock is a great platform to introduce our music and live energy to music lovers who, otherwise wouldn’t get to see us! We’re working to keep stepping up our game and use it as a springboard to play more shows. This show will allow people to see us who haven’t managed to get to one of our shows before! Hopefully, open the possibility of more festivals (as this is our first ever festival appearance!) and again more networking opportunities, meeting new and exciting people and creating some awesome memories!

5. What can Bloodstockers expect from you come festival time? Why should they come see you?

We are very much a live band. You can expect a full on high-energy performance, lots of riffs, catchy melodies; all bundled into a no-messing Hard Rock Show! We’re there to give everyone a good time and have a good time ourselves doing what we love! If you like bands such as Alter Bridge, Black Stone Cherry, Slash and Myles Kennedy, Down and Black Sabbath (to name a few) then you’ll most likely enjoy one of our shows!

6. Are you regular attendees to the festival or will this be your first time?

You could call us veterans! Gav started going in 2004 back when it was the indoor event at Derby Assembly rooms, then by 2008 we were all regular attendees and able to call it home.

7. Are you hanging about all weekend? If so who are you most looking forward to seeing?

We are indeed! As a band, individually we have quite varied music tastes, so there’s a lot of bands that we’re looking forward to! We’re all pretty excited to see Parkway Drive again (most of us went to see earlier in the year) as that’s gonna be one hell of a show! But alongside them, Scorpions, Tesseract, Anthrax, Evil Scarecrow … and the bands we’ve had the chance to play with over the years like Witch Tripper, Graves, Ten Ton Slug, Resin, Footprints in the Custard and Grand Elder.

8. What does the rest of 2019 look like for 28 Double? Shows? Releases?

At the end of July we’re recording a new music video for Grind which we’re aiming to release just before Bloodstock! That will be part of an offering later on in the year to keep everyone ticking over until something big and special next year! In the mean-time we have some shows coming up!

Upcoming Shows:

Sunday 11th August : Bloodstock Open Air – New Blood Stage
Friday 23rd August: The Sitwell Tavern, Derby with Graves (Leicester M2TM Runners Up) and No Setting Sun
Sunday 25th August: The County Music Bar, Chesterfield (Rock Stock and Two Smoking Barrells) with Witch Tripper and a day of awesome live bands!
Friday 20th September: The County Music Bar, Chesterfield (our 1st Headline Chesterfield Show) with Seven Hells (M2TM Leicester 2018 Winners), By Design and Omen Machine (both M2TM Leicester Semi-finalists 2019).
Sunday 6th October: Trillians, Newcastle – Rock the Foundry 2 – All day event with Widows as headline and lots of really good underground bands through the day!
Friday 11th October: Mosh Against Cancer Derby, The Hairy Dog With Line of Fire, Master Charger and Witch Tripper

Links

Bandcamp | Spotify | Big Cartel | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube