Interview: JESS & THE BANDITS, The Long Road Festival, Leicestershire

What a pleasure to catch up with UK country staples Jess & The Bandits before their Main Stage set at The Long Road Festival (you can read my thoughts on that here). We chatted about literal long roads, the makings of a good bandit, and what they really want ahead of a festival set... hope you enjoy!

CC: Hi all! I’m joined by Jess & The Bandits at The Long Road Festival in Leicestershire!

All: Hi!

CC: First off, how’s the year going for you?

Jess (J): It’s going pretty good I would say! Busy, very busy.

CC: Any end in sight?

J: Definitely not!

CC: Good! It’s great to meet you all – when I think of UK country, there are a number of bands who pop into my mind, and Jess & The Bandits is certainly one of them. Fantastic to see you at the inaugural Long Road Festival.

J: Thank you!

CC: So we’re here at The Long Road – what’s the longest road you’ve been on as a band?

J: Felt like today! We came down from Scotland.

Luke (L): All on one road, all the way to here! We actually did come down the long road to this festival.

J: I think we’ve all been on long journeys with our careers for sure. This entire thing has been one very, very long road, but a really good road, full of twists and turns and bumps and all that! But that’s what it’s all about, just the journey that you go on.

CC: You’re playing a couple of shows over the festival – I take it we’ll be hearing a lot from Smoke & Mirrors?

J: Oh yeah, we’ve got loads of songs from the new album.

CC: What were the best and worst parts of creating that album?

J: The worst part is trying to pick the songs that are going to be on the album, because we ended up with about thirty to choose from, and then had to bring it down to fourteen on the album. That’s the worst part. I’d say the creative part can be kind of hard too because you’ve got this goal, and that can be a bit stressful for a while, trying to write the perfect songs.

Jake: And you kind of get attached to them, but you can’t have them all on the record!

J: The best part is when it’s done! And the first time you get to perform them, and seeing if people like them.

L: You don’t know if they’re any good until then!

J: And then people sing along to them. So many good parts!

CC: Could you have a B-Side of all of these next songs?

J: There could be!

Callum: That’s the next album!

CC: I’m sure you’ve been asked a lot about the band name and how it came about, but what I want to know is, what makes a good bandit?

J: Ooh, I don’t know? What do you guys think makes a good bandit, bandits?

L: A good bandit? Someone who listens to me.

J: When he says ‘me’, he means ME!

CC: I love coming to festivals like this to find out about up and coming artists – are there any bands or people out there who you think are underrepresented that people should be listening to?

J: Let’s see… Jess and the Bandits?

CC: Good answer!

J: In seriousness, I think on the Main Stage you have all of your obvious artists there, so it’s the ones you see on the smaller stages that are working so hard and getting their name out there. It’s great to see the main acts and all that, but if people can go and see the new artists coming up, those are the ones that you’ll probably see on the main stage in a few years.

CC: Very true since you’re on the Main Stage this year! Finally, is there one question you’ve not been asked in an interview but would love to be?

J: Can I get you a glass of wine? No-one has ever asked me that!

Chris: You’d get some real answers for that too!

CC: If that were the question, what would be the answer!

All: Yes please!

CC: Unanimous! We’ll see if we can arrange that next time! Thank you all so much for joining me.

J: Thank you so much for having us! 

Thanks to the band for taking the time to chat with me. If you liked this, be sure to follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry for even more reviews and interviews coming soon, and drop me a comment below with any ideas for who you'd like me to interview next!