It’s been a long time since Blossoms performed in Australia – almost nine years, in fact – but the chance to support Kasabian Down Under was too good to turn down.
One of the most idiosyncratic indie-rock bands to emerge from the UK over the past decade, Blossoms return to Australia off the back of another hugely successful album drop in their home country. Their fifth studio album, Gary, became their fourth (and third consecutive) UK No. 1 album, and earned the band rave reviews from critics at the same time.
“Still beating their chests five albums in, there’s plenty of fun to be found in Blossoms’ latest,” wrote Rolling Stone UK in a four-star review, hailing Gary as a “roaring success.”
The Guardian noted their “loyal and loud fanbase” in a live review last November, adding that “Blossomsmania is in full force at this cheery, beery gig, which has something of the atmosphere of an indie Last Night of the Proms.”
And yes, we know you’re wondering: which self-respecting hip indie band names their album “Gary”? The title came from a fibreglass gorilla statue of the same name which was stolen from a Scottish garden centre in 2023.
Blossoms frontman Tom Ogden was compelled. “I found the story entertaining when I heard it on the radio, so just as a laugh I went away [and said] I’m going to write a song about it,” he told the BBC.
Gary the Gorilla has since become a mascot and unofficial band member, with Blossoms even taking a replica of him on tour. “It has connected with people,” Ogden added. “I didn’t anticipate it, but I knew I wanted to have something that made people go, what’s that?”
Kasbian and Blossoms kicked off their tour in style with two shows in Melbourne, and now head to Sydney tonight and tomorrow, (March 15th-16th) followed by a final show in Brisbane on Tuesday (March 18th).
Blossoms are so pumped to be back in the country that they’re releasing mini tour diaries to capture the trip. “Pleasure to be back in Australia after such a long time away,” they wrote on social media.
To celebrate their Australian return, Rolling Stone AU/NZ caught up with the band to chat about Gary (the album and gorilla), what fans can expect from their live set, their future plans, and more.
Ticket information for Kasabian & Blossoms’ Australian shows is available here. More information about Blossoms’ upcoming tour dates can be found here.
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Rolling Stone AU/NZ: It’s been almost nine years since you last toured Australia! What are you most looking forward to this time around?
Blossoms: It sounds obvious but actually playing the shows is what we’re looking forward to the most. I feel like we’ve come on a lot as live band in nine years and we’re better live than we’ve ever been, so I’d have to say that.
Looking back, is there anything you appreciate more now than you did back then?
I think we appreciate touring and travelling the world more than ever. Especially after COVID, we take nothing for granted, and I also think as you get a bit older you have a better sense of gratitude for the opportunities we get and the things we get to do.
You’ve just wrapped up a big UK tour for Gary – how’s the live set feeling? What can fans expect?
Like I said before I think this is our best live show yet. Being the support act over here, obviously we only get around 30 mins so we tried to take all the best bits from the UK tour and condense them into this show. It’s a relentless 30-minute Blossoms greatest hits.
Gary hits like a party record. How has that energy taken your live show to new places?
100%. That was one of our jumping points when we first went into making this record, we wanted it to be a party album and also be great fun to play live. We recorded the majority of the album live, which we’ve never done before and I think that transcended into the live show.
You’ve been playing these new songs live for a while now. Have any tracks taken on new meaning or surprised you in how they connect with audiences?
I think the title track has taken on a life of its own. We now finish our headline shows with that song, people seem to absolutely love it.
Gary feels like a full-circle moment for you creatively. What’s something you’ve discovered about yourselves in making and touring it?
I think we realised you don’t have to take everything so seriously… It’s important to have a sense of humour with what you do and people resonate with that.
What have you learned from sharing the stage with Kasabian?
We’ve played with them over the years and they’ve always had a great live show. From the attention to detail on stage in terms of equipment, stage design, to their live set musically with their segues and nods to other songs. Parts of their sets feel like a DJ set and one song bleeds into the next, we’ve taken that on ourselves over the years.
Any Aussie artists or bands you’re into right now?
I’ve listened to a lot of Royel Otis, love them. Parcels we’re also big fans of.
Congrats on the Glastonbury 2025 slot! Who are you keen to see play, and will you be bringing a Pyramid-sized Gary?
Gary will definitely be making an appearance. We’re playing in a tent so we’ll be taking the 8ft Gary this time. Can’t wait to see [the] 1975 headline, I think they’ll put on something special.
Beyond Glastonbury, what’s on the horizon for 2025? Any surprises in store?
Going to start writing new music, keep taking Gary around the world for the rest of the year.
