Due to production issues, @GillaBand have had to cancel their o2 Forum show and have announced a residency of shows around London. First is at @WindmillBrixton next Friday (16th). TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW 10am!! – https://t.co/XV2Z2tiIax pic.twitter.com/RPLHB6UIWi

— RoughTradeRecs (@RoughTradeRecs) September 8, 2022

The band will play The Windmill Brixton on September 9^th, Peckham Audio on October 8^th, Moth Club on October 21^st and Studio 9294 on November 9^th. Tickets for the Windmill show go on sale tomorrow at 10 am; tickets are available here. Tickets for the rest of the shows will be available on Tuesday 13^th September at 10 am.

We are changing our band name. We are also playing some shows in Dublin in January. pic.twitter.com/PNhZ19dL2m — Gilla Band (@GillaBand) November 16, 2021

Gilla Band, formerly Girl Band, changed their name last November, apologising to anyone who may have been hurt by the band’s original name. The four Irish men released a statement via Twitter at the time, stating: “We will no longer be performing or releasing records under the name Girl Band. We apologise for choosing a misgendered name in the first place and to anyone who has been hurt or affected by it.” 

Continuing: “When we were starting off it was chosen without much thought. From a place of naivety and ignorance. We had no grasp of the weight of it at the time and in the past few years have found it impossible to justify or explain.”

They went on: “Regardless of our intention the effect of the name has been damaging to individuals. To try and negate any unfortunate role we’ve played in propagating a culture of non-inclusivity in music or otherwise. We have decided to change it.”

Finishing with: “Thank you to those who spoke up about it and educated us on this. Either directly or indirectly. Moving forward we will be performing and releasing records under the name Gilla Band. Gilla being a given name taken from old Irish.”

Gilla Band will be releasing their new record, Most Normal on October 7^th via Rough Trade Records. Earlier this summer the band released the second single off the album. The track titled “Backwash” was available as a Big Love exclusive 7’, limited to 120 copies and a video animated by Mortis Studios accompanied the release. You can watch the video below.

Speaking to Hot Press singer Dara Kiely revealed the inspiration behind the song: “The initial idea for the whole album was that it would loosely sound like a dream. We didn’t really stick to the brief but it lead us down different sonic avenues. ‘Backwash’ is one of the few tracks where the words represent a dream-like circumstance. The lyrics are from a stream of consciousness rant, weird imagery and all that. The track is about attraction – fancying someone and not knowing what to say exactly. It’s an indirect love song, knowing you like someone but can’t quite articulate it. Thinking that you have already expressed your feelings, but like waking up from a dream you’ve forgotten what you actually have said or felt.”

London residency dates:

16/09/2022 – The Windmill Brixton – London
08/10 – Peckham Audio – London
21/10 – Moth Club – London
09/11 – Studio 9294 – London

“‘Eight Fivers’ is about being out of touch with modern circumstances while feeling socially limited,” singer Dara Kiely said in a statement. “Never fitting in and kind of proud of it. Stuck with what I have and happy for it. Being grateful and not fashionable, self-conscious and too aware of what is lacking. Accepting that jealousy has played a big role in my life but trying not to feed into it.”

Late last year, Gilla band made headlines after taking the socially charged decision to change their name from Girl Band. The band have highlighted their initial decision, labelling it as nothing more than an oversight, “It was chosen without much thought” and that the choice came from a place of “naivety and ignorance”. The band go on to say that the decision was not intended to be harmful to anyone; but in today’s climate, with talks of gender and sexuality being as prominent as they are, it would have been “impossible to justify or explain their choice”.   “Regardless of our intentions, the effect of the name has been damaging to individuals. To try and negate any unfortunate role we’ve played in propagating a culture of non-inclusivity in music or otherwise, we have decided to change it.”. 

We are changing our band name. We are also playing some shows in Dublin in January. pic.twitter.com/PNhZ19dL2m

— Gilla Band (@GillaBand) November 16, 2021

The announcement comes ahead of an extensive world tour the band have just begun. Hitting the European and North American festival scene for the summer, before heading back to the UK in October for 8 nights, and then heading back off to mainland Europe until the end of November. Ready for a few Christmas-themed welcome-home gigs in Ireland. You can find full tour information here. The band are yet to announce any support for the shows, but with a few months to go, it’s unlikely we’ll be left in the dark for very long.

See below the full list of Gilla Band’s UK and Ireland Tour:

09/17 – Leicester – Wide Eyed Festival
10/15 – Birmingham – Future Days Festival
10/16 – Bristol – Trinity
10/18 – Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
10/19 – Glasgow – SWG3
10/20 – Manchester – O2 The Ritz
10/22 – London – O2 Forum
10/23 – Brighton – CHALK
12/09 – Dublin – National Stadium
12/15 – Belfast – The Empire

We are changing our band name. We are also playing some shows in Dublin in January. pic.twitter.com/PNhZ19dL2m

— Gilla Band (@GillaBand) November 16, 2021

The band have highlighted their initial decision, labelling it as nothing more than an oversight, “It was chosen without much thought” and that the choice came from a place of “naivety and ignorance”. The band go on to say that the decision was not intended to be harmful towards anyone; but in today’s climate, with talks of gender and sexuality being as prominent as they are, it would have been “impossible to justify or explain their choice”.   “Regardless of our intentions, the effect of the name has been damaging to individuals. To try and negate any unfortunate role we’ve played in propagating a culture of non-inclusivity in music or otherwise, we have decided to change it.”.  

The band then went on to thank those involved in the decision to change the name. “Thank you to those who spoke up about it and educated us on this. Either directly or indirectly. Moving forward we will be performing and releasing records under the same Gilla Band.”. They then kindly clarified, “Gilla being a given name taken from old Irish.”.  

The announcement also came with the news of a brief stint of gigs at Whelans in Dublin next January. The gigs will take place on Friday 14^th and 21^st, then Saturday 29^th. As of yet, there is no more information on the gigs. No support acts, and no hints at new music. But you can still buy tickets here. The gig follows a sold-out show on new years eve in Limerick.

Thank You! x@girl_band NYE @mydolans is now SOLD OUT!!!

pic.twitter.com/lXAq4jqcjl

— Seoda Shows (@seodashows) November 9, 2021

The band are also set to tour with post-punk behemoths IDLES on their 2022 European tour. See the IDLES, Gilla Band, and Brighton band Porridge Radio, dates below.

18/02/22 – Hamburg, Germany – Docks
19/02 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Melkweg
20/02 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Melkweg
22/02 – Berlin, Germany – Columbiahalle
23/02 – Cologne, Germany – Carlswerk Victoria
24/02 – Munich, Germany – Muffathalle
26/0 – Brussels, Belgium – AB Brussels
28/02 – Paris, France – Elysée Montmartre