Whilst sat at the bar of Mare Street’s The Cock Tavern, I had the chance to contemplate two things. Which trendy IPA indicative of East London’s gentrification would I order, and how would tonight’s interview go. Butch Kassidy aren’t exactly known for dishing out interviews on the regular, which only adds to their dark and murky stature. When they walked in, donning leather jackets, woollen hats and that scintillating air of comradery, it became apparent that the next hour would go down better than whatever dark brown pint I’d bought.
In May 2023, Butch Kassidy played their first major festival, Brixton’s very own Wide Awake. When asked about what they did in preparation for this monumental occasion, lead singer and guitarist Fionn Murphy was happy to disclose that they had plenty of upcoming shows in which they would experiment with new visuals and new instruments. He also interestingly added that Wide Awake festival was a great opportunity to “test run some new stuff”, indicating exciting new beginnings for their shows. When asked about their reaction to this huge opportunity, whether they were feeling the nerves, drummer Aron murphy simply shrugged it off as feeling “like any other show, we just put on a performance”.
Fig. 1 Butch Kassidy, Wide Awake Festival
The seemingly meteoric rise of the band has been questioned by some as they haven't risen to glory the so-called 'normal' way, with only one song appearing on their online discography, the dark, fast-paced and exciting single Heath. Guitarist Lev simply put this down to live shows, adding that 'we connect to our fans every time we walk out on stage'. For those who have seen this captivating band live, this won’t be a surprise to hear as their live shows are something of legend in London’s underground music scene. Shows at iconic venues such as Brixton’s 'The Windmill' and Shoreditch’s 'Village Underground' have been extraordinary shows that leave the audience scanning social media trying to get a glimpse of where their next performance will be.
The life of a band cannot be all sunshine and rainbows, however, as problems will always arise. Another of London’s most talented underground groups, Kyoto Kyoto, is led by Butch Kassidy’s guitarist Lev. Hailing from Rheinland-Pflaz, Germany, the talented musician expressed no concerns for the future of both bands, stating that “there are sometimes some small clashes with bookings and logistics but we’re very lucky as both bands are very transparent with each other”. Brothers Fionn and Aron fully agreed, suggesting that there were no issues to be seen, at least not yet anyway.
Although the band haven’t given out too many interviews, one notable piece written on them was by Fred Perry’s subculture page; dedicated to London’s lesser-known artists. Though all three present members agree that it didn’t do much in terms of gathering any more followers, they did speak very highly of Fred Perry, adding that “we still have a good relationship with them”. Whilst discussing previous pieces of journalism dedicated to the band, Fionn mentioned a piece written about them in their very young days from a website in The Netherlands. Funnily enough, the website credited them as “one of the next up and coming stars of The Windmill Scene”, despite not having played at the iconic London pub at that point in time. The guys had a good chuckle at that.
During the last year, Butch Kassidy has supported bands such as 'The Lounge Society' and 'Hotel Lux', who both are either in the middle of or are planning an international tour; big moves for bands who want to make it big. All three laughed at the idea of being starstruck when supporting them, adding that 'we’re just good friends with the guys', and when questioned on the idea of a Butch Kassidy international tour, they simply replied with, 'it’s something we’d love to do', with an excitable and kiddish glint in all their eyes. What’s next for Butch Kassidy? That answer is about as certain as the weather in spring: nobody knows.
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