BLOSSOMS
Adlib’s Jay Petch, PA Rigger and Sound Tech; dbnAudile’s Dale Wilson; Tour Manager, Dan Woolfie; Lighting Designer, Edd Croft; dbnAudile & Mangata Collective’s Chris ‘Pip’ Phillips; Production Manager John Simm; Backline Tech, Bob Munro; FOH Engineer, Chris Pearce; Adlib’s Alan Harrison, FOH System Tech; Monitor Engineer, Callum Bate.
Being thrown into the global touring circuit in the early days of your career is said to either break or bond a band. After releasing their debut, self-titled record, the band gained attention on radio playlists, festival lineups and undertook a headline tour that was met with approval from the public and the industry. Just over 2 years since the story began to take shape, the quintet are back with their biggest production to date and a penchant for carving their own path. On the cusp of their headline tour in support of the sophomore album, Cool Like You, TPi ventured behind the scenes in their [and our] hometown of Stockport. Tour Manager, Dan Woolfie picked up the story: “I fell into tour management when I working with Blossoms as their drum & guitar tech. Gradually, the job evolved through necessity. The learning curve has been really steep in certain parts, others were just a case of using common sense. “Our first full international run was a pretty big challenge; we had a lot of travel visas to acquire in 2016 and a lot of long-haul flights to make. Some of the routing looked impossible on paper: Melbourne on Thursday, Kendal Calling festival in the UK on Friday. Having said that, as a tour manager, I’ve found that my biggest challenge is usually the hometown show guest list,” he laughed. The initial learning curve may have been steep, but it didn’t go unnoticed by Woolfie’s peers, and after such a short time in the role saw his name in the TPi Awards 2018 shortlist. “It was really nice to be nominated alongside some huge names in the industry, and our guitar tech Bob Munro was shortlisted this year too, which was another nice nod of recognition for our team. The awards night itself was great; I bumped into so many people that I’ve been emailing for the last couple of years and finally got to put a face to the name.” It’s evident when sat with this crew that they’re all bound together with
camaraderie and mutual respect. Woolfie explained the significance of this acknowledgement: “We didn’t really want someone on our tour bus who had been touring for years, seen it all a million times and become a bit jaded; we needed to all be in the same mindset. Blossoms have had some amazing support slots which have been great for us as the crew because we’ve all been able to learn from the best crews out there.” The band, affectionately referred to as workaholics [during their time off, they recently set up their own label, Very Clever Records, and brought new signing Fuzzy Sun out with them as the tour opener], worked extremely hard on their second album, which for Woolfie meant one thing. “The new live production had to do it justice. Blossoms are known for their live gigs looking and sounding great, so we had to go bigger and better for this tour. I think Edd [Croft, LD] has put together a really impressive & clean-looking rig that reflects the feel of the new album perfectly.” To begin the tour, it was decided that the band’s hometown of Stockport [fun fact: they’re named after The Blossoms pub situated just down the road from TPi HQ] would host the first dates. In an old northern English mill town, the venue choice was limited, but not impossible, as the TM explained. “Stockport Plaza is an amazing Art Deco theatre [originally built as a cinema, which opened in 1932] that has been saved, and is now run, by volunteers. We played here in 2016 at midnight for the first album launch, and this year, for the second album, we started the tour with 3 shows in 48 hours, including a matinee performance. There were a couple of risks in using this venue, as they’re trying to keep it in its original state where possible. For example, the weather is really hot - for Stockport! - but when I asked if they could turn the AC on the answer was: “They didn’t have air con in the 1920’s!” Modern? No. Full of charm? Yes. There’s something about this venue that suits the production perfectly. When the band began to require tour 46