Eliza And The Bear singer James Kellegher talks to Jamie Walker about their Brighton show

For anyone who hasn’t heard of Eliza And The Bear before, how would you describe your sound?

Our sound is a mix of, pop, funk, indie. I dunno actually. We just love writing tunes that people can dance to. We never really worry too much about what we should or shouldn’t sound like. We sound like a good time and we enjoy writing music that will make people dance.

How much are you looking forward to this summer tour?

SO MUCH. It’s the first time we’re playing a lot of the tracks from the new album, so really looking forward to getting those out there into the real world and it’s been a long time since we’ve visited a lot of these places, some we have never been to at all. The shows are more intimate too so it’s going to be special and the start of being on the road a lot more of the next 12 months that’s for sure.

Do you have any plans on how to cope with tour travel in this heat?

Oh man, air-con, air-con, air-con. I mean, I’m not complaining, not down for the rain. When we get on stage we will bear the brunt of the heat, plus a whole bunch of lights, it’s quite possible that I might melt at some point. Stage heat is always ten times worse than outside as well so lots of water and many fans (air blowing ones) needed.

You have also played a couple of festivals this summer. Do you prefer bigger festival shows or smaller intimate gigs?

They’re both good in their own right. Festival shows can be crazy big sometimes and it’s a proper moment. Intimate gigs are special, you’re in a room with only a handful of fans, sweat is dripping from the walls. There’s an energy in a room like that, a connectivity between fans and band that you can’t quite replicate elsewhere, and this tour we get to play those fans brand new songs that no one has heard before, which is exciting and kind of the reason we did this tour so they get the chance to hear them first.

You’re coming to Brighton on August 11, is it somewhere you’ve played before?

We’ve been lucky enough to play The Great Escape (TGE) a bunch of times which we always look forward to, it’s such a good time, everyone is there it’s like one big party. The Haunt as well has played a big part in this band’s story, we played our first TGE show there and it was back to front rammed, we were a young band and that really left an impact on us. So that venue will always be dear to us.

Is it a place you enjoy coming to?

Always. Love Brighton, especially when the sun is out. We always try and get an hour or two down on the beach and the pier after soundcheck, try to win a cuddly toy or two and then no doubt you’ll probably find Martin in the VK Revs aftershow....we’ve played Brighton that many times it’s almost become a set routine for us.

What can people expect from an Eliza and the Bear show?

Dancing, jumping, singing and sweating. Leave everything at the door at an Eliza show, we’ve come to let loose. We encourage you to come down and sing your heart out, dance, jump, whatever you wanna do. There is no judgement at our gigs and we just want everyone to have the best time possible.

So what would you say to anyone who hasn’t got tickets to encourage them to come down and check you out?

Get em, come down, if you don’t like what you see it’s less than a tenner and that’s not so bad.Spoiler alert – you’re going to love it. You’ll have your arms round someone singing along in no time. Promise.