The Crown, 9th November 2022
The Velvet Hands are Toby Mitchell, Dan Able, Louis Mitchell and Sam Hilder. Blending slacker story-telling with belting guitar riffs reminiscent of The Strokes or Parquet Courts with rousing punk choruses that recall The Clash, the band formed amidst Cornwall’s blistering garage-rock scene before relocating to London and making a name for themselves on the capital’s underground guitar circuit.
Praised as being “full of bolshy spirit” by NME, the band’s self-recorded debut album was Huw Stephens’ Album Of The Week on Radio 1. Their recent releases have also caused a stir with range of tastemaker blogs including Fred Perry Subculture, Gigslutz and God Is In The TV, with the latter praising them as “brash garage punk rabble-rousers somewhere between the attitude of early Cribs or Libertines with the death and glory of The Clash.” Recent single “I Wanna Be There” was also awarded Track of the Week by The Rodeo Magazine, who said: “we wanna be wherever The Velvet Hands are because this new song is IT.”
The band have also supported the likes of Fontaines D.C., VANT, Wallows, Frank Turner and Paul Weller, opened for Liam Gallagher at The Eden Project and headlined stages at Isle of Wight and Y Not? Festivals.
Fresh off the back of a triumphant festival run this summer, including a homecoming show at Cornwall’s Boardmasters, The Velvet Hands also put in an impressive performance at the Pilton Party Auditions Final, where Michael Eavis hand-picked them to support at this year’s instalment of the infamous Pilton Party.
With a run of UK live dates announced for this November, the band will also be hitting the road again early next year to celebrate the new album. As well as an album release show at the band’s local venue Old Bakery Studios in Truro as part of Independent Venue Week, the band will also be embarking on a full UK tour.
NOVEMBER
02 – The Jacaranda, Liverpool*- Sold Out!
03 – Castle, Manchester^
09 – The Crown, Bristol^
10 – The Cornish Bank, Falmouth^
11 – Underground, Plymouth
FEBRUARY
4 – Old Bakery Studios, Truro
22 – The Lexington, London