Ahead of this weekend’s return to the sprawling fields of the Harvard Athletic Complex hosted Boston Calling, we chatted with a couple of the artists sharing the bill. First up is viral songwriter Simon Robert French. At only 25 years old, Simon garnered acclaim for their single “Robert’s Place” – in honor of his late father. A simple song that holds immense emotional weight and unfortunately, a feeling that many resonate with. Before Simon and his band take the Orange stage this Saturday at 7:05pm, we spoke with Simon about playing his first festival, preparation and sharing a bill with James Bay.
Allston Pudding: How are you feeling going into next weekend?
Simon Robert French: I’m really excited, but also nervous. It’s the biggest show I’ve ever played. I’m honestly terrified at some moments, but I know that I’ll have family and friends in the audience supporting me, as well as fans. I’m eternally grateful to whoever turns up to listen to me play at any show, and Boston Calling is no exception.
This is not only my first time playing a festival, but it’s my first time even going to a festival, and it’s also my first time playing a set with a full band. It’s a week of firsts, including my first rehearsals with a full band too. I’m used to playing much smaller solo shows in indoor venues around Boston, but I’m looking forward to it all, as daunting as it is!
AP: How are you preparing for the set? Do you have any trusty warmups or remedies?
SRF: I’ve been spending a lot of time practicing my parts for the set! I have a consistent sort of practice ritual when it comes to live shows now. I’ll set up a mic stand to give myself that frame of reference and play standing up as I would during a show. I also put a show, movie, or audiobook I’ve seen or heard before on in the background to make sure I can play everything right with any background noise that comes my way.
I’ve been doing this for the past two years, it helps with smaller venues with a lot of background noise that I need to tune out. I’m sure I’ll have to tune out some festival background noise this weekend, but I feel well-equipped for that.
AP: Any advice for getting through the weekend?
SRF: Being both my first time playing a festival and my first festival, I’m going to use Friday as a get-to-know-the-festival day so I can get the lay of the land when I don’t have to be turned on and ready to go for my set. I’m glad we’re on Saturday since it gives me a day to take it all in before I have to be in performance mode, and then I get another day after that to enjoy the festival and celebrate having played a set at Boston Calling!
Something I do know is that it’s really important to have support when you’re doing anything at this scale, especially for the first time. My band and my team are composed of friends, family, and people I trust. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without all of them in my corner, and I’m so grateful for each and every one of them.
AP: What would you add to the festival weekend?
SRF: I’d add a quiet/brain break room! I’m not the best with large crowds and a lot of sensory input, so having a place where I can sit in silence for a few minutes to reset my brain would be really helpful. I would definitely be out and about watching sets and enjoying the festival, but during the periods of nothingness when there aren’t sets I want to catch, it would be great to be able to take a beat.
AP: If you could collaborate with anyone on the lineup, who would you choose/why?
SRF: I love this question. The lineup is full of artists and bands that I’ve been a long time fan of or that I’m friends with, and I’d love to collaborate with so many of them.
Of everyone, though, I’d most like to collaborate with James Bay, no doubt in my mind on that. I’m a huge fan of his work, and I’ve been an avid listener of his music for a long time. He’s such a wonderful songwriter, and I think our styles of writing and music would work well together. I don’t know if I’ll be able to catch any of his set since it’s right before mine, but I’d definitely love to make music with him. I was lucky enough to see him open for Noah Kahan this past summer, and I have to say, he’s absolutely incredible live.
AP: What else do you have coming up this Summer/Year?
SRF: I’ve got a single called ‘dad’ coming out the Friday of the festival weekend, 5/23! I wrote it for my dad, who passed away when I was 2 years old.
Moving forward through the summer and the rest of the year, I’m working on lining up some more shows. My producer Alex and I are working on more music as well, including a debut album. No dates are set in stone for that as of now, but I’m really enjoying the process of pulling things together to tell some sort of story, and working with Alex to make the vision for each song come to life. I’m also online posting content and updates to social media regularly so you can find me on there, and I plan to build up my YouTube channel more this summer.
Catch Simon Robert French and so many more artists this weekend, May 23-25 at Boston Calling Music Festival. More information and tickets available here. For more information on Simon Robert French, follow them here!