Florence Road on Gigging With Olivia Rodrigo, Wolf Alice: ‘We’re Soaking Up Every Second’

“Throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks,” says bassist Ailbhe Barry, and for her band Florence Road, it is a kind of mission statement – one that their steep, uninhibited rise has borne out. To scroll the Irish indie rockers’ TikTok or Instagram from the bottom up is to witness this experiment in all its mess and world-building rawness, having spent years honing their own unpolished garage band persona online instead of jumping on forced trends. 

The quartet, who are all in their early 20s, possess a confidence and adventurous spirit that belies their infancy as a unit. Like their Gen Z age-mates, the members of Florence Road favour a 0.5 (or extra-wide) lens on their iPhone cameras for its distorted or less ‘choreographed’ feel; using this visual gimmick on their live performance videos has routinely brought the band’s music to the For You Pages of millions, while keeping the focus on their grungy, gloriously anthemic sound. 

They’ve covered pop heroes Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, and caught the attention of Olivia Rodrigo with their pared-back rendition of “Obsessed,” leading to support slots at Dublin’s Marlay Park and BST Hyde Park in London over the summer. A take on Charli xcx’s “Sympathy Is a Knife” arrived replete with voice cracks and goofy poses, while a cover of Paramore’s “Hard Times” was thrown together in five minutes, with TikTok users unable to decide if they hated or loved the clip’s unwieldiness, only raising its standing on the platform. 

“Listening to the world is important in some ways. But if we’ve done the most we can do with our work, I feel like there’s no reason to listen to anyone else,” says Barry of the band’s prolific online tendencies. “You would drive yourself mad if you were trying to please everyone.”

Completed by singer and guitarist Lily Aron, guitarist Emma Brandon and drummer Hannah Kelly, Florence Road understands that the years it has taken it to bottle lightning has made the eventual wins more fulfilling. The band formed in the coastal town of Bray, County Wicklow as high school students, drawing notice on their local open-mic scene and building a snowballing fanbase across social media before a management deal came calling after the release of their 2022 track “Another Seventeen.”

Their debut mixtape, Fall Back, was released in June via Warner Records, in which softly spoken melodies erupt into a clamour of hammering percussion, crashing guitars and snaking riffs. Part of the enthusiasm for the band stems from excitement that, with their equally lush and blistering approach, they are pushing open the gates of contemporary rock, blending wide-ranging influences (The Cranberries, Alanis Morissette, Sam Fender) with the build-and-release thrill of heavier crossover bands. Expect to see them leading industry tips lists come January.

For added live impact, so far, they have kept their sparser moments to a minimum. Nihilistic new single “Miss,” a longtime fan favorite, arrives in the middle of an Australian tour opening up for Royel Otis, the latest milestone in a bucket-list 2025 that has featured U.K. festival appearances, an upcoming European support slot for Wolf Alice and studio sessions with pop star go-to writer/producer Dan Nigro. 

Chatting with Billboard U.K., the band opens up about its past few months of growth, taking ownership of its journey, and what it means to be at the forefront of the next generation of rock talent.

You’ve been sitting on “Miss” for a very long time now. How are you feeling about the prospect of finally hatching it?

Lily: It feels great because we’ve been playing it live for so long, and we love it so much. Playing it live is such a fun feeling. The song was relevant when we wrote it, and it’s stayed relevant in our lives ever since. Sometimes you write a song and it feels fixed to a certain time period but this one has travelled with us.

Hannah: It was just a matter of getting it 100% right. We tried to lay it down a few times and it sounded good, but the more we played it live, the more we figured out that missing bit ourselves. It originally had a different structure and then when we played it live, we would alter it a bit – we want to get those new elements into the final track.

Have you noticed a change in how people interact with you now that you’re showcasing more of your music live and building your fanbase?

Lily: Honestly, it’s been wild. People have been so receptive towards us, it’s cool to see them mouthing along to the words of our songs at shows. But I feel like we just keep taking things one step at a time, and we can’t overthink all of it too much or we’ll go crazy. We’re just having a ball!

Ailbhe: It’s also been amazing to get to see people face-to-face, when [our early career] was mainly online. We’d been used to interacting with people through comments or DMs. It’s really nice that people have been on that journey with us and seen us grow from young school kids just posting covers for fun, to now playing big stages. I’m sure it’s mad for them as much as it’s mad for us.

We’re now supporting our favorite artists, which is a very surreal thing. We’re just trying to soak up every second of being on the road. We’ve also been learning how to live out of the suitcase [while touring]. It’s like, “OK, how many socks can you get away with bringing for a two-week trip?!”

How do you handle the contrast between the intimacy of your songwriting and the exposure that comes with performing in front of thousands?

Ailbhe: It’s always mad when you see people mouthing along to your songs. It happens for us at every show, even support shows. It’s crazy to think back to how these lyrics came out of our minds and then suddenly there’s people in Australia singing them! It’s quite mind-blowing, especially, for more intimate songs like “Caterpillar” or “Heavy”; it’s something that will never not feel crazy. It is phenomenal how music can travel so far.

What is it specifically about playing live that brings Florence Road to life?

Hannah: For me, personally, I never feel less vulnerable than when I’m on stage. I feel like that’s because with all the months and hours of practice we have behind us, when we’re up there performing, we enter this whole new space where we know exactly what we need to be doing. That confidence just gives a base to interact with each other and to really be in the moment.

How do you navigate creative differences within the band without compromising the integrity of the music?

Lily: That’s a big one for us. We listen to each other and if someone doesn’t like a song idea, we’re not just going to bulldoze over it. There has to be some sort of consensus, but I think everyone’s ideas are always heard out as well. 

A lack of communication can destroy a band and we want to make sure that we’re all comfortable and happy. If that’s ever not the case, we check in with each other. You know, our lives are very different from what they were last year. Making sure that we’re on the same page is very important to all of us.

Given that TikTok accelerated your career, what does it take to maintain a healthy relationship with social media?

Lily: Our personal lives are important to us, and it can be a weird feeling knowing loads of people know our faces. It is not a normal thing for people to have to think about. For me personally, having a private Instagram is so important – I don’t think I’ll ever make it public. I don’t need people in that space. I absolutely adore our fans but sometimes, things can get a little too parasocial. I think it’s important for us to maintain that we’re not best friends [with them].

As your star continues to rise, what lasting impact do you want to make as a band?

Lily: We’ve been given so many incredible opportunities, so now the main thing for us is to share with other people. We want to uplift Irish musicians, and other musicians in general, and shed a light on what they’re doing. That’s what it’s all about; that’s no point in just having something for yourself. I would love to get to a point where we could give back to other artists.

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