Q&A: The Rosellas

Fresh off the release of their new EP Every Beautiful Night, Manchester four-piece Rosellas are making serious waves with their signature blend of anthemic indie-rock, catchy hooks, and thoughtful, relatable lyricism. Following on from lead singles Eyes of the World and Get Over Yourself, the band deliver a polished five-track collection that’s already making noise across radios, pubs, and playlists nationwide.

Drew, Euan, Ollie, and Mark have crafted songs that speak to ambition, passion, and the every day grind - aiming to put guitar music back at the heart of the industry. Though they're proudly Mancunian, Rosellas have a strong connection with Scotland, and we caught up with them to hear their take on the Scottish scene, what keeps drawing them back, and what’s coming next.

Check out the Q&A with Drew from the band below:

1. You're a Manchester band, but we're curious – what's your connection to Scotland? Have you spent much time here, musically or otherwise?
Scotland holds a very special place in my heart, I see it as my second home. The love for Scotland stems from my grandparents, they began travelling the highlands together back in the 1950s and built a collection of maps, home videos and souvenirs from their travels. They kept these things all over their house and I have very early memories of looking at maps and photos with them as they described all the places they've been.

For as long as I can remember, we'd travel up to the highlands as a family two or three times a year, every year, climbing every Ben and Glen we could find, right up until my late teens when they sadly passed away; they willed us to spread their ashes to the wind from the top of Ben Nevis. We'd travel all over; out to Skye, Lewis and Mull, up to the sandy beaches of Arisaig and Mallaig, up north to Ullapool and Lochinver, out west to the gorgeous Cairngorms and Inverness, we covered some serious miles. Their absolute favourite place, and the place most special to me and my family, was a little village we used to stay in at the foot of Ben Nevis called Banavie. Fort William was always our base of operations when we'd go out on these long drives, sometimes staying the night on the road if we'd driven for a few hours.

The natural beauty you find in places like Glen Nevis and Glencoe is to me, the most beautiful thing our planet has to offer. The history of Scotland (right back to the Pictish resistance to Roman invasion, the clans and battles for independence, through to the Jacobites and Scotland's part in the expansion of the British empire) has always absolutely fascinated me, probably due to my Dad's vested interest in History, and my obsession with wooden swords and bows as a kid. We visited hundreds of castles and battlefields all over the UK throughout those years, most predominantly in Scotland; Culloden, Eilean Donan, Urquhart.

Since the passing of my grandparents, I have travelled up to the highlands as much as physically possible, revisiting the places we travelled and making new discoveries to pass down to my kids when the day comes. It has become a sort of rite of passage for my whole family; we take all the youngsters up there and explain the historical importance of the area not only to Scotland, but to our family and the legacy of my grandparents. I will live in the highlands one day, of that I am certain.

2. What’s your take on the Scottish music scene from the outside looking in? Anything that stands out compared to the scene down in Manchester?
From what we've experienced playing gigs in major Scottish cities; Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, the Scottish scene seems quite similar to the Mancunian scene. There is a lot of quality bands producing good music, and everyone is sound and welcoming. We've always made an effort to introduce ourselves and converse with the bands we share bills with, especially if they are supporting us, and the Scottish musicians we've met have always reciprocated this.

Coming up in the scene in Manchester we had a few experiences supporting other bands where the atmosphere when you walk in the venue is instantly a little hostile, there's no "hey up mate how are you?" going on, it's a bit 'battle of the bands' – not from us, just the vibe we'd catch from others. This didn't happen all the time, but enough to become aware of it. We said to each other, when we get to the level where other Manc bands and bands travelling from other cities are supporting us, we'll always make an effort to shake hands and go for a pint or kick a ball about for a bit or something. The Scots know this language well, so we'll always have the time of day for them.

Another thing I love personally about the Scottish music scene is the folk scene. You'll find yourself in a pub, especially up in the highlands, and there will be someone playing some form of traditional Gaelic music – I can't not smile and feel warmth in my heart when I hear or see it, and I'm not even Scottish. It's almost just seeing the pride it puts on local people's faces in the audience that gets me, I just think to myself 'that's brilliant' that the music connects with the musician, connects with the listener, connects with the heritage, connects with the national pride, and so on. I can recall one time I was staying in Glencoe over Christmas and New Year and found myself in the Clachaig Inn on New Years Eve. There was a folk band on playing all sorts of stuff and it was absolutely rammed to the rafters with Scots and travellers alike erupting into choruses of Wild Mountain Thyme, The Skye Boat Song and of course Auld Lang Syne – fantastic to hear and be a part of.

3. What is it like playing in Scotland, and how do the crowd treat you?
To be honest, we haven't played in Scotland anywhere near the amount we would have liked to, but there's time for that yet. Every time we've played though it's been great, the Scottish have always been very warm and welcoming. I feel there is a love up there for guitar music, you know with bands like Jesus and Mary Chain and Primal Scream and Gerry Rafferty all originating up there. We've sold out a few shows of our own in Glasgow and Edinburgh and have played some pretty cool venues like SWG3 and The Caves while supporting other bands. I found at those support gigs that once we get going and I get to chat to the crowd a little bit, I can drop in here and there why Scotland means so much to me personally and in turn is a real place of ambition for the band, the crowd come round to us and pay attention to what we're playing.

I've had hours of conversations after the set with locals, talking all about the importance of Scotland to my family, and in turn learning more and more about the heritage of the country and its importance to them. I find it very soul affirming and will spend hours more continuing to do so.

4. Are there any Scottish artists that have made a lasting impression on you – whether it's someone legendary or a newer name breaking through?
My mum is a big Gerry Rafferty fan, I can't hear a song off City to City or Night Owl without thinking of her immediately. She played those two albums so much to me as a kid it's ingrained in my brain, I think he's brilliant. A discovery I made more personally as I got older though was Paolo Nutini. I'd been aware of him since being younger with songs like New Shoes and Last Request from his These Streets album kicking about, but the first album I got into was Caustic Love. Man, what a groove Scream (Funk My Life Up) is! My sister and I went to see him in 2015 at Castlefield Bowl in Manchester when he toured. It was that album that really got me interested, but his most recent album Last Night In The Bittersweet absolutely captivated and consumed my ears for months and months. It quickly became one of my favourite albums of all time, lyrically and melodically, with the warmth and vibe of the recording and production, and the psychedelic elements that elevate the atmosphere in certain sections, making it a phenomenal piece of work. I saw it live when he toured and it just reaffirmed my respect for him as a singer and musician – I think he has the greatest vocal around in music today.

5. What is it about Scotland that keeps you coming back – the crowds, the venues, the atmosphere… or something else entirely?
What brings us back to Scotland? The people. The music lovers. Every venue we've played, every gig we've done, we've met and shared moments with people who genuinely love music and are committed to doing THE most vital thing that keeps the music industry alive: supporting the underground scene. Without those people who choose to spend their hard-earned money on supporting bands like us, trying their best at breaking through, there wouldn't be the next Oasis, the next Sam Fender. It's this way in a lot of the cities we travel to and back in our home town, but you find that some places more than others have this feeling of loyalty and of community, and every crowd we've played to in Scotland gives us that feeling. For me personally, the spirituality of the place and its meaning constantly beckons me and I continue to travel the highlands as much as I physically can. Being signed by a Glasgow label also means that I have the chance to drop into HQ on my way past and hang with those guys for a bit, they're great!

6. What’s next for Rosellas – and should Scotland expect to see more of you in the near future?
Absolutely. We're releasing a lot of material over the next 18 months, following off the back of the recent EP Every Beautiful Night, building up to that all-important debut album. We've worked hard at this since the day we formed, all working full time jobs simultaneously to fund it. It now feels like we're on the road to making an actual living out of this. We don't want for fame and fortune, only to be able to do this – what we love most in the world – as our job. We're therefore pushing on now harder than ever, gigging more, writing more, recording more. With that comes playing in Scotland, which we have been keen to do more of for a long time. We're pushing for slots at festivals and support slots so we can begin to build a real following up there and eventually sell out big venues ourselves. The one for us is Barrowlands. That's what we've set our crosshairs on.