After finding suitcases that went AWOL in Dublin, The Driver Era arrived at the Manchester Academy to complete the UK and Ireland leg of their ‘Girlfriend’ world tour.
The duo, comprising brothers Rocky and Ross Lynch, was formed in 2018 and they previously played with their other siblings in a band called R5. Ross Lynch might be best known to anyone in their early 20s for playing Austin in the Disney channel sitcom ‘Austin and Ally’.
Not only were fans waiting for hours in the rain to secure a place at the barrier, but many had tickets valid from The Driver Era’s 2019 tour that was cancelled due to Covid, so to say that they were eager would be an understatement, with one devotee professing: “Some people go to therapy – I’m here.”
The first opening act was fellow LA-based artist Jessarae, followed by Ryland Lynch, Ross and Rocky’s brother and previous member of R5.
We had the chance to chat with Ross and Rocky before they went out to perform for the crowd that had been waiting over three years to see them in person.
There was no nerves about being back on the road again, Ross said: “It feels great honestly, it’s taken us a long time to fulfil this European tour but we finally made it and it’s been great, we’re really loving this portion of the tour.”
Rocky had similar feelings about the travel on tour: “I feel like basically every show since we’ve left the states has been pretty dope, we’ve just gone from Japan to Australia to New Zealand to the UK it’s all been pretty dope.”
The Driver Era have been going viral for their unique covers across their UK and Ireland shows, and there’s no signs of slowing down – the boys currently have their eye on ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’ by Tears for Fears, a song Ross has always loved and one the meet and greet ticket holders heard in Manchester.
Speaking to those at the concert, many had been devoted to The Driver Era, not just from the R5 days but right back to Ross’ roots with Disney Channel in ‘Austin and Ally’.
While many huge artists come from backgrounds in teen TV (names like Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande come to mind), it can be a touchy subject but Ross was happy to open up about his early career.
“I’m only appreciative of all the wonderful things I’ve been able to experience throughout my career and it’s all positive.”
He said: “I think if you neglect those parts of your past then it’s negative but for me it’s all positive.”
Manchester was the end to what was a whirlwind tour of the UK and Ireland before heading straight to Europe but the pair still made the most of their time in Manchester.
“You have to kind of make an effort to see the city which we actively do,” Ross revealed. “Today every chance I get I’ll try to walk around the streets and try to get a sense of what Manchester’s all about and it’s a really cool city. I really like Manchester.”
Their new album ‘Summer Mixtape’ was nearly entirely written and produced solely by Ross and Rocky, and with that creative freedom comes some outside pressure.
Ross explained: “We knew we were doing this big tour and we wanted to have new music out to support it so I think that was the main challenge, the fact that we’re doing it all ourselves just meant there was a lot to do. As far as creativity and execution we don’t have any problem with that, we can write a song in a day no problem.”
At some shows you can tell when an artist is performing new material, the crowd can die off and wait for their favourite song to come on the live action shuffle, but The Driver Era crowd were on top form all night.
Rocky deemed ‘Keep Moving Forward’ as their song from the new album that translated the best to the stage, with its upbeat, disco sensibility that was impossible to resist singing along to – whether you knew the words or not.
While Rocky and Ross took centre stage as The Driver Era and brother Ryland opened with a DJ set alongside managing the tour, the family connections didn’t stop there. R5 fans also got to see a fourth Lynch brother – Riker Lynch – on bass and backing vocals.
Many of us couldn’t imagine anything worse than working full time with family but Ross explained the upside to being on the road with those you grew up with.
“Siblings can definitely push buttons that other people don’t even know are there and on the flip side of that you have real genuine support and brotherhood and camaraderie and squadron.”
When The Driver Era took to the stage, the roars could have taken the roof off Manchester Academy. Ross, Rocky and the band navigated a diverse set list featuring new singles Malibu and Fantasy as well as fan favourites Preacher Man and the finale A Kiss.
The Driver Era infuses their audience with energy and fun, which in turn fuels their performance. ‘Summer Mixtapes’ was an album that explored intimate moments of a relationship, and their infusion of house and pop elements made every track fill the room.
The Driver Era’s ‘Summer Mixtape’ is out now. Stream/Buy Summer Mixtape Here
Watch the full interview with The Driver Era.
