Chart stars Mason Hill have promised tears, laughter, hard rock and ballads in their long-awaited first show in Aberdeen.
The Glasgow five-piece’s album Against The Wall, released in March, became the first debut by a British rock band to enter the UK top 20 since Royal Blood in 2014.
Formed in 2013 the hard rockers built a large, loyal following in their home city and also toured extensively throughout Scotland.
Remarkably they have never played the Granite City but will put that right when headlining Tunnels on Thursday September 2 to kick off a 22 date UK tour.
Singer Scott Taylor believes the performance will be cathartic following fears live shows would remain on ice until next year due to the pandemic.
Scott said: “Aberdeen fans are going to get tears, laughter, hard rock and ballads – they are going to see five people who are just so happy to be back on stage.
“We are living on cloud nine now after the album’s success and the return of gigs.
“Aberdeen will be the best show of the tour as it is the first so we are not going to be tired.
“After the last 18 months we are not taking anything for granted again and the Aberdeen show is going to be cathartic.”
Social media buzz building in Aberdeen
Against The Wall topped the UK rock chart and also hit number eight in the UK vinyl chart.
The band are set to release new single Broken Son the day after their Aberdeen gig.
Scott explained: “It is really exciting for us to start the tour in Aberdeen because it is a city we have never played before.
“The closest we ever got was Inverness because there was never an audience for us in Aberdeen back in those days so it was missed out.
“However we have seen so many people on social media from Aberdeen saying they can’t wait to see us there for this gig. It’s going to be a great night.”
Fears there would be no gigs during 2022
In 2016 Mason Hill won the UK wide Highway To Hell battle of the bands competition that earned the opening slot on the main stage at Hard Rock Hell.
They have played the legendary Download festival and shared the stage with many major bands such as Whitesnake and Ugly Kid Joe.
Mason Hill sold out the famous Cathouse Rock Club in Glasgow with one month left to spare – a feat only achieved in recent times by Anthrax and Black Stone Cherry.
In a welcome return to the live arena, they recently performed a full set at the Steelhouse Festival.
Wow! What a show! Thank you @SteelhouseFest! Feels so good to finally be back!! 🤘🏻 pic.twitter.com/xIQMt2xbLB
— Mason Hill (@MasonHillBand) July 25, 2021
However, after there will still be some butterflies when they take to the stage in Aberdeen.
Scott said: “We were over-concerned and got it into our heads this year would still be a wipeout and we would have to wait until 2022 to start playing shows again.
“The return of gigs has all happened so fast and we are just happy to have the chance to play again.
“There will be a wee bit of nerves because Aberdeen will be the start of us doing multiple shows in a row for a while.
“At least there is something to be nervous about as the last 18 months has been terrible for so many people.
“Being back playing live again is slightly weird but we are going with it and doing whatever we can to keep out on the road and not get pulled back in.
“It is 22 gigs so I’m sure we will be very, very tired at the end of it.”
Successful social media blitz for album
Debut album Against The Wall was recorded at Riverside Studios near Glasgow with the vocals mixed in New York by Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro).
Unable to play live shows for 18 months due to the lockdown Mason Hill were denied the traditional platform of creating a buzz around the band and the release.
They had to adapt and orchestrated a social media blitz that paid huge dividends and was a major catalyst in the album smashing into the top 20.
Scott said: “The one thing we looked at early was the big YouTubers of the world.
“No matter what happens their job isn’t affected as they keep doing those videos.
“I know we are not the same but you can catch an essence of that to try to stay relevant.
“During the lockdown, we brought out the album in a full digital online way.
“We hired a social media team and advertisers to break through as best we could as there were no shows.
“I am so glad that we did that as we were able to reach a whole new demographic of people that never knew we were there.
“We also found all those silent Mason Hill followers who found us six years ago but had forgotten about us because we didn’t have an album.
“We gathered all this support and then were able to break the top 20 – which I still can’t believe we did to be honest.”
Dream of touring the United States
An increased presence on social media has not only ramped up Mason’s Hill profile in the UK – they are also creating a storm in the United States.
They hope to tour the States in the future to capitalise on their growing popularity across the Atlantic.
Scott said: “It has been so cool seeing some of the areas that are receptive to our music and the ones jumping ahead are Germany and America.
“We grew up in Britain and that is all we have been able to relate to.
“Some things that would maybe have been a lot harder to do in Britain have been easier to do in other countries.
“It makes us want to get out internationally and play countries like Germany and the States.
“To show them what we can do in person. It is really exciting for the future.”
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