In just a few short years, NewDad have taken the world by storm. Riding high on the wildly enthusiastic reception accorded their breakthrough album Madra – here at Hot Press, we gave it 9/10 – it’s been a whirlwind spell for the London-based Galway band. They’ve already had a great summer festival run, performing barnstorming sets everywhere from TRNSMT to Glastonbury. Now gearing up for their debut Electric Picnic performance, the Hot Press Hot for 2024 cover stars are positively buzzing with excitement.

“It means a lot that we can come home and have this moment,” singer/guitarist Julie Dawson tells me. “Obviously, we’re doing lots of festivals this year, but this is the biggest Irish festival, so it’s gonna be special. We’re all really excited. At festivals, you get to play in front of people who might never have heard of you, which is nice. Of course, there’s something about playing your own shows where everyone’s singing along. But because people know us more in Ireland, it’s a lovely mixture of having your own show and playing a festival.”

NewDad with Daire Heffernan at The Button Factory, Dublin, 28 February 2024. Copyright Gary Ibbotson/hotpress.com

In terms of recent gigging action, NewDad’s Woodies Stage set at Glastonbury was a high point, picking up a hoard of new devotees,  with the band receiving a twitter follow from The Cure’s Robert Smith following the viral success with the band's cover of ‘Just Like Heaven’. As Julie explains, they certainly put in the hard yards in preparation.

“Because it’s such a big show, we had long production rehearsals the week beforehand,” she explains. “We’d get to the studio around 10am and run through the set. Then we’d focus on certain songs and even sections of songs, and just keep running that all day. At the same time, we tried to take it easy so we weren’t wrecked for the show.”

How does Julie look after herself with the constant travel, extensive practice sessions and multiple shows in quick succession?

“It can get really exhausting very quickly,” she acknowledges. “Last week, we had three back-to-back shows in Spain, London and Glasgow. We were doing everything to remain chill, like getting as much sleep as possible and not drinking. You really have to mind yourself. But I’m still absolutely exhausted (laughs).”

When you’re standing among a festival crowd of thousands to hear an hour-long set, it’s easy to forget the blood, sweat and tears an artist puts into getting everything right. Do NewDad find time to have fun before performing?

“We’ll get to the festival in the morning and have a wander around and get some food,” grins Julie. “We tend to go straight to our dressing room to get in the performance headspace, doing our warm-ups, doing a line check, picking an outfit. We usually stay in our own little bubble until we’ve played the show. After that, we go out into the festival and try to catch some music.”

I ask Julie for her take on the Re-turn scheme for bottles and cans that’s being introduced at EP this year.

“In the past, you could see there was a vast amount of waste in the aftermath of festivals,” she says. “So I really think the bottle return scheme is a great thing to have going at festivals. Any measures they can take to cut back on waste are to be supported.”

Finally, the band are itching to bring their pummelling live set to EP for a homecoming performance. Not havng performed at any Irish festivals for almost two years, Julie points out that their Picnic set will chart NewDad’s artistic growth.

“I think our shows have come a long way since we last played Ireland,” Julie reflects. “The people coming back to see us will be surprised. It’ll be a different set than in the past – so I’m really excited to bring that energy to Electric Picnic. EP is full of heavy-hitters. It’s been at the top of our bucketlist for so long – and we finally get to go this year. I can’t wait!”

Read this interview and more in the latest issue: