When you go to a big music festival, much like Panorama (for those who don’t know it’s Coachella’s younger sibling that moved to a big city), you don’t often go without a set itinerary of bands that you want to see.
That’s just how it is. A lot of the allure of these festivals are the main headliners and major acts they book to perform, so there isn’t often a big sense of discovery. Thanks to Bud Light and their Dive Bar sessions, that’s quickly changing. True to the ethos of a dive bar performance, a lot of the talent that Bud Light brought to their own custom stage at this years Panorama was talent that’s truly up & coming; bands that are just on the verge of blowing up. Along with the music, there were arcade games you could indulge in, win merch, and watch (and drink) from their sky deck. We got a chance to chat with CLOVES, the sensation out of Australia who has the voice of an angel with a few tattoos throw in about all things Bud Light, music, and inspiration.
The Knockturnal: Tell us about your involvement with Bud Light Dive Bar sessions
CLOVES: I just feel like as a brand they represent such a great night. Do you know what I mean? I feel like Bud Light is like a culture. It represents people going out and having a good time, talking to friends, relaxing. Like nothing too glamorous in a way, but in a nice way. It feels like you can be casual, you can be yourself, you can be with your friends. And I just think that it’s a nice way to have a little drink with your friends and hang out.
The Knockturnal: What’s it feel like to be part of such a great lineup of artists?
CLOVES: I mean for me I think I’m always super humbled to be put on with people that are incredibly talented, because I always feel slightly like “oh my god.” I’m like, “I gotta bring it, I gotta bring my A game” just because everyone else is like, such a high standard and I really respect them.
The Knockturnal: How do you get ready for something like Panorama?
CLOVES: I just try and really focus on bringing my best performance really, and playing my music for people and trying to get them to really understand me.
The Knockturnal: What inspires you to keep being innovative and creating music?
CLOVES: I think basically, not being funny, but anxiety for me is such a massive factor. Like having a sense of purpose in your every day is really important for me and I think that really pushes me to continuously make music or play shows or really just have a healthy distraction in my life. And I feel like music for me is that relationship. It’s a healthy distraction and that’s what keeps me super motivated, just trying to be healthy in your head and feel good about yourself. And yeah, that’s kind of the reason I push forward.
The Knockturnal: What’s next for you?
CLOVES: I’m actually on tour with Greta Van Fleet at the moment. So those guys are really incredible. We’ve been playing the last ten shows together. And so we’ve got a couple more shows with them and then I’m off to Germany for a little bit doing a couple shows.
The Knockturnal: What would be your dream venue or festival or concert to play at? If you could have any location in the world, where would you be?
CLOVES: I feel like, potentially Glastonbury would be like a dream because that’s just so fucking cool. It’s honestly iconic, and I just feel like everything about it, like everyone’s down in the dirt, and everyone’s there to listen to music, like have a good time. There’s no sort of sense of pretentiousness about it. You’re just there to be like let’s listen to great music, have a time with your friends, and drink
