Sheffield’s rising indie force The Rosadocs have been gaining increased momentum over the past few years. Just recently, (Sat 14 Jun) the band headlined an all-day gig at The Leadmill- one of the iconic venue’s final shows before its impending closure, ahead of the release of their brand-new EP ‘The City’s No Good For Reflection’ (Fri 20 Jun).
Sitting down with lead singer Keelan Graney and keyboardist Myles Henderson hours before their headline performance, they spoke on what The Leadmill means to them, the making of the EP, and more.
Hi guys I’m Rosie, I’ll be interviewing you today
Keelan: Hiya Rosie
Myles: Hi
How’s your day so far?
Myles: We’re all a bit tired to be honest, long couple days
Keelan: Three shows in two days this weekend, so we’re a little dead at the moment, pushing through though!
So, let’s start with what does The Leadmill mean to you?
Keelan- We feel it’s played such a pivotal role in our career so far, we wanted to play one of the final shows, tonight is one last time- a final farewell to The Leadmill. When we first started, it gave us a step on the ladder. It’s left a legacy. I actually don’t think the legacy of The Leadmill will ever go.
This is the fifth time that we’ve ever played it. We basically met Myles at The Leadmill, so even just as friends, it’s sort of played a pivotal role in us meeting each other. It’s full circle, a real full circle.
Myles- I think it’s going to be synonymous with Sheffield and quality live music and events, which is great. My first ever gig was here, which then obviously made me want to get on the stage myself. As Keelan said, I opened for these guys as a solo artist, back in 2021. We met, became fast friends, I ended up joining, and now we’re here headlining together as part of the end of it all.
Tell me about your all-dayer event at Leadmill
Myles- It was a case of us and Ben Hartley from Leadmill wanting to put together, us playing as part of the last few gigs, but then he also wanted to celebrate by utilising both rooms, which are both legendary. I think when people think about Leadmill, they think about the main stage, but there’s been some amazing gigs that have happened over the years in the little room as well.
Keelan- Even just gigs we’ve been to…there’s been some amazing artists that have started their careers here, this has been a real platform for people to build a fanbase in Sheffield. Obviously with the loss of Café Totem, and the O2 being shut down currently, this has provided a real stable part of the infrastructure.
We’re really excited for it. I think, when you’re 16 years old and you first start playing an instrument, this is what you imagine it’s going to be like, it’s the dream
Tell me about the new EP, ‘The City’s No Good For Reflection’
Keelan- It’s going out be out Friday (20 June), it’s a combination of five songs, pretty much to do with the struggles of fast-paced modern life, how over time, that can kind of get to you. I suppose we’ve done it from the perspective of a couple of lads in their mid-twenties.
Talk me through the five tracks that make up the EP
Keelan-, I’d say ‘Bittersweet’ set the tone for the whole EP. It tells you what kind of world we are living in concept-wise, and then ‘Hopeless Optimist’, the second track, it’s somebody that’s trying to be positive, even though everything goes against them.
The one that’s always connected with people at live shows is ‘Cross To Bear’, the acoustic track we released very recently. Even when we play that 300 miles from home, it still connects in the exact same way that we intended, and that’s really special. It sits in the middle, so it’s the third track.
Myles- If you’re thinking of it as a mountain, it’s the peak. I think it’s an important song, I’m proud of it every night when it belts out. It takes a certain amount of vulnerability and courage to do what is required of it, and it’s an important conversation that needs to be had surrounding mental health.
Keelan- The fourth track ‘The Ladder’, is a bit more upbeat, it’s kind of describing that, despite the fact that it’s difficult to keep going, and climbing ‘the ladder’, you can still keep going and you can still find retribution in it.
The final song ‘In The Storm’, it’s kind of the antithesis of ‘Cross To Bear’, it starts very similarly riff-wise, but the point of it is, It’s sort of more uplifting, it rounds off the EP. it starts low, ends high
What do you think the response has been to your music?
Keelan- I think we’ve tried to build a community. As our numbers have grown, we’ve got a fan group, it’s amazing because you just see people talking amongst themselves and making friends. We’ve had people who’ve got engaged just because they’ve come to our gigs. We’re seeing a consistent growth now, and every time we return it’s just more and more people every time, it really sort of motivates you.
What do you have planned over summer?
Keelan- We’ve got a hell of a lot of exciting gigs, we’re joining some musical heroes of ours, we’ll be joining The Courteeners in Norwich at Rock ‘N’ Roll Circus. We’ve managed to get on Victorious, and we’ve also got Tramlines, which is the big one.
Myles- Tramlines is The Leadmill stage again, I guess it’s one final time. It’s going to be a testament to the fact that, although it’s awful that the building’s going, it’s still an amazing institution.
If you could say one thing to your fans in Sheffield right now, what would it be?
Keelan- Thank you for sticking with us, we’ve been going for many years now, and to see the growth, to see the new faces and the old sticking with us, it means the world to us.
