‘Upbeat summery guitar-led pop’ band Coasts will be performing on the Festival Republic Stage on Sunday, August 30. Here the band answer some questions ahead of the gig.

How would you describe your sound in five words?

Upbeat Summery Guitar Led Pop

What are you most looking forward to when playing at Reading Fest this year?

I used to go to Reading Festival when I was younger so it’s going to be pretty awesome to go back and perform. I think it’s got a slightly younger crowd than the other UK festivals so it should be lots of fun.

It’s just a couple of weeks before our album comes out so things should be in full flow by then and we’re looking forward to playing lots of songs off our debut album.

What do you have planned?

As I mentioned it’s one of the last shows before our album comes out so we’ll be putting on a big show and pulling out all the stops. We might play a couple of new songs that people haven’t heard off the album yet, just to test them out before the tour.

It’s going to be loads of fun though, Reading sort of ends the festival season for bands, so it’s a big party before the touring season kicks off again.

Tell us about your favourite gig?

Our recent gig at KOKO in London was probably my favourite gig. It was our biggest ever headline show and it sold out, so that was pretty incredible. The venue is amazing when you look out from the stage, it’s a massive old theatre and there are loads of tiers so there are people everywhere you look. Coming out on stage was one of those moments you’ll never forget.

What’s your rider when you’re on tour?

We always have gin and tonic on our rider, we’ve convinced ourselves that because it’s tonic water it doesn’t give us hangovers because it’s got water in it, so it’s got to be good for you, yeah? It seems to be working out so far anyway.

We also have lots of fruit, hummus, pitta and vegetables. We try to make it quite healthy because otherwise you end up eating rubbish every night.

Who is the most popular band member?

James, our bassist, seems pretty popular with our female fans. He does have a killer smile though, so it’s understandable.

What bands are you listening to at the moment?

Jamie T was real fun at Glastonbury so I’ve been listening to him a fair bit since I got back, but I’ve not really been listening to too many bands recently. I’ve been listening to lots of The Weekend, Jamie XX and Lapsley.

What is your advice for bands starting out?

Just keep going and try to stay positive. We’ve been together for a long time now and there have been so many times where we could have given up but we’ve just stuck with it and it seems to be working out now.

Most of the bands that have made it in the last couple of years have been together for longer than five years, so I think patience is key.  You can’t expect everything to happen really quickly and you’ve got to slog it out for a few years.

We all met at university so we were working little jobs whilst we were studying. I worked as a chef for a few years which was actually pretty fun. The rest of the guys all worked in restaurants too as waiters or washing dishes.

When we finished university we used to rehearse Monday to Thursday and then work Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so we were all pretty broke and tired all the time, but it was worth it.

What’s next for the band?

We’re heading back out to America at the end of July for Lollapalooza, O’Sheaga and MoPop and then we’ve got Reading and Leeds when we get back.

After that our album is out on September 25, so we’re building towards that with an album tour to follow in October.

We can’t wait for everyone to hear our debut album, we got the final mixes back this week and we’re really proud of it.