The Rills - Callum Warner-Webb, Mitch Spencer and Mason Cassar. | Photo: Lewis Budd
The lead singer and guitarist of a Lincoln indie rock group believes they are “changing what it means to be a band in the 21st century” after their social media following boomed despite the pressures of coronavirus on the music industry.
The band’s rise to close to 100,000 followers on TikTok happened in just one week, while their Instagram following is now up to around 17,000.
Before lockdown The Rills also had around 300 monthly listeners on Spotify and that number has now soared beyond expectations to 50,000.
Mitch Spencer, 23, formed The Rills in 2017 with friends Callum Warner-Webb (bass guitar) and Mason Cassar (drums) after music saved him in his recovery from a skateboarding accident seven years earlier.
Social media platforms, especially TikTok, saw the band’s profile soar including this video entitled ‘Why you should stream our music instead of the Artic Monkeys’ that attracted over 1.5 million views in just three days.
Their latest single, Stardog was released on Wednesday, November 25.
The Rills already have tour dates planned next year in Southampton, London, Manchester and Birmingham, with a Lincoln date still to be confirmed.
In addition, The Rills also have plans to feature on national Dutch radio station KINK Indie and in German music magazine The Postie.
The band’s 2020 single The Angler was played on BBC Radio 6 Music and Amazing Radio, while their debut EP is expected to be released in spring 2021.
The Rills released a new single in November 2020 entitled ‘Stardog’. | Photo: Lewis Budd
Mitch told The Lincolnite he believes The Rills are “currently one of the only bands in the world that’s managed to keep active during the pandemic”.
He said: “Most bands have been limited to just releasing new music and updating their fans once a month, but we’ve grown a huge online fanbase through TikTok and Instagram Reels.
“We’ve done it all by experimenting with music marketing and completely changing what it means to be a band in the 21st century.
“There are a lot of famous artists on Tiktok now, but we’ve been one of the first to do it, and only a handful have been as successful at it as we have! We’ve managed to adapt to the times and are really lucky to still be growing in such a turbulent music industry.
“Obviously we want to try get this as big as it can be, and the dream in the next 12 months would be to sell out the big room at the Engine Shed and do a headline UK tour! We’d love to play Glastonbury too, that would be incredible.”
He added that the comments and messages from fans is what’s getting him through the “never ending rescheduled live shows” during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Rills in China Town in London. | Photo: Lewis Budd
Music was crucial in Mitch’s recovery from a Skateboard accident, which caused a bleed to the brain. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Last summer, Mitch played an acoustic version of the band’s track ‘Us and Them’, which you can check out below:
Spotted an error? Please notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
Phase two of the works at Speakers’ Corner in Lincoln is well underway and expected to finish on schedule this summer.
Phase two, which began on Monday, January 11, will see existing paving upgraded, as well as new street furniture being installed.
It will follow the first phase which was completed and open to the public on December 22, with a new bench put in place around the existing London Plane tree, instead of the demolished kiosk.
Speakers Corner bench is in place, but closed off until phase two paving works are finished. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Site setup for phase two is complete, with workers on site currently digging out the existing hard paving standings at the Cornhill.
A large portion of the area has been fenced off while work takes place, leaving just two pedestrian strips on either side to access both the High Street and the Cornhill Quarter.
There is limited access in the area while works take place. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Despite the cold and wet weather throughout January, progress of the paving removal has not been affected.
This means that phase two works are still on course to be finished in summer this year.
It is hoped that once the area is completed, the walkways will blend in with those at Exchange Square, as well as utilising the space for events.
A look at how the finished development will look. | Illustration: City of Lincoln Council
Bin collections in Boston and in parts of East Lindsey will be suspended for the rest of the week due to COVID-related staff absences.
The collections will be suspended from Wednesday, January 27 as a number of East Lindsey District Council’s and Boston Borough Council’s waste crews either have coronavirus or are self-isolating.
Boston Borough Council and East Lindsey District Council said it is not a decision that has been taken lightly and it is necessary for the service to be suspended in some southern parts of the district until Monday, February 1.
From Monday, waste collections are expected to continue as normal.
Households impacted by the disruption can present any accumulated side waste in black refuse sacks alongside their black bins on their next scheduled bin collection.
The following areas are affected:
Boston
Friskney
Eastville
New Leake
Stickford
Coningsby (part)
Coningsby Moorside
Dalderby
Haltham
Mareham Le Fen
Moorby
N Bolingbroke
Revesby
Scrivelsby
Tumby
Tumby Moorside
Tumby Woodside
Wilksby
Wood Enderby
Carrington
Dogdyke
Frithville
Gypsey Bridge
New Bolingbroke
New York
Scrub Hill
Thornton Le Fen
Westville
Antons Gowt
Cowbridge
Fishtoft
Frithville
Langrick
Sibsey
East Keal
East Kirkby
Hagnaby
Keal Coates
Midville
Stickney
Toynton All Saints
West Keal
Victoria Burgess, Assistant Director for Operations at the council, said: “Over the past couple of days it has proved a real challenge to keep the service going with a number of rounds having not been completed due to staff absences.
“With more crews off again today we needed to take action now and suspending the service is the only realistic option available to us to keep everyone safe – something we’ve worked hard to avoid.
“Our workforce has done an amazing job over the past year and they’ve received much praise from the community and are grateful for your continued good wishes.”
Meanwhile, Lincolnshire County Council has agreed to extend their open days at the Household Recycling Centre on Bittern Way for the disposal of black-bagged general waste and recycling only.
The two extra days of opening are Wednesday and Thursday of this week and next, between the hours of 8am and 4pm.
Over 6,000 people living in and around the Scunthorpe have signed up to donate convalescent plasma after having coronavirus.
This comes as NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is appealing for more potential plasma donors ahead of an upcoming third trial.
Convalescent plasma is the antibody-rich plasma of people who’ve had coronavirus. This can be transfused into people who are struggling to develop their own immune response.
NHSBT wants more people in the area hitting the 28-day recovery mark to sign up.
Over 30 donations have so far been taken at the Scunthorpe donor centre at Berkeley House at Berkeley Business Centre on Doncaster Road, which opened in December last year.
People can register to donate online here and can donate 28 days after they’ve recovered from coronavirus.
The Lincolnshire centre is located at Berkeley House at Berkeley Business Centre on Doncaster Road in Scunthorpe. | Photo: NHSBT
NHSBT is collecting the plasma for new trials for older people or those with cancer to treat them early in the course of the infection.
Two earlier trials have now stopped for data analysis. The upcoming third trial’s focus will be on those with low immune systems and all donations are tested for COVID antibodies.
The NHS trials of convalescent plasma are the largest randomised controlled trials for this treatment of COVID-19.
Professor Dave Roberts, Associate Medical Director for Blood Donation at NHSBT, said: “More people than ever are now able to help – the time to donate is now.
“We especially need donations from people in Scunthorpe who’ve had hospital care. Men who had hospital care are around six times more likely to have the high antibody levels which might save lives.
“We have completed two trials and analysis is ongoing. We now need to collect plasma for further planned clinical studies. We’re particularly looking at high risk groups such as the elderly and people with cancer.
“Donations are vital to the ongoing lifesaving research, which gives us a better understanding of how we can best treat patients with COVID-19 and help prevent deaths in the future.”
Whatsapp
