Continuing our run of letting you know a little more about as many of the bands on at Bloodstock 2025 as we possibly can before you get a chance to see them, we have Tiberius. This bunch play on the EMP Stage on the Saturday.
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re from Edinburgh in sunny Scotland!
How long have you been playing together as a band?
The band has been in existence for a little over a decade, but the current iteration is about 8 years old, and I would call that “true” Tiberius. Big shout outs to Edwin, Gerald and Edder for helping us get started though!
Where does the name of the band come from?
We get asked this question a lot. Some ask if it’s after the Roman Emperor. Others ask if it’s James T Kirk. The answer is neither: we’re named after a cat I had who tragically died a day before his first birthday after getting run over. Sorry to ruin the mood!
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Our music is big on melodies and energy, with the goal of producing a party vibe at live events. However, I think what really makes us unique is the juxtaposition of that big, bright melody with our lyrics, which are usually angry and scathing towards current society and politics. Our goal is to make you smile while you sing about the world falling apart.
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What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
The Tiberius live show is a very important part of what we do. We want people to feel like they’re experiencing a party with us. We want them to feel like they’re our comrades in this late-stage capitalist misery that we currently call planet earth. If you like frenetic intensity, and being unsure of what’s going to happen next, you should definitely come to see us play. Ultimately, our goal with every show is to be the band that people remember. We want people to be driving home on the Monday talking about our set. You can decide if we succeeded in that goal.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
I have never been to Bloodstock before, and I think that’s true for 4 out of 5 of Tiberius. Jahan has been several times before, and he’s always told us about how great an experience it is. We’re excited to finally see for ourselves.
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
I’d love to say it was some big glamorous reveal, but honestly it was pretty boring, all things considered! We just had an email sitting in our inbox waiting for us a couple of months ago, inviting us to play. We responded fairly quickly saying “of-bloody-course”.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
We want to come out guns blazing at Bloodstock, so you can expect a very high energy set full of songs that we know get people pumped and jumping. If you think you’re in the market for a dance and boogie on the Saturday, get down to watch us throw a party.
Stage times haven’t been announced yet, so which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
I hope we don’t clash with Creeper or Cage Fight as I’m very stoked to finally be seeing the former, and the latter are always great fun. I don’t think we have to worry about clashing with Machine Head…
What are you working on at the moment?
We’re starting to put together the skeleton of album three, which is very exciting indeed. It feels wrong, like we’re cheating on album two that just came out in March, but oh so right. We’re a band that uses our music to write social commentary, and in case you weren’t aware, there’s kind of a lot of fucked up things happening in the world right now. It’s a veritable goldmine of misery to be angry about.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
I think the wildest thing we’ve done during a show is set up a conga line through a venue and into its beer garden, led by our guitar player (who plays with a wireless pack). This led to much bemusement by the regular punters just there for their pints, although many of them joined in, bless them. I also missed a jump once and fell between the stage and barriers, ripping my elbow open. That’s less wild though, and more just to be expected from the chaos!
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
That’s not really my thing, to be honest. I’ll do a lot of stretches and vocal/physical warm-ups so I don’t immediately fall flat on my face when I jump out on stage. Our live show involves a LOT of movement, so we have to be as limber as possible.
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Header image photo by lray.photos
Tiberius: official | facebook | instagram | spotify
