I sat down with Tom Walker ahead of his set at Barn On The Farm to chat Leave a Light On, touring, football and George Ezra.

Are you excited to play BOTF? And have you played before?

Absolutely buzzing, really, really buzzing. It’s my third year in a row playing so it’s super cool to be back. I met a couple of people earlier and I ran into them last year and took a picture with them, then ran into them think it’s the same day and exactly the same place and got another picture with them. I just thought that’s really cool. It’s one of my favorite festivals.

It’s such an intimate festival, how does the crowd differ to playing really big venues?

Yeah definitely I think it’s just the perfect size and the perfect amount of people, like I love Glastonbury it’s one of my absolute other favourite festivals but at the end of the weekend you feel like you’ve just been put through a blender, all the walking and that. Everything’s so far away, if you want a catch someone and it’s like an hour and a half walk away to the next stage and it’s just like what! But it’s nice here, it’s got a good family vibe. It makes me want to have kids just to bring them here!

---

“It sent Leave a Light On into the top 10 in the UK which is really cool – it’s something I never thought I’d achieve”

---

You’ve had quite a bit of success with Leave A Light On and it being on a few averts, how’s that been?

Yeah it’s been really cool. We’ve been pretty fortunate to get them and we’ve got a few, the main one being for the Sony Bravia TV advert. Loads of people started to Shazam it and buying it like that. It sent it into the Top 10 in the UK which is really cool. We stayed there for three weeks. It’s something I never thought I’d achieve, so I’m pretty buzzing.

How important do you think New Music Friday and Spotify are?

I think it’s super important definitely, I know Spotify are the main ones pushing it but I think all similar playlists are just as important. I’ve got a couple of different platforms now which is good.

What else have you got planned for the rest of the year? Any more tours?

Yeah I’ve got a UK tour, European tour, a US tour and 35 festivals. I’ve got to finish my album too because it came out for pre-release like a week ago so I have to get it done now – that’s due out at the end of the year/start of next year. So yeah pretty busy.

Do you get downtime?

No, not at all. I’ve literally not got a day off for the next 15 days, I’m doing stuff everyday. But you know it doesn’t feel like work. I mean it’s nice to just chill sometimes, but I’m very fortunate to be in the place I am now and it would be stupid not to take every opportunity that comes my way for the sake of lying in bed and doing nothing. I would rather just get on with it and hopefully I can have a holiday at some point.

What other festivals are you playing this summer?

I’m playing Hyde Park British Summer Time Festival the same day as Bruno Mars so that will be sick, I’m excited about that. I’m also doing Lollapalooza in Paris, I’ve heard loads about that festival but I’ve never been. Boardmasters in Cornwall, really excited about that because I think I’m playing then it’s George Ezra and Fat Freddy’s Drop. I’m going to play then go watch two of my favourite bands at one of my favourite festivals, and get absolutely hammered!

You supported George Ezra on his tour, how was that?

Yeah it was amazing, he’s such a nice dude. I actually ran into him last week at Southside Festival in Germany and he’s just a really nice lad.

I guess it’s nice to see other friends having success alongside you

Yeah, well, I wouldn’t really call him a friend; I’ve met him a few times and we’ve toured together, he’s a top lad. But yeah it’s nice to see, especially his new album, doing as well as it’s doing after the success of the first one because if anyone goes to see him you’ll understand he’s probably one of the best acts I’ve seen live in a long time. I watched him again the other day at Southside Festival and thought he’s crazy, crazy good. Just a perfect amount of energy and banter and laughs and ups and downs – everything. I look at him and I’m like ‘I need to make my set better!’

What can people expect from your set today and any other festivals over the summer?

Well we’ve got the full band with us today which is pretty cool so it’s a little bit more rocky than the record – they’re absolutely wicked. It’s the same kind of thing you know they’ll be ups and downs all around, but hopefully they’ll be good shows.

There’s a good atmosphere today (England had just beaten Sweden in the World Cup) with the football, will there be a cheeky encore of It’s Coming Home?

(Laughs) I‘ve seen quite a lot of people doing it so they might be sick of it by now. But yeah, I might. (He did and I take full credit). I’m not really a big football fan but I’ve been  properly getting into it (sadly no more as England crashed out to Croatia).

It can be quite stressful to watch though can’t it

Yeah it’s funny because there was someone playing in the barn when I arrived as everyone was watching the football – they were playing a very delicate acoustic set and everyone in the barn shouted when England scored the first goal.

Is there anyone else you want to catch today or thought were good?

Lewis Capaldi is really good, he’s on right now actually so I’m missing his set for this interview. Nina Nesbitt I really wanted to catch but I’ve got to leave straight away after as I’m going to France tonight. I saw Bad Sounds earlier they were very cool, Sunset Sons too. I’ve just been pottering around all day – it’s been mint!

To watch the interview and check out the rest of my coverage from Barn On The Farm 2018 click here.