Elbow – Man Garvey on the Band’s U.S. Tour and Inventive Permission
Escaping the Strain
Sep 23, 2025
Pictures by Athena Caramitsos
Man Garvey is having enjoyable today. That will sound easy, however for the longtime frontman of Elbow, this joyful period marks a artistic excessive level. Greater than 20 years and 10 albums in, Garvey and his bandmates—Pete Turner (bass), Craig Potter (keyboards), Mark Potter (guitar), and Alex Reeves (drums)—are crafting a few of their most shocking music by following their instincts wherever they lead. “We’ve at all times admired artists who stretch themselves and shapeshift,” he says. “It’s terribly boring when a band finds a groove and stays there.”
That drive fuels 2024’s AUDIO VERTIGO, Elbow’s tenth album, and this yr’s follow-up EP AUDIO VERTIGO ECHO, releases which are each alive with chance and grounded within the band’s storied historical past. Shaped in Bury, England (in Larger Manchester), within the early Nineties, they formally took the title Elbow in 1997 and launched their debut album, Asleep within the Again, in 2001. Since then they’ve grow to be considered one of Britain’s most enduring and adorned rock bands. Garvey and firm gained the 2008 Mercury Prize for The Seldom Seen Child and three Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting. That lengthy arc of feat provides the group the arrogance and freedom to maintain chasing no matter sparks its collective curiosity.
That stated, Elbow’s new materials carried an adventurous streak that shocked even Garvey. “Perhaps in years to come back we’ll look again and go, ‘What have been we pondering?’ However for now it’s actually nice enjoyable,” he says. “Elbow won’t ever be something apart from an album band, however we actually, actually loved including the EP to the album. That felt like we’ve found this new territory and we get to hang around there all we would like.”
Given Elbow’s expansive sound and eager curiosity in exploring as they go, an EP in the identical artistic temper may need felt out of bounds up to now. Garvey is obvious that he’s not taken with sonically settling. Nevertheless, the band’s freedom additionally means they’ll stand nonetheless, if most popular. “If it felt like we’d dialed it in, that’s my worst worry,” Garvey says. “After we transfer subsequent, who is aware of the place we’re going to go? However to say, like, ‘Hey, ought to we do one other EP? On this house, on this vibe.’ And everyone was actually enthusiastic and useless happy with the EP.”
The inner permission felt is a byproduct of shedding the pressures that when adopted the band. Requested whether or not he nonetheless feels any profession expectations, Garvey is fast to reply. “Territories, conquering territories, rising the band in numerous elements of the world isn’t one thing that motivates us anymore. We do effectively the place we do effectively.”
Whereas it sounds thrilling to discover new house, Garvey admits that he’s been gradual to regulate at instances in comparison with his bandmates. “I’ve at all times admired artists who stretch themselves and shapeshift. However I’ll be sincere, transferring into new territory, sure folks drag their heels greater than others.
“There’s one music on the album [‘Her to the Earth’] the place I used to be baffled by the piece of music that the boys have been making. I imply, that’s the finest phrase for it. I’d been within the subsequent room and got here in and was like, ‘Jesus, what are you doing?’ Pete and Craig stated concurrently, ‘It’s enjoyable!’ And I’m like, ‘Effectively, I can’t not be the enjoyable man.’ It’s grow to be considered one of my favourite songs on the file.”
At the same time as Elbow experiment with offbeat grooves and dance-floor rhythms, Garvey retains his personal artistic effectively knowledgeable by the inspiring work of others. As he curates his radio present for BBC6, Garvey factors to Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s “Boys with the Traits of Wolves” as one catalytic instance that excites him.
“I do know what’s occurred there from listening to that one music,” stated Garvey. “They’ve stated, ‘Okay, let’s transfer away from this type of information mash, crunched-up, processed factor,’ which I like that they do. However this seems like they’ve sat very shut along with amplifiers and so they’re throwing it down old skool…I like that after I can hear the place my artist has been for some time.
“I suppose the disgrace for individuals who don’t look forward to albums and hearken to releases like that, or EPs, when you’re drip-fed single songs all yr spherical, you don’t get that reveal of the place my artists have been and what they’ve been doing?”
American followers, or “outdated associates” as Garvey refers to them, will be capable of hear the place Elbow has been for the final lengthy whereas on their upcoming fall tour. The dates are Elbow’s first U.S. stops since 2020, and Garvey says the journey looks like a reunion.
“Coming to the States is actually visiting outdated associates…. It’s not about let’s see if we are able to get the band any larger over there. We haven’t been to the States since we made Flying Dream 1. So we’re truly touring two and a half albums. Seven tunes of a 19-song set are new. We’ll house them out. We gained’t front-load anyone.”
Moderately than map out the longer term, Garvey is content material to maintain his map uncharted. With a brand new tour on deck and concepts nonetheless flowing, Elbow’s subsequent chapter will unfold the identical lovely, instinctual method it at all times has.
Learn our evaluation of AUDIO VERTIGO.
Learn our interview with Elbow’s Man Garvey on AUDIO VERTIGO.
Garvey was additionally one of many artists on the quilt of our twentieth Anniversary Subject.
Elbow 2025 North American Tour Dates:
09/26 – 9:30 Membership – Washington, DC
09/27 – Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
09/29 – Brooklyn Metal – Brooklyn, NY
10/02 – Roadrunner – Boston, MA
10/03 – MTELUS – Montreal, QC
10/04 – HISTORY – Toronto, ON
10/06 – The Riviera Theatre – Chicago, IL
10/07 – First Avenue – Fundamental Room – Minneapolis, MN
10/09 – Summit – Denver, CO
10/10 – The Union Occasion Heart – Salt Lake Metropolis, UT
10/12 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA
10/13 – Revolution Corridor – Portland, OR
10/15 – Fox Theater – Oakland, CA
10/16 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA
