By Sarah Hunt
Ahead of their headline gig at the Mouth of the Tyne Festival, ILNS caught up with The K’s singer-songwriter and guitarist Jamie Boyle to get his thoughts on their upcoming gig, playing in the North East and his very local middle name.
A local connection
Despite hailing from Merseyside, Jamie describes the North East as his “home away from home”, so headlining the Mouth of the Tyne has a special significance. Jamie’s dad is from Whitley Bay and he was so keen to keep a connection to the area when he moved away that he gave Jamie a very unique middle name: Newcastle. Given Jamie’s love of the area, his dad’s plan seems to have paid off.
When I ask him about what makes the region special, he immediately mentions his beloved St James’ Park. He’s been a passionate Newcastle United fan since he started going to games in the late nineties as a toddler, and he’s been a season ticket holder for more than ten years. At games, “they make everyone feel so welcome,” he explains. “The North East in general is just a very welcoming place full of good people who just love having a good crack.”
“I just can’t get enough,” explains Jamie, “especially with the football season finishing a couple of months ago now. I’m getting withdrawals from being up in the North East, so I can’t wait to get back!”
When he isn’t touring or making what he calls the “pilgrimage” every two weeks for home games, Jamie spends a lot of time with friends and family from the area. He says lots of them grabbed tickets as soon as the gig was announced. “I think they’re even more excited than I am, so it should be a great day!”
“I feel like I’m sort of like an adopted Geordie, so you have a lot of love being up there,” he says before settling on “honourary Geordie”. “That one sounds better!”
He’s also a big fan of some of the music coming out of the region. He mentions Andrew Cushin, who’s a good friend and 2024 Mouth of the Tyne headliner. “I saw the pictures and it’s made me so excited to play it myself,” he says. He also name-checks Leazes, a new indie rock five-piece from Newcastle; Sunbeam, who hail from Whitby; and Lizzie Esau, who grew up in Ryton, Tyne and Wear.
Bringing the energy
So, how does he feel about headlining one of the region’s best-loved music festivals? “I’m so, so excited,” he says. “I know the area, my dad’s from there, I’ve got a lot of friends who played the festival…and I’ve only heard good things. I’ve seen the pictures and videos, and it looks sick…I can’t wait to get up there!”
“The energy will definitely be there,” he says without hesitation. “We always feed off the energy of the crowd, so it’s just a good time for everyone involved.” I ask if he can give anything specific away, but Jamie says the band are keeping their cards close to their chests. He does hint that this headline set will be bigger than previous gigs, and they’ll be pulling from their ever-growing back catalogue. “We can mix it up a lot more, so that’s always exciting.”
Rising stars
Jamie is just one quarter of British rock band The K’s, alongside Ryan Breslin (guitar), Dexter Baker (bass) and Nathan Peers (drums). Since their formation in 2016, they’ve garnered critical acclaim for their energetic, working-class anthems.
Jamie calls The K’s sound a mashup of pop and punk elements that bring an “in-your-face high energy”. Also drawing on rock and indie influences, the band are quickly building a reputation for catchy singles, punchy festival-ready riffs and honest storytelling about the vulnerabilities of love and realities of everyday life in the UK.
This headline gig comes at the right time for the Merseyside-based band, who beat Oasis and Paul Weller to the number one spot last year with their second album, Pretty on the Internet and won Breakthrough Act of the Year at the first Northern Music Awards in 2024. “It’s class because we’re moving on to the next stage now,” says Jamie. “We’re moving up on all the festival bills, but to be able to headline events like this now for us, it’s just so, so cool.”
One of the UK’s most exciting indie acts, they’ve worked hard to build up a loyal following of fans. “Touch wood, everything is moving in the right direction. We’ve been very lucky, and we worked hard to build up to these moments, but it still feels a little bit surreal, you know?”
And it’s moments like the Mouth of the Tyne that drive the band. Beyond album sales, downloads and numbers on social media, they do it for “little moments of connection with people that you can’t replicate… It’s just a sort of buzz we’re chasing.”
The K’s are headlining the Mouth of the Tyne Festival on Thursday 9th July.
Written by Sarah Hunt
Freelance Senior Copywriter and Creative Strategist
