Playing It By Ear: The Backseat Lovers on Being a Band During The Pandemic
Photograph by Alex K Justice
Last March, a week before they set off for their debut North American tour, Utah indie rock band The Backseat Lovers received news that it was postponed due to COVID-19. Reality hit after a few months; rescheduling the shows to later dates would reveal that they had no choice but to call off the entire tour.
When drummer Juice Welch reflected on a year where nearly nothing had gone to plan, he said the band has “definitely been able to make good out of a bad situation.” By putting on livestream concerts, cracking down on their second album, and rehearsing for future shows for a post-pandemic world, the band has been able to progress despite the circumstances. “Before all this happened, we saw ourselves going on tour, recording an album and putting it out,” Jonas Swanson, the band’s lead guitarist, said. “But I think in a lot of ways, it's been for the better, actually. We've had a lot of time to sit with the music that we are working on.”
Hailing from Sandy City, Heber City and Ogden, Utah, the four-piece has seen a lot of success in just two years. With over 1.2 million Spotify monthly listeners and 22 million streams on their top song, “Kilby Girl,” lead singer Joshua Harmon noted that these numbers “didn’t just happen out of nowhere.” As the independent band continues to put effort into developing a fan base and trying to gain traction on radio and social media, “brick by brick, everything has started snowballing on itself,” Harmon said.
These efforts have landed their music into several official Spotify playlists last year, including a spot on the “United States Viral 50” chart in September 2020. Now, 4 months later, the band has seen a 70% increase in Spotify followers and 50% increase in monthly listeners (Chartmetric). “We’re all really grateful to have the traction and support that we have right now because it does feel like it's a bit of an opportunity of a lifetime,” Harmon said.
Photo by Mario Vega
After having to cancel their tour, 2020 looked less like what the band was anticipating. However, during quarantine, they set a goal around perfecting their second album. Bassist KJ Ward, who started playing with the band in October of 2019, said this extra time has given them the chance to “try new things and play around with the dynamic” of the album. Harmon mentioned that if the year had been spent touring like they planned, the album would not be nearly as “special, strong or cohesive” as it is now. “It speaks for who we are in a much more present way than any of the stuff we have released at the moment,” he says. “It definitely feels like the true version of who we are as a band right now.”
Although the band was upset, they felt fortunate for the way things played out, as their situation could have been a lot worse. “There are definitely a lot of bands that hit a wall a lot harder because of where they were at,” Harmon says. “… Luckily, we were right in this spot where we were [just about to go on tour]. And then we got a second to rethink it, look over everything, and replan the year.” To fill the void of playing shows, the Backseat Lovers have put on several livestream concerts during the pandemic. Although livestreams don’t replicate the experience of in-person performances, the band said that they have been a great way to connect with their fans. “In some ways, it satisfies the part of me that wants to play a show, but in other ways, it just doesn't feel the same,” Swanson explains. “It makes us feel good to see that people still want to support us in a time where live music is nonexistent.”
Last November, the band announced their new North American tour. They teamed up with ticketing company Lyte, giving fans the option to reserve a ticket for a show in their city. Once more COVID precautions and information rolls out, official dates and venues will be secured and ticket holders will be notified. Fortunately, according to Live Nation, the top promoter in the live music industry, shows are projected to return this summer. “Hopefully, by then, we'll have our second album released,” Harmon said. I think that there is a completely new approach to the dynamics of our set now.”
When asked what the hardest thing has been about being a band during a pandemic, they boiled it down to one word: uncertainty. Welch notes that it has been difficult to progress, especially in a career that deeply involved creativity. “It has been a time of playing everything by ear,” Swanson comments. “We’ve just been planning for the unexpected.”
Without being able to receive feedback from fans face-to-face, the band must now, more than ever, hold tight to the belief that their songs are worth something. To work through the uncertainty, Ward described staying consistent and believing in their art to the fullest as key elements. “We’re incredibly excited to play the new songs live,” said Harmon. “Our cat is getting sick of hearing us play them.”