About - Priestgate

“The best new live band on the planet” - Dork

“Part dream-pop, part gothic-tinged indie […] could effortlessly ease into the soundtrack of a US coming-of-age flick” - DIY

“Gothic dream pop has never felt so good” - NME

“outstanding, emotive, arena ready guitar music.” - Jack Saunders, BBC Radio 1

Ascendant East Yorkshire five-piece Priestgate have released their second EP One Shade Darker via Lucky Number.

Priestgate began 2023 with a Dork Hype List accolade under their belts (“The best new live band on the planet”) - following an NME 100 nod in 2022 - and headlined the Dork Hype List tour last month, which included a packed out show at Colours in Hoxton alongside sold-out gigs in Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds and Brighton.

One Shade Darker is the hotly-anticipated followup to their enthralling debut EP Eyes Closed For The Winter EP which arrived in March 2022. One Shade Darker contains the singles ‘White Shirt’ - endorsed by BBC Radio 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq - and ‘Some Things Never Change’, which was crowned Tune Of The Week by Jack Saunders at BBC Radio 1 (“outstanding, emotive, arena ready guitar music”) as well as the shimmering ‘Into The Blue’ and live highlight “Lucifer’ their most emotively gothic song to-date.

Raised in the sleepy town of Driffield in East Yorkshire, Priestgate are Rob Schofield (vocals), Bridie Stagg (drums), Connor Bingham (guitar), Isaac Ellis (guitar), and Kai Overton (bass). The nucleus of Priestgate came together after Ellis was recommended to the band by none other than Schofield’s dad, who he works alongside building coffins as his 9-5 job. Soon after Overton, a mental health worker for the local council, completed the line-up.

Formed as a battlecry against the restlessness and mundanity of rural life, Priestgate began as a reaction to the sparse local music scene around them, which in turn has allowed them to craft and develop their own unique sound without the added pressure of conformity. Drawing comparisons to The Cure and The Maccabees, Priestgate have combined bright guitar-pop hooks with darker lyrical sensibilities, concocting their own angst-laden blend of the hypnotic and euphoric.

Priestgate’s debut EP Eyes Closed For The Winter was heralded with glowing praise from the likes of DIY, Dork (“Nothing is more exciting than starry-eyed potential, and Priestgate have that in spades”) and Gigwise who all awarded it 4* reviews. Priestgate have also garnered praise for their formidable live performances at festivals last summer including Reading and Leeds (where they were recorded for BBC Introducing), Latitude and Community. Their debut single ‘Bedtime Story’ & EP title track ‘Eyes Closed For The Winter’ were lauded at radio by Jack Saunders (who crowned ‘ECFTW’ a Next Wave), Sian Eleri and Gemma Bradley at Radio 1, and Steve Lamacq and Emily Pilbeam on 6 Music.