Soda Blonde Tickets

Authentic to themselves throughout their pursuit of success, ambitious Dublin alt pop four-piece Soda Blonde conjure a fever dream of sparkling hooks, Lynchian imagery and soul-stirring drama destined to invade the charts.

Soda Blonde may have only existed since 2019, but the four band members’ musical relationship dates much further back. For years they were simply school friends, though it was in 2008 when singer Faye O'Rourke, Adam O'Regan, Donagh Seaver O'Leary, Dylan Lynch and Stevie Appleby starting rehearsing and writing music together in the latter’s back garden. Releasing a handful of EPs under the name Little Green Cars, the indie folk outfit picked up meaningful momentum, becoming labelmates with Mumford & Sons and Phoenix after signing with New York City-based label Glassnote Records. 

Moderate international success came their way, but in 2019, Appleby’s health issues meant that he could longer continue. In an act of camaraderie, Little Green Cars disbanded and Soda Blonde rose from the ashes of their former group.

Shortly after the newly formed four-piece project was announced, Soda Blonde hit reset with their self-released debut EP, Terrible Hands, in 2019. Showcasing the group’s influences ranging from Little Dragon to Dev Hynes to Lykke Li, alongside O’Rourke’s emotive and singular voice – immediately drawing comparisons to Kate Bush and Annie Lennox – the Dubliners started life under a new guise with a loftier scope. Even the pandemic didn’t halt their progress, releasing follow-up EP, Isolation Content, in 2020. 

Preceded by the lead single of the same name, Soda Blonde’s existential and ambitious debut album, Small Talk, came in 2021. A real signal of intent, they finally filtered out the threads of their folk-influenced former band in favour of sleek pop anthems that soundtrack the collective isolation of our times. Self-produced, Small Talk is laden with melancholy, malaise, and self-doubt throughout, notably on album opener ‘Tiny Darkness’, the title track, and the smouldering second single, ‘In The Heat Of The Night’.

O’Rourke’s grandiose songwriting wasn’t slept on – the band’s first album on Overbite Records was nominated for a Choice Music Prize that year, and they earned a slot on The Great Escape’s online edition. A physical tour of the UK and their home country came at the tail end of 2021 in support of Small Talk, where they finally fed off the energy from crowds that adored them. This energy they channelled right back into their next album.

“In a world where everything is so disposable, we hope people feel like they own a piece of this album,” singer O’Rourke said of Soda Blonde’s second album, Dream Big, which came in 2023. Sauntering lead single ‘Bad Machine’ set the stall for a band unshackling themselves from expectation, sitting somewhere between the sassiness of Goldfrapp and punk defiance of Metric. Liberated by a new sense of musical abandon, the band said it was the “most fun, cathartic and meaningful experience we’ve had making an album”.

While pop hooks act as the band’s lynchpin (along with their David Lynch-indebted visuals), Soda Blonde’s sound is difficult to pin down. But their big dreaming, dramatic approach to crafting songs is undeniable.

After touring across the UK and Europe in support of Dream Big, the Dublin four-piece teamed up with the Irish National Symphony Orchestra in 2024 for a grandiose homecoming concert at Dublin's National Concert Hall, a show that will be released as a live album and concert film.

Capping off what was a landmark year for the band, Soda Blonde played a short run of gigs at London's Corsica Studio, Leeds' Brudenell Social Club, and Nice N' Sleazy in Glasgow before returning to Vicar St, Dublin.