Mit mehr als 140 Millionen Streams haben sich Lansdowne längst eine internationale Fangemeinde erspielt. Doch für die US-Rockband bleibt die direkte Verbindung zum Publikum ein entscheidender Teil ihrer Musik. Im Oktober führt sie ihre Tour erneut nach Deutschland, unter anderem nach Bremen, Osnabrück, Erfurt, Freiburg, Dresden und Ulm. Mit „Wish You Well“ haben Lansdowne zugleich ein neues Kapitel aufgeschlagen, das sich auch auf ihre Liveshows auswirkt. Im Interview mit uns dem Frontstage Magazine spricht die Band über das neue Material, die besondere Dynamik deutscher und europäischer Konzertbesucher*innen und darüber, warum kein Algorithmus das gemeinsame Erlebnis vor der Bühne ersetzen kann. Außerdem klären wir eine mindestens ebenso wichtige Frage: Welches Bandmitglied würde Lansdowne freiwillig an Außerirdische übergeben?
Frontstage Magazine: As a Boston-based band, you’ve toured internationally quite a bit. What makes touring Germany and Europe different for you compared to playing shows in the US?
Lansdowne: Touring Europe has always felt like a real adventure for us. In the US, you can drive for ten hours and still be in the same state, staring at the same highway and eating at the same chain restaurant. In Europe, you can travel a few hours and suddenly the language, food, architecture and entire culture have changed. There is also a real appreciation for live rock music here. Fans often know more than just the singles. They know the deep cuts, the lyrics and sometimes details about the band that even we have forgotten. There is a sense that people have made a commitment to be there, and we never take that for granted.
Frontstage Magazine: This October, your tour will take you to cities including Bremen, Osnabrück, Erfurt, Freiburg, Dresden and Ulm. Is there a particular German city or venue you’re especially looking forward to playing this time, and why?
Lansdowne: Bremen will be a special one because it is the opening night of the tour. There is always a unique energy around that first show. We have spent months planning, rehearsing and talking about the tour, and then suddenly the lights go down and it becomes real. Honestly, though, every city has its own personality. Some crowds are loud from the first note, while others make you work for it a little more. We enjoy both. There is something incredibly satisfying about watching a room go from studying you with folded arms to completely losing its mind by the end of the night.
Frontstage Magazine: With “Wish You Well”, you’ve opened a new chapter for Lansdowne. How has the new material changed your live show, and what can fans expect from the upcoming concerts?
Lansdowne: Wish You Well gave us a much wider emotional and musical range to bring into the live show. There are still the heavy riffs, big choruses and aggressive moments people expect from Lansdowne, but the new material also has more groove, vulnerability and atmosphere. It allows the show to breathe before hitting people with the next big moment. Fans can expect a set that brings the new record together with the songs they have been singing with us for years. We have spent a lot of time thinking about the pacing, production and transitions so that it feels like one complete experience, not simply a collection of songs.
Frontstage Magazine: You’ve accumulated more than 140 million streams, but Lansdowne is also a band known for its live energy. How important is that direct connection with the audience in an era where so much music is discovered through streaming and social media?
Lansdowne: Streaming and social media are incredibly important because they allow someone on the other side of the world to discover our music instantly. That is often where the relationship begins, but the live show is where it becomes real. A streaming number is exciting, but a number cannot look you in the eyes, sing a lyric back to you or tell you that a song helped them through something difficult. Those moments are what stay with us. The internet may introduce people to Lansdowne, but standing together in a room, sharing that energy for ninety minutes, is what turns listeners into a community. No algorithm can fully recreate that.
Frontstage Magazine: After so many years of touring, you’ve probably experienced just about everything. Is there anything you’ve learned specifically about German or European audiences that surprised you when you first started playing here?
Lansdowne: We learned very quickly that European audiences really listen. They are paying attention to the songs, the performance and whether you genuinely mean what you are doing. You cannot fake your way through a show and expect them not to notice. German audiences in particular can sometimes make you earn their trust, but once you do, they give everything back. They remember the songs, return to the next tour and often travel an incredible distance to see multiple shows. We have met fans who know our catalogue better than we do, which is impressive and occasionally terrifying when someone requests a song we have not played in fifteen years.
Frontstage Magazine: And finally, the really important question: A UFO lands next to your tour bus and the aliens tell you they’re taking one band member with them – but you get to vote on who. Who are you sending into space, and why?
Lansdowne: We are sending Josh. Not because we want to get rid of him, but because he is the most likely to ask the aliens enough technical questions to figure out how the UFO works, rewire the entire thing and somehow turn its propulsion system into a new guitar tone. He would probably return six hours later with three new plugins and complaints about the electrical outlets on the spacecraft. We would just need the aliens to promise they will bring him back before soundcheck. He is far too important to the band, and none of us knows how to operate half the equipment without him.
Wir vom Frontstage Magazine präsentieren euch die Tour in Deutschland in Zusammenarbeit mit Karsten Janke.
LANSDOWNE 2026
07.10. BREMEN Tower
08.10. OSNABRÜCK
09.10. ERFURT
12.10. FREIBURG
13.10. DRESDEN
14.10. ULM
Fotocredit: Lansdowne zur Verfuegung gestellt von Karsten Jahnke
