Florence Road: “When we found that we were going to be on the billboard in Times Square, I just cracked up for 10 minutes”

It has been, to use the band’s own words, a “very Hannah Montana” year for Florence Road.

“We live our normal lives, obviously,” vocalist Lily Aron elaborates. “But it’s mad that there’s this other side that also exists: ‘Florence Road, on a billboard in Times Square...’”

That 5,000km journey from Florence Road in Bray, Co. Wicklow – where the four-piece originally met in school – to New York City’s brightest intersection has been years in the making, with momentum steadily building since the release of their stand-alone debut single ‘Another Seventeen’ back in 2022.

But there’s no doubt that this past year has been especially transformative, and surreal, for the young band – with high-profile support slots for major artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Wolf Alice; a sold-out headline tour; an acclaimed debut mixtape Fall Back that’s clocked up millions of streams; and spots on some of the biggest ones-to-watch features in the world, including BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2026 longlist. All of which has led them here – to the verge of stardom, as one of the most buzzed-about Irish acts in recent memory.

Not that Florence Road – also made up of guitarist Emma Brandon, bassist Ailbhe Barry, and drummer Hannah Kelly – appear too bogged down with the weight of any of that. Gathered around a table in the Hot Press office after their ‘Hot For 2026’ cover shoot, there’s a warm, giddy energy, and touch of divilment, about the group, that clearly stretches back to their shared schooldays.

Although their music has taken them around the world, those roots have remained strong. Even with collaborations with big-name American producers like Dan Wilson, Dan Nigro and John Hill under their belt, jam sessions in Lily’s garden shed are still central to Florence Road’s creative process.

“Originally, it was my dad who put the drums out there,” Lily explains. “It was partially his office – so he’d work in half of it, and write music when he wasn’t working. But it was really fun just jamming out there, and being like, ‘We’re going to be in the shed for a few hours!’ The set-up is still pretty much the same – except the drums are on a riser now, so Hannah watches us from up high.”

Was it an adjustment, going from that way of working, to studio sessions in Los Angeles?

“Kind of,” Lily acknowledges. “But at the same time, it’s still, at its core, just making music. So it still felt natural, and we didn’t get nervous or scared. We were just like, ‘We’re going to make music – and if it’s right it’s right. And if it’s not, that’s still fine.’ We know that we can always go back to the shed – and we will always. We’re actually going back in January, and we’re going to write loads and loads.”

The songs created in that shed have clocked up some serious mileage over the past 12 months – including an Australian tour with Royel Otis in October.

“It’s mad,” Ailbhe reflects. “At one point in Australia, we were playing ‘Figure It Out’, and I was like, ‘This was the third song we ever wrote. We played it in the shed and now we’re on the other side of the world, in Melbourne… lol.’”

Laughter, they’ve found, has been the best way to deal with those inconceivably surreal moments.

“When we found that we were going to be on the billboard in Times Square, I just cracked up for 10 minutes,” Hannah tells me. “I was just like, ‘This is so funny…’”

“Something like that will happen, and you’ll be like, ‘What? Little ol’ me?!’” Ailbhe adds. “I was in my hometown, doing the weekly shop, when I saw the picture of us in Times Square. And then I was just like, ‘Anyways – back to what I was doing!’”

“This whole year has been filled with very surreal things,” Lily nods. “So in a way we’re used to it – but it’s still also like, ‘What do you mean?!’”

PULL OUT THE TIN WHISTLE

With a sold-out headline show at the 3Olympia Theatre lined up for May, it’s clear that Florence Road have come a long way from the intimate Dublin venues they cut their teeth in, like The Sound House, The Grand Social and Whelan’s Upstairs. They also recall a show at the “now defunct, but legendary” Fish Bowl in Wicklow Town – though I’m surprised to hear they’ve never played beloved Bray institution The Harbour Bar.

“I feel like that could be mixing work and play,” Hannah laughs.

“We were actually going to, but then there was a clash,” says Lily. “But we love The Harbour Bar.”

Was it an encouraging area to grow up in, as young musicians trying to break onto the scene?

“When we first started properly being in the band, and writing together, Music Generation was the organisation that was around in Wicklow,” Lily tells me. “That was very helpful for us, and for other young musicians, to get started. It’s really what kickstarted everything, I’d say.”

“And through doing Garageland [another resource for up-and-coming artists], you’d meet other bands,” adds Hannah. “And then they’d be putting on gigs, so you’d meet other bands – and it would just keep on going like that. It was very welcoming.”

“Yeah, you’d get a DM being like, ‘Do you guys want to open?’” Lily resumes. “It’s a really nice community. And once we started playing in Dublin, we saw there was so much amazing talent. It was really cool to play with so many other like-minded people.”

Their secondary school, Coláiste Ráithín in Bray, proved to be equally crucial in shaping the band that Florence Road would become. One clip from their school days – featuring the group performing, in their uniforms, on a makeshift stage in the canteen (and shared alongside hashtag #ScaringTheFirstYears) – has since clocked up over seven million views on TikTok.

“Our school was super encouraging of music, all the way through,” says Ailbhe. “There would be Christmas concerts every year, and then they started hosting concerts at lunchtime, which is how we started actively playing together.”

As an Irish-speaking school, Coláiste Ráithín also imbued in them a real love for the language.

“We’d talk to each other a lot in Irish, just conversationally,” says Ailbhe. “Especially more recently, when we’re abroad…”

“...And we need a secret language!” Lily laughs.

“We’d be talking about really mundane things,” Ailbhe resumes. “But because our accents don’t change that much, some of our crew from the UK would be like, ‘Are you speaking in a different language, or am I having a stroke?’ Or they might just hear us say their name, and look over – and we’d have to be like, ‘Don’t worry, we’re just talking about laundry!’”

Florence Road. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com.

They’ve been inspired to see the likes of Hozier, CMAT, Fontaines D.C. and KNEECAP proudly bringing the language to a wider audience through their music – something Hannah reckons “we wouldn’t have seen a few years ago.”

“We’ve written stuff in Irish,” Lily tells me. “And we’d love to write more, and release it. There’s actually a song where we’ve Irish in it, and I pull out the tin whistle as well. Whether that makes it or not, you’ll find out… I’ll just put it out of my pocket on stage!”

“Like Lizzo!” her bandmates laugh.

And these aren’t just your bog-standard tin whistle skills from primary school days, she assures me.

“Oh no, I was in the Fleadh!” Lily reveals. “When I was 12 I made it to the All-Irelands, baby! I’ll take that with me. Sorry – that was actually for the flute, not the tin whistle. But if you knew one, you knew the other…”

THE CRANBERRIES, FLEETWOOD MAC & BRAT

Whether that tin whistle solo makes the final cut on Florence Road’s debut album remains to be seen – but it’s clear that the band aren’t afraid to continue pushing at the boundaries of their songcraft. What they’ve carved out in the process is a sound that’s both polished and playful, blending soul-baring ‘90s indie anthems and ambitious classic rock influences – with a strong contemporary pulse running throughout, as well as a sprinkling of sea-weathered Bray grit.

As a band made up of four individuals, Florence Road describe their listening habits as a mix of “everything and anything” – although they tell me their tastes collide on the holy trinity of “The Cranberries, Fleetwood Mac and Brat.”

They’ve also previously shared covers of tracks by Olivia Rodrigo and Wolf Alice – which made landing support slots for those acts all the more special.

“Every single support slot that we found out about, I was like, ‘You’re messing – I was just listening to them yesterday,’” Lily reflects. “And I feel like we picked up different things from each one. We’ve just been soaking everything up.”

“It’s funny,” Ailbhe reflects, “to think that our first TikTok that did really well was us performing Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Jealousy, Jealousy’ in our school canteen, on the worst soundsystem you’ve ever heard – to then be watching her perform it at Marlay Park, after we had just opened for her…”

Over the months ahead, Florence Road will also be gearing up for a North American tour with The Last Dinner Party, and two massive Irish outdoor shows supporting Kings Of Leon – in addition to their own headline gigs. Has it been a challenge, learning to cope with those intense runs of shows?

“We’re very good at saying, ‘I just need a second,’” says Ailbhe. “You can go non-verbal for a bit, and then come back and recalibrate.”

“Because we’re all just such good friends, we know what ticks each other off,” Emma nods. “We know when we need space, or TikTok time.”

Florence Road. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com.

As Hannah notes, it’s also important to “do everything you can to decompress on the days off.”

“For me, it’s just spending time at home, doing the dishes, putting on laundry, making your bed,” Lily reflects. “The really normal things – so you’re like, ‘I’m not special. I’m a normal human.’ You’re getting a lot of validation, you’re meeting loads of fans, and it’s amazing. But you also have to remind yourself that you’re just like everyone else. And it’s nice to be situated back in your life. It recharges you.”

“I went home the other day, and ate four oranges in a row,” Ailbhe adds. “You’re all saying, ‘Do normal things.’ But I put on a movie, cracked one open. Then another one. I was surrounded by orange peels. I was just desperately like, ‘Gotta get that straight vitamin C hit…’”

THERE IS NO BOX

In coming to grips with their new reality, Florence Road have found that support from other established acts has been especially encouraging.

“I remember we posted a short cover on our Instagram, way back,” Lily recalls. “I think we’d just made our Instagram. It was an Orla Gartland cover, and she replied to our story and said, ‘Rock on!’ And I was just like, ‘Aggghhh!’”

For Lily, seeing the success of a homegrown act like Orla was a massive source of inspiration when Florence Road were starting out.

“I thought she was so cool – and she is!” she enthuses. “She’s phenomenal, and a beautiful lyricist. And she has this amazing stage presence.

“CMAT as well,” she continues. “We love CMAT. We saw her at Electric Picnic, and it was the most life-changing experience.”

“I think I cried the whole way through,” Emma admits.

Are there any Irish ones-to-watch on Florence Road’s radar at the moment?

“I went to Bricknasty in the Olympia recently,” says Ailbhe. “It was so good. They’re phenomenal – I just love their stuff. I think that was my third or fourth time seeing them.

“And our fellow ‘Road’ buddies, Esmeralda Road,” she continues. “They’re really cool. I met Charlie from Esmeralda Road at a gig, and he was like, ‘Florence Road!’ And I was like, ‘Esmeralda Road!’ And then he goes, ‘Let’s form a junction!’”

“Cliffords are great, MOIO is great… Madra Salach!” adds Lily. “The list goes on and on. Everywhere you turn there’s incredible Irish talent. We’re so proud to even be a little bit part of that.”

They’ve found that there’s a genuine sense of community among those Irish acts, especially when they cross paths at festivals overseas.

“You’re all on this same kind of path, or journey, so it’s cool,” Lily reflects. “And Irish people are always looking out for each other. If there’s ever any other Irish people there, it’s like, ‘You’re Irish? I’m Irish. Let’s get a drink.’”

As that journey continues, there’s no doubt that Florence Road are set to officially make the leap from hotly tipped up-and-comers to bona fide stars any day now – though, considering the success they’ve had to date, it’s easy to forget the band’s full-length debut is still to come.

While she acknowledges that “an album is the goal”, Lily tells me that their immediate plan is to just “keep writing”.

“It’s fun, because we haven’t decided,” she says of where their evolving sound might take them next. “We obviously love heavier songs like ‘Figure It Out’ – but we also love to do things that are soft, like the beginning of ‘Miss’ and ‘Caterpillar’. So we’re literally going to see what happens, and how it feels. And whatever feels right, that’s what will happen.

“I don’t think we have a set plan, and I’m glad that we don’t,” she continues. “There is no box. We’re not limiting ourselves to any one idea, or any one genre.”

“I can’t wait to find out what’s going to happen,” laughs Ailbhe. “Because we have no idea! When you look at everything that happened in 2025… It’s just like, ‘What will this year look like?!’”

Florence Road play The Limelight 1, Belfast (May 26) and 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin (May 27), and will support Kings Of Leon at Ormeau Park, Belfast (June 29) and Thomond Park, Limerick (July 1).

They're also presenting Faoin Solas: A Night of Fresh Irish Music at the Button Factory, Dublin (February 19) and the Róisín Dubh, Galway (February 21).