“CORK HAS THE BEST MUSIC SCENE IN THE WORLD” | INTERVIEW WITH CORK’S ‘CLIFFORDS’

INTERVIEW | CLIFFORDS | TRUCK FESTIVAL by Rachel Puk

Underneath Oxfordshire’s blaring sun on a late July afternoon, I spoke to undeniably talented front-woman Iona Lynch and keys player Locon O’Toole from the upcoming Cork band Cliffords at Truck Fest 2025.

Has this been your first Truck Festival?

Iona: Yeah, we had a great first Truck Festival. We really, really enjoyed it. It’s been great – it’s been our first ever festival season.

Locon: Very surreal. Very, very surreal.

It seems like you’ve been doing it for ages! So – tell us about the music scene in Cork and how your surroundings there have shaped your music.

Locon: We haven’t said this yet, but Cork has the best music scene in the world.

Iona: In the world?! I would agree! Definitely in all of Ireland.

Locon: I say the world. I’m going to say it. But yeah, Cork – like it’s crazy see all these bands playing this festival because we’ve grown up playing with a lot of the people that are playing here. We’ve just been playing gigs and small venues together for so long – and everyone grew together – so it’s so amazing to see everyone doing so well.

Iona: Like Cardinals, we used to play with in a room that would fill 50 people. that was like one of our first shows, one of their first shows and now that we’re out there on a big stage and like there’s so many amazing bands. Pebbledash – the best band in Ireland right now, 100%. They’re from Cork! and The Love Buzz… all these incredible bands have been informing us and nurturing us and we’ve just felt so like privileged to have that.

How is it performing back home compared to here? Do you find one place easier to perform in than the other?

Locon: We haven’t played back home in so long – at all this year. Our last Cork show was in November last year. And that was really special for us. We played Cyprus Avenue, we sold it out for the first time. And it’s just, it’s so nice seeing all our friends in the crowd. Our friends always come to all our shows in Cork. So I really miss seeing everyone when we get to go back and play for all our friends and family. It’s of course, a really small place. We know everyone in the crowd.

Iona: Cork’s definitely the best crowd in Ireland. For us anyway, and then, I would say Truck was an amazing crowd! Other than that, Manchester crowds are amazing. We love the north so much. We played the Art’s Club in Liverpool – Sound City! We love the North, and especially in Liverpool we have a very similar culture.

I’ve heard about your Album of the Week Club – who chose album of the week this week, and what did everyone think?

Locon: The album this week – we haven’t listened to it because we’ve been on the road – but it’s ‘Illmatic’ by Nas. Something different because we’ve listened to a lot of indie and phone records recently. So I’m mixing it up a bit.

Iona: Last week was The Who? Yeah, The Who. I can’t remember the name of the album. It was Gavin, our bass player’s pick. And then the week before that was me – and it was ‘Easter’ by Patti Smith. Great album.

At Northern Exposure we really celebrate politically driven artists, and obviously we’ve noticed the Palestine flag hung on your sets. How important is it for artists like yourselves to use their platform as a voice for the people of Palestine?

Iona: It’s everything. Like, I think especially for bigger artists who aren’t using their platform. It just doesn’t make sense to me. There are thousands – hundreds of thousands – of people getting murdered right now in Gaza. And you can’t just stand rightly by. It’s not human to look at that and not be disgraced by it. What we’re doing is very, very small in the grand scheme of things, but it’s so important to have the Palestine flag to show that we’re standing in solidarity for them. We always say “free Palestine”. And it’s something that we feel really passionate about. There’s such a connection between the Irish struggle and the Palestinian struggle, so it’s something that we feel really, really strong about.

Locon: Even if there’s one young person in the crowd who doesn’t really know what’s going on, that we can help inform – it’s so important that we’re able to do that. We’re really lucky to have that platform.

I loved the visuals and your latest music video – ‘My Favourite Monster’ – I thought that was so cool. How did that concept come about? And do you think the visuals add a certain nuance to the lyrics?

Iona: I think so. My boyfriend directed that video. So what was nice is like something that like, he’s such an incredibly talented director. It was so lovely to do that together because it was someone who I trust so much, and I think he really understood the whole vision. I could I just really could tell him everything and he really took it all into account. He was very inspired by German expressionist film. I’m so proud of him for doing that.

And what’s next for you guys once this festival season is over?

Locon: We’re doing a tour!

Iona: Tour starts in November and we’ve just finished doing some writing. So we’ll do some recording soon!

It was amazing to catch up with Cliffords at both theirs and mine first ever Truck Fest. Their set was incredible (read the whole review here), and I hope to catch them again later this year. A band that takes pride in solidarity and their art, whilst celebrating their culture and grassroots background. See them when you can, give them a listen if you haven’t already.

TOUR DATES – https://www.cliffordsofficial.com/#tour-dates

2^nd November – Strange Brew, Bristol
3^rd November – Oslo, London
5^th November – Yes (Pink Room), Manchester
6^th November – Mama Roux’s, Birmingham
7^th November – Headrow House, Leeds
9^th November – King Tuts, Glasgow
11^th November – Ulster Sports Club, Belfast
12^th November – Academy, Dublin
15^th November – City Hall, Cork