Smells Like Teen Spirit ft. Deaf Havana DJ Set
Freshers' Festival wouldn't be the same without an indie rock night and we're delighted to be joined by brothers James (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Matty Veck-Gilodi (lead guitar, backing vocals) from Deaf Havana for a DJ set that will surely bring the house down.
Deaf Havana
Having formed in 2005, the band from Norfolk have since released tracks recognised all over the world with 1.6m listeners on Spotify in 2020.
Formed in 2005 while the band - lead vocalist Ryan Mellor, guitarists James Veck-Gilodi and Sebastian Spitz (later replaced by Chris Pennells), bassist Lee Wilson, and drummer Tom Ogden - were students at college in Kings Lynn, Deaf Havana signed to A Wolf at Your Door Records in 2008. A year later, they recorded their first album, 'Meet Me Halfway, At Least', with producer Matt O'Grady (You Me at Six). Mellor parted ways with the band due to personal reasons prior to the recording of their sophomore release and was replaced by Veck-Gilodi on lead vocals. Fools and Worthless Liars was released in 2011 and marked the start of their sonic shift. They released a deluxe version of the album with a bonus disc of the entire LP re-recorded in a stripped-back acoustic manner that brought out the musicianship and emotion of their usually aggressive sound. They added Veck-Gilodi's brother Matthew to bolster their guitar options, on both acoustic and electric, and also installed Max Britton on piano to further expand their sound.
Sessions for their third record followed Deaf Havana's acoustic shows at London's intimate Union Chapel, and in 2013, Old Souls was issued. Their sound had shifted even further from the heavy riffs of their debut to a more considered pop/rock sound, complete with Springsteen references and harmonized choruses. After the release of Old Souls, the band almost broke up but decided to persevere. Four years later, they released their fourth studio album, All These Countless Nights, in January 2017. Wasting little time, they returned to the studio and churned out another effort, which quickly arrived in 2018. The pop-leaning Rituals landed that August, peaking in the Top Ten on the U.K. charts.
Ticket information
£5 Advance
£7 On the door
Individual tickets will go on sale at 10am on Tuesday 14 September.
Following the government announcement that the scheme for vaccine passports for entry to nightclubs and large events in England will not be going ahead, we've updated our entry requirements for events at the Union Venue and Founder’s South Quad.
Please read our Venues Entry Requirements Update for the full details.
Only current Royal Holloway students can attend our events at the Union Venue and Founder's South Quad, no guests are permitted.
Entry guarantee
Tickets will guarantee you entry into the venue until 11pm, after this time entry will be dependent on venue capacity until midnight.
Cashless campus
All of our venues are cashless and will remain so in the 2021/22 academic year. We are aware that when starting university, some of you will not yet have a bank account and if you’re an international student, you may not have a UK bank account when you arrive in the UK to study. To facilitate this, all students will be able to top up their College Card account before arriving on campus, using Upay.
Whilst we strongly discourage bringing large amounts of cash onto campus, we understand that some of you have do not have any other means to pay for essential items during your first few weeks. Therefore, up until 31 October 2021, if you are unable to top up your Upay account with a credit or debit card, you can load up to £250 onto your Upay College Card account in cash at either the Hub or Kingswood reception.
Accessibility
As your Students' Union, we're keen to promote equality of opportunity for people with disabilities and to take the necessary steps to meet their requirements - that's why we've ensured that everything we do is accessible to as many of you as possible.
All of our venues are wheelchair accessible via shallow ramps; you can find out more about our venues and view our AccessAble pages by heading to our Accessibility page.
If you or someone you know requires access to special facilities, please email venues@su.rhul.ac.uk and our friendly team will do their best to meet your needs.
Ticket terms and conditions
Read the T&Cs