THE SLATES – CALLING UP – NEW SINGLE RELEASE

“Summertime is here with the infectious new track from The Slates. Its got ‘festival anthem’ written all over it with its effortless melodies, stripped back vocal harmonies and catchy chorus hooks.”

Hailing from Yorkshire, The Slates have built a dedicated grassroots audience leading to recent sold-out headline shows in Sheffield and Leeds as well as gigs with contemporaries such as The Kairos, The Bracknall, Stanleys and The Velvet Hands. Now it’s time for the band to step up to the next level as they unveil their new summer single ‘Calling Up’, their first release for This Feeling Records.

‘Calling Up’ simmers with the buoyant tone and youthful exuberance that will make it a highlight of The Slates’ upcoming festival shows. Its effervescent vibe sparkles with sweet vocal harmonies, chiming guitar tones and insistent handclaps, all capped with a full-feeling, high charisma delivery from frontman Louis Barnes. While it exudes positive spirit, ‘Calling Up’ also has a touch of summertime sadness to it with a universally relatable theme of realising you don’t fit in.

As Louis explains, “‘Calling Up’ reflects on the feeling of rejection and feeling left out. The song actually stems from going out with a group in town and feeling like the odd one out and almost feeling as if being there was pointless. Any attempt to try being included ends up being in vain.”

‘Calling Up’ was written by The Slates and was produced by Peter Redshaw. It was mixed and mastered by James Kenosha.

Aged between 19-20, The Slates were founded by three friends – Louis Barnes, Joe Briggs (guitar) and Jude Wales (bass) – for all the right reasons: a love of making music, the thrill of performing on big stages and the simple joy of embarking upon adventures with your best mates.

Their influences span the indie and alternative spectrum, from all-time greats Oasis, Arctic Monkeys and Stone Roses through to the raw honesty of The Enemy and more cult level propositions like Twisted Wheel. Add in some contemporary favourites such as Wunderhorse, Pastel, The Royston Club and The K’s plus a touch of the old school stadium rock thrills of AC/DC and Green Day and you have an idea of The Slates’ style.

The Slates released their debut EP, ‘u wot?’, in 2022 before dropping their biggest single to date with the following year’s rambunctious ‘What Have You Done?’. ‘Calling Up’ is just their eighth track in total, and their second of the year after the punky melodic rush of ‘Fiesta’.

Next up is a series of major festival dates as well as a London show at The Water Rats. Their plans already stretch into 2026 with a rearranged show as guests to The Lilacs already on the calendar. Their dates are below, tickets are available HERE:

JUNE

19th – Isle of Wight Festival

JULY

7th – London, The Water Rats

24th- Truck Festival

AUGUST

1st – Y NOT? Festival

16th – GorillaFest

FEBRUARY 2026

7th – Sheffield, The Foundry (with The Lilacs)