Meet Sarah and the Sundays, your next favorite band
Interview by Amy Tang
Based out of Austin, TX, rising indie-rock band Sarah and the Sundays has gradually been putting themselves on everyone’s radar. With just over 47,000 followers on TikTok and the growing popularity for singles “I’m So Bored” and “Vices” on Spotify––each amassing over 1 million streams––given these promising aspects, there are no limits as to what else they’ll accomplish.
The five-piece group is composed of members Liam Yorgensen (lead vocals/guitar), Brendan Whyburn (vocals/guitar), Quinn Lane (drums), Miles Reynolds (keyboard/guitar), and Declan Chill (bass), and together, they embarked on their first national tour with The Happy Fits. Lucky for me, I got the chance to chat with the guys in St. Louis, MO before the show where we discussed tour antics, Evan Stephans Hall, and their growth as a band.
Ease Up: First off, how are you all doing? How has touring life been with The Happy Fits?
Miles: It’s been really awesome so far. We’ve just been having a really good time and we get along really well with all of them, which I’m really glad about. Pretty quickly we all just kind of vibed and bonded quickly, but yeah! It’s been really amazing and kind of what we all wanted it to be.
Brendan: It’s not too tiring and [it’s] the perfect amount of energy outlet, yeah.
EU: So, what’s the most surprising thing about touring so far?
Quinn: For me, at least the most surprising thing was how much of like, not really an established thing it is. It’s kind of just playing shows with a lot more frequency. So we're pretty familiar with how the whole night goes, but it's just like day after day, which is pretty cool.
B: Meeting Evan Stephens Hall, the singer of Pinegrove, in a Dairy Queen bathroom. That was pretty surprising.
EU: I’m sorry, a Dairy Queen bathroom?
B: Well, a Dairy Queen truck stop/gas station, by a bathroom.
M: Not what you’d expect in the bathroom.
B: I mean, it’s what you hope for.
EU: And I can imagine that tour life can get pretty hectic, what do you all like to do during your downtime?
Liam: We like to watch movies when we get the chance to. Sometimes we go out with The Happy Fits if there’s an opportunity to do so. But most of us have just been hanging out together at wherever we’re staying and just trying to relax.
Q: A whole lot of naps going on.
Declan: Nah, we’re also big into like, we were on like four [TV] shows that were being released as we left for tour so we've had not enough time even to catch up on all of those. So–
B: But a lot of murder mystery podcasts
D: Oh yeah.
Miles: Too much.
B: It’s good for the drives. We’re thinking about recording a theme song for them.
EU: So, do you all have a favorite song to perform live?
L: Pulling Teeth.
Q: It's probably, like, the most energetic because it's the hardest. We're all headbanging towards the end of it. Really fun.
B: It is the biggest difference in the song…it translates to live a lot better. And so having the opportunity to kind of show the song at its full potential always kind of surprises people.
EU: Speaking of that, was it difficult to narrow down what songs to play on tour? What was one that almost made the cut?
L: Well, we've been changing our setlist every night. So we have had the opportunity to play a lot of different songs. There are some that we play every night and others that we probably won't play at all. I think maybe “If You Need Me” is one that we thought about but haven't played yet, and we probably won't play it.
M: Or “Stick Around”.
EU: In what ways has the band grown––musically, lyrically, or personally–– between the release of So You’re Mad About the Cups and The Living End?
D: So You’re Mad About the Cups was recorded while some of us were in college, some of us weren’t. So that was like big over the computer, like emailing stuff back and forth. Then everybody else ended up dropping out of college and we all moved down to Austin. So it’s just honestly been a whole life thing, like we all live together. I mean, I think it’s all translated into the music and…it just been us living together, playing a lot more than we used to be able to because we have a makeshift studio in our house. I think that's the biggest difference. And we're a five piece now. So it's a lot more live-based, and we try to like, make more stuff that sounds live and is able to be played live. So I think that's the biggest change.
EU: Just to bounce off of what you said about relocating to Austin, what drew you guys to move and stay there?
L: So, Connecticut doesn’t really have a thriving music scene. There are definitely a lot of musicians in Connecticut who are doing really well and making really cool music.
D: It’s up and coming.
L: It's not necessarily the best environment if you're trying to pursue music full time, and Brendan being from Austin, had known that Austin has an amazing music scene, supposedly, the live music capital of the world. So there isn't really a better place to be as an upcoming band. And that rang true to us. We had a ton of opportunities before Covid, and we're starting to get back up there after Covid sort of settled down a little bit. So, it's really been amazing for us music-wise.
EU: What’s something you guys have learned about each other since moving in together?
B: We're pretty good about not fighting. I think most people who live together have some issues along the way, but we're all pretty easygoing.
M: AKA Non-confrontational.
B: And I mean, there was a time mid-Covid we were having fun debates, but it was pretty meaningless. It wasn't you know, serious. And yeah, it's just great to be able to know each other as like a family who spend time every day all day together. And grow in that comfortable silence that a family has.
EU: Has being on tour inspired any new projects or songs yet?
L: Definitely ideas. I've been writing a lot in my notes app, where I do most of my writing. But I haven't really had the opportunity to like, sit down and produce anything yet or write anything out in full. So, it's a little bit difficult when you're like in a van for most of the day to sort of have the privacy and the right environment to write in. But I've definitely been inspired, especially hearing The Happy Fits every night, like their music is so good and they perform so well that I'm definitely inspired by them and by life in general.
EU: Last question, what can fans expect from Sarah and the Sundays in the near future?
Q: Hopefully more tours! A lot more playing around, seeing different places we can go.
D: Maybe some new music hopefully pretty soon. You know, some new stuff, some old stuff, but we got some stuff in the works. Can't really say what it is right now but–
B: Follow us on Instagram!
D: Shameless plug.
––––––––––
Make sure you catch Sarah and the Sundays on the remainder of their tour with The Happy Fits and see them on the road again for their very own “The Living End” Tour, coming to a city near you this May!
Keep up with the band on their socials: