Holly Minto’s road to the English buzz band was “weird.”
She was inspired by her parents’ love of music to pursue various forms of entertainment.
“My mom was a big goth, and my dad was a punk,” the singer says with a laugh via telephone from Liverpool.
“He had a broken Bee Gee’s record on the back of his jacket. I had a deep voice for a young child.”
After dabbling in orchestras, musical theater and dance, she found her calling in alt-rock.
“I watched my first gig in a dive bar called The Magnet, which is closed now,” she says. “I thought, ‘This is what I really want to be doing.’”
Now she’s touring the world with Crawlers, who kicked off its first North American tour on June 1 in Atlanta. During the last year, Crawlers have been crowned one of the United Kingdom’s most exciting new bands.
It clocked more than 30 million combined streams for its string of single releases leading into the 2021 launch of its self-titled debut EP on Modern Sky/Lab Records.
Now inked to Interscope, the Liverpool-based four-piece recently released “I Can’t Drive” as the follow-up to their hit single “Come Over (Again).”
The set list will include both of those songs when Crawlers plays Valley Bar in Phoenix on Tuesday, June 21. Holly Minto will be joined by Amy Woodall, Liv Kettle and Harry Breen.
“I’ve never played a gig outside of the U.K. before,” she says. “I never even stepped foot in America. It’s going to be incredible. We’re playing Lollapalooza.”
Fans, she says, should “expect the unexpected,” as it’s not used to performing in clubs.
“We, as a band, were used to playing small basement gigs when we first started,” she says. “We’ve been able to create the gig space we were looking for when we were younger, at 14. The gig should be lots of fun with music and dancing. It’s a little party.”
This party is a longtime goal of hers. She tried musical theater when she was younger, but a teacher said she would never improve. She’s proving that educator wrong, as she makes a living singing and “dancing in a goofy way.”
Each of the aforementioned songs explore different areas of alt rock. Minto chalks that up to the musicians’ varied tastes.
“We do think the same, though,” she says. “We all have different influences. The bassist is a metal fan. Harry is into punk and Charli XCX. Me, I’m into songwriters and indie rock.
“We were never going to be satisfied with one sound. We’ve been coming in and writing music that’s in different fonts, if that makes sense. It’s what keeps it exciting for us and our fans.”
Still, Minto’s shocked about the buzz surrounding Crawlers.
“I never thought I’d be in a position where people knew who we were and wanted more, especially with ‘Come Over Again,’ which is a heartfelt song for us,” she says.
“It’s exciting, but the pressure is for real.”
Crawlers w/Madde
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 21
WHERE: Valley Bar, 130 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix
COST: Tickets start at $16
INFO: valleybarphx.com
