Florence Welch of Florence and The Machine has praised her Irish fans and their warm reception of her music.
"Of course I’m really excited," she says in an interview in today's Daily Mail, about her concert today. "It is always nice when you sell a venue out. I seem to have a wonderful fan base here. Whatever it is, the Irish seem to get me. I was really happy with the way my second album was received".
The singer released her new album, Ceremonials, last November and it shot straight to No.1 in the Irish charts. The singer will headline a gig in the Phoenix Park tonight, alongside Snow Patrol, with support from We Are Augustines, Bressie and The Temper Trap.
Florence performing earlier this year
Florence says there has been a lot of preparation for this gig and her tour as a whole, "It is the first tour that I have had room for a big showcase of my music".
"It is looking almost better than I imagined. This is the first time we have had a proper stage set that we take with us everywhere. It is an interesting mix of the romantic aesthetic with more technology."
On tour, she says she has decided not to drink anymore, "it is just too exhausting. It’s too tough to gig every night and try to party. There was definitely a time when I was starting out where I was partying way too much. We’d party every night as if it was our last gig. I got swept up in the moment and drank. It was a learning experience".
Florence added she feels a sense of repsonsibility when performing, "When you take a performance and the sort of effort and work and love that has gone into it, it would be a shame not to be able to give it 100% just because of a hangover. I feel a responsibility to the fans who have paid to see me and I want to give as good a show as I possibly can".
Florence stops for a chat with RTÉ's Off The Rails presenter Brendan Courtney
Last summer the 25-year-old English singer went on toured America in support of U2 on their 360° tour. When she returned to Dublin to headline the O2 Arena, she found a surprise in her dressing room from the Irish band.
"We thought it was from the record label but when I read the card it was from U2. We were sitting in our dressing room with cans of Guinness and champagne and bags of Tayto, all from Bono. It was amazing – a lovely gift from the best of the Irish."
Florence and The Machine take to the stage in Dublin's Phoenix Park tonight at 7:30pm.
