Despite having only ever played 'like 5 shows and 4 TV shows' and not having 'had the same line up at any of them', Tired Pony have honed their own take on 'stripped down' sets.

Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol) and Peter Buck (R.E.M) of Tired Pony recently took the time to talk to Contact Music, ahead of their appearance at Bushmills festival (June 12th 2014). Buck explained about their take on playing an acoustic set, saying it's 'more focussed' and by having less layers it makes it more possible to 'feel the emotions of the songs and let the songs breathe'. This doesn't mean that Tired Pony are going down the usual acoustic route; their onstage ensemble is still consisting of 12 people which, by most standards, would be a rather elaborate set-up but Gary was quick to point out that the number and style is still 'stripped down' for them.

Tired Pony perform live
(L-R) Gary Lightbody and Peter Buck

However, all did not go to plan as Tired Pony ended up playing (as our recent review of Bushmills 2014 put it) the most exhilarating set of the day, drawing in the biggest crowd of any band that day. 

Read the full review of Bushmills Live 2014 here

The supergroup (also consisting of Jackknife Lee and Richard Colburn of Belle & Sebastian) are still just as comfortable playing grandiose sets as they are smaller ones, with Buck recalling, 'We played the Barbican last year, it was bigger and fuller and kind of majestic in a way. I'm not sure if we had tubular bells but if we didn't then it was the only thing we didn't have. It was big.' 

Read the full interview here

The band also hinted that a third album may be in the works, saying that it was something they 'definitely want to do'. It won't be happening anytime soon due to Lightbody's commitments to Snow Patrol, but he confidently reinforced the sentiment: 'There will be a third, for sure'.