Raised on Riots, Playing for Peace

Formed in the shadow of post-Troubles Belfast, Casual Riots are the sound of contradiction: gritty, poetic, and entirely their own. With roots in the Shankill and influences that stretch from soul and funk to post-punk and indie rock, the five-piece is carving out a space where music becomes both release and reflection. Their latest single Rut and upcoming EP Pleasure for Leisure explore anxiety, displacement, and what it means to grow up between two cultures — neither fully British, nor fully Irish. More than just a band, Casual Riots are a voice for a generation raised in the blur.

The name Casual Riots came more by instinct than strategy, a pairing of two words that reflect both the banality and the chaos of growing up in Belfast. “There were riots near our area again, and I had the word ‘riots’ written down,” frontman Callum recalls. “I opened a Bob Dylan book to a random page and landed on ‘casual.’ The two together just felt right.” It’s more than irony. For a generation raised on the Shankill Road, unrest was familiar. Something you watched from your doorstep, not just on the news. That lived experience of tension, confusion, and contradiction isn’t just in the name; it pulses through their sound, their lyrics, and the way they carry themselves on stage: loud, open, and never quite pinned down.

Musically, Casual Riots refuse to sit still. What began as guitar-driven indie rock rooted in influences like The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys has evolved into something far more layered. Their upcoming EP, Pleasure for Leisure, pulls from a broader palette — Gil Scott-Heron, Idris Muhammad, even the woozy textures of Mac DeMarco and King Krule. The result is a sound that’s moody but melodic, packed with groove and grit. “We’re drawn to artists who don’t play by the rules,” they say. “We want to create music that feels unexpected but still honest.” While the punk spirit of Belfast bands like Stiff Little Fingers still burns underneath, there’s a new softness too — a willingness to explore vulnerability, jazz, funk, and everything in between. That blend of tension and introspection comes to life in Rut, one of their most personal and sonically rich tracks to date. Written after a panic attack, the song captures the restless mental spiral of overthinking: the late-night doubts about your job, your direction, your place in the world. But Rut doesn’t sit in the darkness; it climbs out of it, layering funk-inspired guitar with a groove that feels like movement. “It was instinctive,” they say. “The melodies came together fast, and we knew this track was different. It’s raw, but it gives you something to hold onto.” In a band that often plays with sonic chaos, Rut is proof that clarity can still cut through the noise. Much of their music circles back to the same core question: where do we belong? Growing up in post-Good Friday Agreement Belfast, the band has always lived in a space between. “We’re from the Shankill, a traditionally loyalist area, but we’ve never really felt British. At the same time, we don’t feel fully Irish either,” they explain. That in-between identity, disconnected from the communities around them yet deeply shaped by them, runs through songs like Sunshine, a melancholic reflection on isolation and cultural ambiguity. “There’s still division here, still tension. You’re taught to choose a side. But we don’t fit neatly into any of it, and that’s exactly what our music explores.”

If their studio work leans introspective, their live shows are the opposite — a full-body release. Known for their relentless energy and tightly rehearsed sets, Casual Riots treat the stage like a pressure valve. “Something clicks when we’re up there,” they say, “there’s no tiredness, no second-guessing — just movement.” Each show is carefully planned, from the order of the setlist to emotional pacing, but the moment the first note hits, it becomes instinctual. Their gigs have become a word-of-mouth phenomenon across Northern Ireland, packing out rooms of 300+ people and leaving audiences sweaty, loud, and lit up. “We want every show to feel like a riot — the kind that brings people together.”

Now, with the release of their upcoming EP Pleasure for Leisure, Casual Riots are pushing even further into experimentation. Set to blend elements of funk, drum and bass, and jazz into their post-punk DNA, the record signals a band unafraid to challenge what’s expected of them. Each track leans into something new — unexpected rhythms, off-kilter textures, and lyrics that wrestle with identity, anxiety, and nostalgia, but at its core, it’s still Casual Riots: raw, honest, and relentlessly alive. With an Irish tour in the works and a growing underground following, they’re carving out space not just in Belfast, but across the island, offering a sound that refuses to be boxed in, and a message that resonates far beyond the city they call home. At a time when authenticity can feel curated and culture is constantly commodified, Casual Riots remain rooted in something real — a need to express, to question, to connect. Their music doesn’t pretend to have answers: it thrives in the grey areas, in the contradictions of being young, uncertain, and from a place that has always wrestled with identity. Whether they’re packing out a sweaty gig in Belfast or layering jazz chords beneath punk vocals, the band never loses its sense of urgency. For Casual Riots, every song is a declaration: we exist, we’re still figuring it out, and that’s exactly the point.

Interviewer – Your band name, Casual Riots, is quite evocative. Given your roots in Belfast and the complex history of the region, how did you settle on this name, and what does it represent for you?

Casual Riots – The band name came together mostly from pure chance. I was writing down things that were relevant to us and where we are from and at the time there were riots in our area that had been going on for a few days and it was all over the news, which is nothing out of the ordinary for the Shankill Road. While I had these words written down, I was trying to pair them together, but nothing was sticking. I was reading a Bob Dylan book at the time and thought I would give a go at seeing what the universe might throw at me. So, I flicked the book open to a random page and placed my finger on a random word and that word happened to be ‘casual’.

‘Casual’ doesn’t hold much significance and is probably furthest from what I was expecting, but I paired it with the other words I had written down and as soon as I saw it beside ‘riots’ I felt like this name was just jumping out at me and I knew this was the one. It is a pretty ironic name from where we are from as I would say riots were a casual part of our lives when we were younger, especially around summer 2013 when they happened most days and for young people in that area you were naturally drawn to it, to spectate the chaos. I remember even being brought to watch riots in my area as young as maybe 7 or 8. The only riots we hope for now is a crowd of people with high energy at our shows.

I – You’ve cited influences ranging from Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes, to local legends like Stiff Little Fingers and Two Door Cinema Club. How do these diverse inspirations shape your sound, and how do you balance international and local influences in your music?

CR – We have been drawn to a more diverse range of artists recently. Artists like Gil Scott-Heron, Grant Green and William Onyeabor to name a few. It feels like we are moving away from local inspirations like Two Door Cinema Club and into more international inspirations because of the style and genre we now enjoy creating. We do, and always will however, aim to carry the raw punk energy from local heroes Stiff Little Fingers, especially in our live shows. Other artists like Fontaines D.C., who are only down the road have been a massive inspiration. They have such a unique rawness and beautiful poetic lyrics which has inspired us in writing for our new EP, particularly for our song Sunshine.

I – Your live performances are known for their high energy and engaging stage presence. How do you prepare for your shows, and what do you aim to deliver to your audience during a live set?

CR – Live shows are one of the best parts of doing music, it’s a way for your audience to show appreciation or love towards the art you are creating. When we approach a live show, the main focus is to deliver the best night for everyone in the room. The energy needs to be high, the song choices need to flow well and be able to carry the energy through. We spend ages in the practice room finding out which songs will fit best and from there we can start to plan out the show. Our on-stage energy is something that even we sometimes question. Something just happens when we start playing — there’s no fatigue and no slowing down, it’s the quickest one-hour period of your life. Everyone just feeds off that same energy and headspace which helps us deliver the best show we can. Around 3 weeks out from the gig we will start getting a setlist worked out, what songs we are loving, which are going to bring the energy. Sometimes we even try to work in a cover as this just helps add a bit of familiarity to the audience. Once the setlist has been worked out, we have our own practice space where we are able to rehearse it over and over again, until we are sure we have got it nailed. We want our audience to be wowed and leave knowing they got their money’s worth. Because of this, we are trying to expand the live shows more by adding more sound/sampling effects, more visual art, and definitely more energy! We want them to be thinking of the show days, weeks, and months after it happened.

I – Your latest single, Rut, has been described as an up-tempo tune that’s hard to forget. Can you share the story behind this track and what it represents in your musical journey?

CR – Rut represents a step forward in our musical evolution, building on our indie roots while weaving in elements of funk, soul, and jazz. Recorded at Analogue Studios and produced by the brilliant Darragh Tibbs, Rut was heavily influenced by a summer spent immersed in classic soul and funk — artists like Gil Scott-Heron, Idris Muhammad, and Grover Washington Jr. — as well as contemporary influences like King Krule and Mac DeMarco. The song was born out of a moment of anxiety, specifically after a panic attack — when your thoughts are racing, and everything feels overwhelming. It captures that late-night restlessness when doubts creep in about your job, your direction, your life — when you feel stuck in a rut. The chorus acts as a counterbalance, a reassuring voice reminding you that those feelings are temporary and rooted more in imagination than reality. The writing process was instinctive and fast — the guitar lines and melodies came together within the first hour. It quickly became one of our favourite tracks to record and perform, both for its emotional honesty and its punchy and funky instrumentation.

I – Growing up in post-Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland, how have your personal experiences influenced your music and the messages you aim to convey through your art?

CR – Growing up here is all we know. Our country has only in the last thirty years come out of the Troubles where it was divided, and it’s not like signing that document has just made that go away. We are from the greater Shankill in Belfast, which is a Protestant/Unionist area. None of us would identify as Protestants or Unionists, so we never really felt a strong sense of relation or belonging to our community. There still is a lot of hatred and bigotry that remains in Belfast, and it all boils down to how people are raised — no one is born hating anyone, you are taught that by someone, whether it’s friends, family, or the internet. Being from the Shankill gives us this strange purpose. We don’t feel British but we don’t feel Irish, so identity is quite confusing and is something we are beginning to explore through our music. Sunshine, our second single, is about being from Belfast from our perspective — how we don’t feel a sense of belonging because we don’t really know where or what represents us. This song was very personal for us because it’s not something we’ve felt we have in common with many other musicians in our scene. But I suppose the message we aim to convey is that anyone who feels isolated or doesn’t really know who they are — we are all feeling it too. We’ve grown up in a country very different than most, where even something from our upcoming EP — like walking into an area with a different set of flags — can feel intimidating, or even the colour on the footpath. Our generation is doing well at moving away from the past and working towards a more united future.

Writer: Robyn Doyle