Bury Band Perform at Legendary LA Venue
14 June 2019, 09:14 | Updated: 14 June 2019, 09:34
Airline Virgin Atlantic celebrated its inaugural trip by flying out Manchester band Lyerr to their biggest gig yet.
Virgin Atlantic already flies passengers direct to US destinations including Boston, New York and San Francisco however the new route to LAX gets tourists to the land of the rich and famous in just under 11 hours.
To mark the first ever trip on Sunday 26th May, Virgin Atlantic provided one Manchester band with an experience most young musicians can only dream of- headlining The Roxy theatre; an iconic rock n roll venue on Sunset Boulevard.
Lyerr, a band made up of lads from Bury and Rochdale, won the airline's battle of the bands competition. Forming just three years ago, the four long-time friends hadn't expected to play an international gig so soon.
The band spoke to Heart in The Roxy's green room ahead of the show.
The band spoke to Heart in The Roxy's green room ahead of the show.
When asked what its like to perform on the same stage as Bob Marley, The Ramones and Guns n Roses, singer Ryan Johnson said
"It was one of those TV contest moments. You always see people saying it doesn't feel real and you don't believe them but that's actually how it felt. We win the contest and a week later we're in LA. It's been pretty full-on but amazing."
As well as performing their own songs, Lyerr's cover of Dua Lipa's 'New Rules' earned them an encore.
The bands been working closely with Andy Bell who played guitar in Oasis- one of the band's many Manchester influences.
Lyerr's bassist Rory Magner told Heart
"You've got to be the best. There's about 50 gigs a night on in Manchester, every night of the week. You've got to really stand out to get someone to come to your show instead of someone else's."
Virgin Atlantic now flies three times a week from Manchester to LA.
