Industria Meets Fliss Kitson from The Nightingales

In a new of a series of interviews with creatives I admire and respect, I caught up with talented drummer and creative multitasker Fliss Kitson.

Richard Davis with long hair and red glasses stands in front of a tall, weathered building, wearing a black T-shirt with Mancunian Way text.

Fliss Kitson is a core member of post-punk/alt-rock legends The Nightingales, and she's not only a talented drummer but also a versatile multi-tasker. Fliss began her career in the early 2000s with Violet Violet. After initially accepting an invitation from Robert Lloyd for her band to act as tour support, she later joined The Nightingales in 2005 and has been a key part of their story ever since.

Along with playing drums she also manages the band, creates their sleeve artwork, books their tours and runs all their social media and PR activities. In addition to her work with The Nightingales, Fliss runs the live music booking agency Void Artists and drums for the band Pram.

In this interview Fliss discusses the highs and lows of being a musician, what makes great social media content, the new Nightingales LP and much more.

What’s it like being a musician in 2025? And what’s your journey been like to get to this point?

A good summary of being a musician in 2025 is that a photo of me and Robert having a pint on a Friday gets a lot more interest than our music…and we do like to ham that up of course!

"If you’re not actually in the band you have a different agenda so I try to take a lot on myself"

There is a lot of noise out there so to get your voice heard - whether that be your music, flogging tickets for gigs or getting your record reviewed - it’s a hell of a lot of work. The work has never really stopped for me, from when I started out playing gigs at 18 years old. My problem is that I have never trusted anyone else to do it, if you’re not actually in the band you have a different agenda so I try to take a lot on myself, which can be hard but I find it more effective because I’m more passionate than any outsider will be.

Black and white image of a musician smashing a guitar on stage. Bold text reads "The Clash" and "LONDON CALLING" in pink and green. Energetic mood.

What was it like going from being a tour support and fan of The Nightingales to then joining such an established band? How did you find that transition?

Nothing will ever beat being in a band with your best friend so it was quite daunting to then be in a band without her! I will forever be grateful for meeting Robert Lloyd. He encouraged me to express myself as a drummer and person, and he has really pushed me out of any comfort zone. I had to learn a lot in a short space of time and was pretty nervous for the first few shows but soon found my home here.

Can’t believe it’s been 15 years now, very soon we will be the longest serving Nightingales line-up, pretty chuffed with that.

Blue road signs pointing to "Gravelley Hill" and "Copley Hill Slade Road" on a concrete wall with industrial background. Peeling paint.

How do you approach and navigate being a member of the band, while also running all the social media and PR side of things?

I don’t mind that side of it and none of the other Nightingales would ever want to do it! When I joined the group they only had a MySpace page so I’ve really built this up over some time now.

"I actually enjoy coming up with the different concepts and posts for it, the key is to not overthink it"

I know some groups are pretty snobby about it all but there’s no shame in wanting people to dig your band and know that you’re playing a gig! I actually enjoy coming up with the different concepts and posts for it, the key is to not overthink it, have fun and bottoms up!

What do you think makes good social media content for bands and musicians in general?

I like the general ‘behind the scenes’ stuff from the musicians I follow. We do a lot of silly posts like ‘van snack of the day’ just to keep ourselves entertained on the road but the direct and conversational approach works for us. Every band is different.

Richard Davis in a library holding a book, surrounded by shelves with various books. A digital sign reads "@archivesplus." Modern interior setting.

You’re a keen artist and have designed some of the bands record sleeves, how important do you think the artwork and the overall image of a band is?

The artwork is incredibly important. It’s a big conversation. It’s representing the music, the lyrics and the band. It is mainly Robert who oversees every detail and is very particular about the art and wording.

"It feels good to care about this stuff."

I really respect this, because there is some real naff album artwork out there !! We have colour themes, shirt themes on stage, odd merch ideas, always suited and booted. This really is all for our own entertainment, but it feels good to care about this stuff.

You also run the live music booking agency Void Artists. What is it like to be involved in the live music booking side of the industry, and what kind of challenges do artists face attempting to tour successfully?

It wasn’t something I had ever planned on doing but the idea came to me at a very good time when I was about to go back to a bar job I really hated. I had booked The Nightingales tours for 13 years and was always asked by other groups to help but I would only do it for free for my own group of course and had no free time unless it became my job.

"I’m coming from their side of things, being a musician who has probably played the stage I’m booking them at"

It is very eye opening seeing this side of things. I like to think I’m doing a decent job for the groups I book because I’m coming from their side of things, being a musician who has probably played the stage I’m booking them at. It helps to really understand this. But boy, it is tough out there, a lot of people (including myself as a punter) are buying tickets last minute, which is making promoters panic - and is then putting a lot of stress on the groups / labels / agents. But it can’t all be pinned on the customers all the time, sometimes the band isn’t as popular or the agent has booked them into the wrong venue with the wrong promoter. It all counts!

Despite being from different parts of the country, The Nightingales are predominantly based in Wolverhampton. Do you feel your surroundings have influenced your work, and if so in what way?

Definitely - the down to earthiness of the people in Wolverhampton is important. In the early days we rehearsed over two days, which was quite a good bonding exercise in the sense we had the Great Western pub we could socialise at and cook for each other at our base in the evening. Some of the locals took us to heart and have become mates. It’s a second home to all of us now.

Kurt Cobain and Kris Novoselic from Nirvana passionately play electric guitars on stage. One swings long hair, the other stands focused. Background shows dim lighting.

The new Nightingales album ‘ The Awful Truth’ has just been released, what can you tell us about it?

We recorded it in a very remote studio near Erfurt, Germany. It was quite a pressurised environment as we actually had a deadline to get this to the label! There was no local pub, just us four and our bass player Andi doing all the engineering, open all hours.

"I think people will be surprised when they hear the album as a whole"

I think this worked in our favour & that some of our best stuff is on this record. Maybe our most accessible musically and darkest lyrically. We used an outsider to mix for the first time, which gave a different feel to the whole album and so far the singles have gone down really well with radio play. I think people will be surprised when they hear the album as a whole.

A big thanks to Fliss for taking part in Industria Meets, an intriguing and insightful account of what it's like being a musician and creative in 2025

Find out more about The Nightingales

Buy the new album

Industria Meets Fliss Kitson: From The Nightingales and beyond