Skindred: Our live shows mean everything

Benji Webbe
Benji Webbe (Image credit: Getty)

Skindred’s Benji Webbe and Arya Goggin say they can’t trust anything in the ‘rock’n’roll game’ except themselves.

The vocalist and drummer of the UK outfit say they’re lucky to be in the industry after 20 years – but admit they don’t rely on record labels to help them succeed.

Webbe tells TeamRock: “The only thing we can trust in this game that’s called rock’n’roll is the live performance. That’s what we trust in. We don’t trust in labels. It’s the music we trust in and each other – that’s what we believe in. We’re the only constant.”

Goggin says they’re lucky to still be performing as a band after 20 years – with Webbe insisting he’ll never quit music.

He reports: “I wake up many a night going, ‘Fuck, I gotta do this forever.’ See my beautiful black hair? When this is grey, I’m still going to be fucking doing it – because this is what I fucking do.

“My brother said, ‘Do you want to come and work with me doing painting and decorating?’ I can’t paint a picture, never mind a wall. This is what we do.”

Skindred will tour Europe this summer before heading to the US for a string of shows.

TeamRock is at Download all weekend. Visit teamrock.com to keep up with all the news, reviews and interviews from the festival as they happen.

Skindred 2016 tour dates

Jun 12: Paris Download Festival, France
Jun 18: Dessel Graspop Metal Meeting, Belgium
Jun 24: Neuhausen Ob Eck Southside Festival, Germany
Jun 25:Scheessel Hurricane Festival, Germany
Jul 01: Yaroslavl Dobrofest, Russia
Jul 06: Viveriro Resurrection Fest, Spain
Jul 24: Tabor Mighty Sounds Festival, Czech Republic
Jul 26: Tolmin MetalDays, Slovenia
Jul 29: Saarbrucken Saarmageddon Festival, Germany
Jul 30: Civray Festival Au Fil Du Son, France
Aug 03: Szekesfehervar Fezen Festival, Hungary
Aug 12: Alicante Levendas Del Rock, Spain
Aug 27: Reading Festival, UK
Aug 28: Leeds Festival, UK
Sep 18: Chester Rock Allegiance, PA
Sep 24: Fort Worth Texas Mutiny, TX
Sep 25: Houston Open Air, TX
Oct 01: Janesville JJO Sonic Boom, WI
Oct 02: Louisville Louder Than Life Fest, KY

What happened when Skindred met the music stars of tomorrow?

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.