(Interview) Return To Dust: "As long as we can bring that sense of freedom to someone, that's what's most important to us."

Fresh from supporting Yungblud on his US tour, Idols, Return to Dust has made quite the impact in just a short amount of time. The Los Angeles quartet Matty Bielawski (guitar, vocals), Graham Stanush (bass, vocals), Sebastian Gonzalez (guitar), and London Hudson (drums) have led the rock revival with their latest single "BORED", which went to the top of the Active Rock Radio charts, going straight onto Planet Rock Radio's A List and Kerrang! Radio's B List, as well as winning the iHeartRadio Music Awards 'On The Verge' award. Not bad for a group who only began touring in 2024. 

The band have taken another unexpected but refreshingly fun route with their take on the Outkast classic "Hey Ya!" If supporting rock's finest wasn’t enough, they’re now making their first appearances at some of Europe's biggest rock festivals this summer, from Rock am Ring to, of course, Download Festival. Ahead of their upcoming UK headline shows, we spoke to London and Sebastian to talk about their latest release, playing festivals, and touring so far. When asked how it feels to be experiencing all this, London sums it up best: “Really rad. (laughs)”

A band we believe everyone should keep on their radar for 2026.

You’ve just released a heavy take on Outcast’s “Hey Ya!” Out of all of their songs, what drew you to pick that specific one?

Sebastian: It's a sad song immediately. And I’ve always loved the duality between it sounding both happy and sad. And, you know, when it came to thinking about the singers, specifically Graham, his voice, you know, was very melancholy, and he’s written a lot of sad songs. So I think it was the perfect fit for him and for us to do something like that. And when it came, the idea of “Rooster” came in, and for it to be a heavy song was, I think, just a beautiful way of doing it.

London: We also wanted to make it so if you're living under a rock and you've never heard that song before, you wouldn't be able to tell if it was an Outkast song or a Return to Dust song. We wanted to definitely make it our own, and that's why we liked the heavier, sludgier halftime approach instead of how everyone does it, where they're just playing the song exactly how it sounds. We went a little different, and I think it really adds to what the song is about playing it that way. I think it hits a little harder. 

It was fantastic. I really enjoyed it. It felt like this was a brand new way to listen to it and enjoy it all over again. This summer marks a number of first appearances across European festivals like Download and Rock AM Ring. What are you most looking forward to and why?

Sebastian: Thank you! Wow, well, honestly, today was exactly everything and even more of what I was expecting and wanted it to be. Because growing up, I used to watch all of these festivals that were playing, Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, and even the Pink Pop Festival. I’d see all my favorite bands playing those stages, and I would look up to that and be like, I want to do that very deeply. To finally do that and probably have 70% of the crowd who didn't know who we are, yet they still went just as hard. Seeing that was beautiful. It was awesome.

London: I think just all the legends that we've grown up listening to and loving have played these stages. It's surreal to be here and finally be a part of this culture, and for our first UK show it's insane to think about. I didn't even really think about that. (laughs)

Sebastian: Until everyone started to tell us today that these are our first UK shows, I was like, "Oh man, that's right" (laughing). 

London: This is the place to do it. It’s rad (laughs), and we are so grateful it's a good way to open up.

You've got a lot of festivals this year. What do you aim to showcase to a new audience this summer? What do you hope to bring out to everyone?

Sebastian: I mean, the same thing we bring to every show is just lots of energy, lots of love, and a place where people can just go run wild and feel free. I think it was Yungblud who said something along the lines of, "Nancy's got a corporate 9-5 job tomorrow, but right now she's here living her free life," and I feel like as long as we can bring that feeling to someone, that's what's important to us.

Alongside the festival, you have some intimate and exclusive headline shows, including the Camden Assembly in July. What can fans expect from you from that night?

London: Yeah, a full long hour set list with all the classic Return to Dust staples and some new stuff. 

Sebastian: Yeah, definitely some new stuff.

This will also be your first time playing your first headline tour. How surreal has 2026 felt for you with so many achievements already?

Sebastian: It's wild to think about right now (laughs)

London: It’s really rad. (laughs) Honestly, it feels like we've been on the road for like two years straight, and it's awesome. I mean, I don't want to go home. (laughs) I'm totally happy staying out here.

Sebastian: Yeah, I feel like every time we get a break at home, we're always at our peak at the end of a tour, and then we come home, and it's like, "Okay, let's just chill out for a couple days.” But by the fourth day, I'm like, I want to go back out there, I want to play, I want to jam, and I want to see the people.

Having come off a tour supporting Yungblud, that too must have felt like such an ultimate experience in touring. Did you learn anything new about playing to different crowds?

London: Yeah, for sure. It's a very different sort of crowd than what we're used to. But I think that worked better for us, as there were a lot of young fans there, which was amazing. And we were able to really just change our setlist around to what we felt would be best for that crowd. We got to play “Hey Ya!”, "Abyss", and "Bored".

Sebastian: “Downfall”

London: Yeah, "Downfall". We got to play a little bit of our slower, sad, heart-remedy kind of tracks.

Sebastian: We had to hit him in the heart. (laughs) Another thing was that it was just all about energy, Yungblud’s entire show for the two hours that he played was just nonstop. And it was really inspiring because there'll be a moment in the set where I need a break (laughs), but I see him and it's like, I don't understand how he does it every night. (laughs) So it's something I have to live up to. He's amazing.

Growing up in Los Angeles, what was the local rock scene like, and what inspired you to pursue music yourself?

London: Growing up, there wasn't much of a scene in LA for Rock. I mean, places like the Whisky and the Viper Room were always there, but they weren't getting the attention that they seem to be getting now. I would say there are so many bands playing the strip now and kind of bringing it back, which is really cool to see. And I'm seeing a lot of young people going to The Rainbow and going to local shows there. It's really cool to see it coming back in that way. It's like a little resurgence of rock and roll with so many LA bands right now.

Sebastian: Yeah, whenever the band was first starting to play shows, it was hard for us to fit in somewhere. As we were too heavy for the indie rock scene, but we weren't heavy enough for the fucking metal scene. It was so hard to play these shows, and people would be like, I don't know how to mosh to your songs. (laughs) So it's cool to have bands that play that same middle ground. It feels like we've paved the way for bands to really start this thing and it's really beautiful to see.

Was there a particular band or artist that made you think this is definitely what I want to do?

Sebastian: There were a couple bands, personally. The first one for me was Metallica, when I saw them in 1989 in Seattle, and I was thinking like, oh my God, what am I doing? I'm still in school I’m in high school, but I have to be doing this. (laughs) Another one is the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. For me, just watching them jam all the time is inspiring. I still watch their live videos and still find inspiration and energy from them, you know?

London: Motorhead, for sure. Black Sabbath, Judas Priest…

Sebastian: Ozzy.

London: Ozzy for sure. Just seeing bands like that, that literally invented the genre. From a young age I knew I wanted to be like those guys. I always wanted to be in a rock band, travel and play shows all around the world. It's really cool to see it all happening with my boys. (laughs) 

Finally, Download said you had to start a supergroup with two artists from today's line-up, so I'm limiting you. Who would it be and why?

Sebastian: Oh man, I will say snot. That would be cool, they had a great live show earlier. We saw a couple songs—um, damn. Who else? Oh, Bush.

London: I agree, but also Thornhill would be awesome, and maybe BabyMetal. Yeah, I'd love to see what we can do with that, that would be so rad.

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Written by Kirsty Bright

Interview conducted by Eden Callingham