Gavin Rossdale Shares How BUSH’s Latest Tour Is a Love Letter to Fans (Exclusive)

Gavin Rossdale knows his fans are to thank for his success, and he’s determined to express his gratitude in a special way.

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In an interview with American Songwriter, the BUSH frontman opened up about his band’s The Land of Milk and Honey Tour. While the trek is in support of BUSH’s latest album, I Beat Loneliness, Rossdale hasn’t limited the set to songs from that LP.

“I’m doing all the songs from so many different records, so many different songs,” he said. “It’s wild, because I’ve made it my life’s work. It’s all about what it’s like to be on this weird journey—different stages of it, different perspectives, and betrayals, and excitements, and dangers, and celebrations.”

With that in mind, BUSH opted to debut a massive set of 40 songs, in an effort to never leave the stage “until there’s a song everyone really, really knows.”

From the “EDM rave” vibes of “Love Me Till the Pain Fades,” to the long-awaited live debut of “Human Sand,” to tracks from the band’s 1996 sophomore LP, Razorblade Suitcase, BUSH fans old and new will find moments to appreciate during that set.

That was of particular import for Rossdale, who is well aware of the financial restraints many people are facing in these challenging times.

“The world is on fire. Anybody coming to anything is an incredible gift, because we’re not in a good way here,” he said. “Consumer spending is down 40 percent. That gets tough for some people, so for people to come out and show solidarity at the time, and just go for it, it’s incredible. That’s we’re traveling around.”

Gavin Rossdale on the Deeper Meaning of BUSH’s Songs

While BUSH’s setlist is wide ranging, the theme of many of the songs are similar—be yourself, and take care of others along the way.

“My whole writing has been kind of providing comfort. If you make things, it’s really good if they reflect something,” Rossdale said. “You see all these peaks and valleys of living, and the experience that I’ve been through, and other people then subsequently latch onto, and then made their own [meaning]. They’re like hawks, they come in and take that song, f**k off with it.”

“It’s making songs to give away so people have them in their hearts,” he added. “That’s what’s so incredible about songs and where they can work their way into people’s lives.”

After the U.S. leg of the tour, BUSH will spend time overseas, before starting work on their new record, which Rossdale described as “so fun, so heavy.” While all that is exciting to Rossdale, it’s the band’s month off that he’s most looking forward to.

“I’ll just sit there, just take a moment to appreciate it,” he said. “Some of the dangers of doing too much all the time and keeping moving so fast is that it just goes too quickly.”

Photos by Chapman Baehler