By Richard Derbyshire

RISING indie stars Pioneers return to The Joiners on Saturday with support from Deco and Pivotal

The Southampton band have only been together a year, but in that time they have sold out the St Mary Street once before, released their first EP and had their single Take Time chosen as a BBC Introducing artist of the week on Radio One.

DJs Dev, Scott Mills, Greg James and Clara Amfo spun their upbeat track, which tells the story of a big night out.

Now frontman Sam Watts, drummer Charlie Flide, lead guitarist Toby Gathercole and bassist Bailey Sandom have announced a string of new shows, including this Southampton date and one in Bournemouth at The Anvil on October 20. They start in Bristol tonight, and visit Norwich and London.

In May, Pioneers drew a huge afternoon crowd to the Joiners’ stage at Common People with their catchy indie- guitar rich tunes.

Their first EP called I’m Not Alright, I’m Fine, and featuring tunes To Be Cool, Generation and It’s On You, was produced and mixed at Eastleigh’s Aubitt Studios by Joe Lewis-Brown and released last year.

Lead singer and songwriter Sam says fans will not have to wait long for new music.

“We will be releasing some new singles soon, building towards our second EP early next year. These songs really excite us; we think our music has evolved since our debut EP.”

“Sam never runs out of songs,” added Charlie. “He brings a new one for us to learn to every rehearsal. Sometimes we joke we’re getting tired of it!”

The group are big fans of Arctic Monkeys and Alt-J, fronted by Southampton’s Joe Newman. The Libertines, Blossoms, Jamie T, Jake Bugg and The Sherlocks have also influenced them.

Pioneer tour dates:

• August 31, Zed Alley, Bristol

• September 1, Joiners, Southampton

• September 6, Gringos, Norwich

• September 17, The Half Moon, London

• October 20, The Anvil, Bournemouth

• October 22, Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen, London