How to Build a Strong Connection with Fans: Insights from Tribe Friday
In theory, an artist or band only needs 1,000 loyal fans to build a long, prosperous music career.
We had the chance to speak with Tribe Friday, an indie band made up of Noah Deutschmann (singer), Isak Gunnarsson (guitar), and Robin Hanberger-Pérez (bass), to gain insights on how to grow and maintain a strong relationship with your fans.
How Did Tribe Friday Get Started?
Noah: I originally started the band as an after-school project when I was in high school. I grew up in a small town in the north of Sweden, where most of my friendships revolved around music. The project evolved a lot since then. I met Isak at a party, and he ended up joining the band in late 2019 after I asked him to join for an upcoming US tour.
Isak: I didn’t even play guitar at the time…
Robin: I got to know Noah through mutual friends in the music scene. One day, Noah came up to me at a party and asked, “Hey, wanna join my band?” And the rest is history.
Noah: I actually recorded Robin’s previous band in the studio, which is how I found out how good he was as a bass player. I may have stolen him from that band!
Connecting with Fans Early On
Noah: When we were first starting out, we played live as much as we could, and always invited our friends to make sure the shows were packed. That helped spread the word about us—we were known as a fun band to see live. At the beginning, we never really called them "fans." It was more like building relationships. We still try to answer every message and talk to people at our shows. It’s about nurturing those connections.
Keeping the Tribe Strong
Noah: Our fans are incredibly loyal, which is so cool.
Isak: Our approach is simple—do what excites us.
Noah: Exactly. We grew up in alternative scenes and were passionate about the bands we loved. That sense of community meant everything to us, so we wanted to create the same for our fans. One of the things we did was create the “street cult,” a group of fans who help promote our music by putting up posters. In return, they get free merch. It’s a great way to spend our marketing budget on people who genuinely care about us.
Isak: We also made trading cards with illustrations of the band. People who collect certain cards get rewards like snippets of unreleased music. It’s been a lot of fun!
Building an Intimate Relationship with Fans
Noah: Our relationship with fans is very intimate. We have a Discord community where we chat with fans, host game nights, and the fans connect with each other. We try to keep things informal and avoid acting "cool"—it’s all about being genuine.
The Tribe Friday Zine
Noah: The idea for our zine came from asking, "What would get me excited as a music fan?" Growing up, I loved reading alternative music magazines like Alt Press and Kerrang!, but it seems like that culture has faded. Since I love design and layout, I decided to make our own zine. It’s become a collective project with our fans, featuring things like listening tips, fan art, and community posts.
A Special Release Party for the Debut Album
Robin: Yes, our debut album bubblegum emo finally dropped!
Noah: We hosted a pre-release party the day before the album launched. We talked about the record, played some songs unplugged, and set up a Tribe Friday photo wall. It was a blast!
Tips for Aspiring Artists
Noah: My advice is to stay true to yourself. Don’t get caught up in what “music gurus” say you should do. If you’re not passionate about it, it’ll show. Find your niche and what excites you, then lean into it. There’s an audience for everything nowadays—you just have to keep creating to find them.
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