“IT was one of those ‘pinch me’ moments,” admits Kodaline’s Steve Garrigan as he described the band’s set at Glastonbury 2014.

The Dublin four-piece, who perform at the O2 Guildhall Southampton tonight, enjoyed a meteoric rise last year on the back of their album In a Perfect World, culminating in major festival appearances and national radio airtime.

Singles High Hopes and A Love Like This made them household names while the album topped the Irish charts.

But it wasn’t instant success, says Garrigan.

“We never really knew we would end up where we are now,” he told the Daily Echo before a show in Paris, France.

“We kept writing music because we kept getting a lot of rejections. We were even struggling to get a gig in Dublin. We had a lot of knock-backs but the last two years have been incredible.

“We are getting to travel the world and play our songs.

“As long as people keep coming to our shows, we will do it for as long as we can.”

Tonight’s performance will be the band’s first ever appearance in Southampton, and one that Garrigan is looking forward to.

He said: “I don’t know what the crowd will be like but it is exciting going to new places.

“I have heard good things about Southampton.

“We are the type of band that will play anywhere, whether it’s a gig in Dublin in front of 15,000 people or on top of a bar somewhere.

“Our shows are a mix of slow songs and fast songs, a mix of emotions.

“We are very much a live band and we live to play live. It’s what we are good at.

“We try to break down the barriers between the crowd and the band. We love playing and I hope that shines through.”

Kodaline’s second album, Coming Up for Air, is out now.