While it was hard to escape the media-frenzy of Glastonbury this weekend, there were plenty of other festivals and gigs taking place away from the spotlight in the fields, parks and grassroots music venues of Scotland. Here’s a quick look at just a few of the events bringing music to our ears over the last few days.
QUEEN’S PARK, GLASGOW
As The Waterboys‘ mystical world of folksy rock rang out over Glasgow’s Queen’s Park on Friday night, it was clear that this was one of the places to be this weekend. With the Big City Festival taking over the grounds on Saturday and soulful psychedelia of The Charlatans on Sunday evening, the park became the gift that kept on giving with Scotland’s alcohol and drug free festival Recovery Connects taking place earlier on Sunday. Headlined by John Power (Cast, the La’s), this free event also featured a DJ set from Creation Records legend Alan McGee along with the nostalgic grooves and upbeat indie anthems of Shambolics. Hosted by Radio Scotland’s Vic Galloway, the day also saw the Hazy Sundays, Local Authority and Paul Byrne hit the stage, to name but a few. Almost 3000 turned out to support and enjoy the event, The Recovery Collective’s aim to use music to promote recovery from drug and alcohol addiction clearly working its magic and providing a great day out for all ages. Long may it continue!
BIG CITY FESTIVAL
Curated by Mogwai, this spanking new festival featured a mix of friends, peers and labelmates from the band’s Rock Action Records, the shimmering line-up including the brooding shoegaze of Slowdive and Bdrmm, empowering art-pop of Elizabeth Elektra, experimental electronic rock of Beak>, prog-rock of Michael Rother and stark but enthralling indie-folk of Kathryn Joseph…which is always offset with some top banter!
But standout of the weekend, according to our photographer on the ground, was Nadine Shah, her electrifying set mesmerising the crowd with numbers from latest album Filthy Underneath. He also admitted her performance was the most animated (shoegazers, eh?) and if you’ve seen her perform, you’ll know her moves are almost involuntary as the mighty force of her turmoil unravels, shamelessly parading her heart on her sleeve. With Shah walking away from her proposed Glastonbury slot a few weeks ago after discovering it wouldn’t be televised (the costs too much to justify without the gain of additional exposure), it sounds like someone was clearly missing a trick, and judging by Beak>’s drum kit (pictured below), it really is a shame the BBC weren’t doing some live coverage of Big City…
With a laid back vibe similar to Edinburgh’s Connect Festival, bonus points were given for Big City’s literary tent hosted in association with White Rabbit Books, publishers of some of the most innovative voices in music and literature, and featuring chats with writers including Simon Price, Ali Millar, David Keenan and Audrey Golden. Drawing to a close with the savage soundscapes of Mogwai, let’s hope they do it again soon.
Check out our full gallery of Big City Festival here >>
AROUND SCOTLAND
Elsewhere in Scotland, Edinburgh’s Young Fathers were also at it, headlining their own specially curated day festival at Stirling City Park alongside Self Esteem, Noname and Petite Noir, while Idlewild and The View headlined Pitlochry’s Heartland Festival, which included sets from Tidelines, Cammy Barnes, Spyres, Skerryvore and many more. And let’s not forget Kirkcaldy’s Windsor Hotel, host to the annual Fife Punkfest, featuring around 20 bands over two days including The Outcasts, Drongos for Europe and The Eddies.
BACK IN THE DUGG HOUSE
Sticking with Fife, I popped into the Glow Bar at Dunfermline’s Dugg House on Saturday night to check out a fantastic (and free) evening of music and banter, a true grassroots venue which saw flourishing hopefuls Switch kick things off before the evening’s organiser, guitarist/singer-songwriter Aidan Stewart had a blast on stage with Paul Cunningham. Dundee singer-songwriter Nick Shane was also there to cast an approving eye over proceedings before getting up with the city’s alt-rockers Curvy Squares. With a great mix of bands on the bill, Runcorn indie outfit The Seminals made their first trip to Scotland while Ayrshire’s Ocean Views brought their addictive grooves to Fife, and with a debut single named Cider Blues, these guys clearly speak my language! The line up was complete with Dunfermline headliners We Are Delta, who evoke the passion of early Idlewild with biting indie-rock anthems. I was only there for a couple of hours but even though I was almost old enough to have grannied some of the young ‘uns, the atmosphere was buoyant, the floor nicely inebriated and the bands supportive of each other, just like it should be. And although earlier in the weekend The Waterboys’ Mike Scott reminded his audience that ‘It started up in Fife, it ended up in tears’ in old favourite And A Bang On The Ear, he’d clearly landed up in a different Dugg House, evenings like these, which regularly take place in wee venues up and down the country, simply priceless in terms of opportunity, experience and entertainment. Take a peek, stay for a drink, live a little!
Of course, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to having a wee notion to traipse the fields of Glastonbury – time, money and souped-up campervan permitting… So it was back to iPlayer, where the allure of PJ Harvey’s Black Hearted Love finished off the weekend nicely, along with Idles, Fontaines DC and the chaotic perfection of the Breeders… even though the only cannonball to blast through the Scottish air during their visit to UK shores was accompanied by unicorns via Mr Scott’s soothing intones on Friday night. Kelley Deal, you promised!
Words by Shirley Mack
Pictures:
Calum Mackintosh @ayecandyphotography
Jos Rodriguez @shotbyjos_