A FESTIVAL will be staged this month in under-used venues in Scotland’s biggest city in a bid to open music fans’ ears to the sounds of artists from around the world and closer to home.
New York dance band !!! (Chk Chk Chk), Malian desert rockers Songhoy Blues, pictured right, and Berlin-based electro maven Molly Nilsson are among the global musicians to feature at the Great Western, a one-day festival from Glasgow-based gig promoters 432 Presents.
More than 50 acts will perform live in a variety of spaces across the west end, from well-established concert venues such as The Hug & Pint, QMU and Oran Mor to buildings less used to hosting gigs such as the Maryhill Community Central Halls, the Mackintosh Queen’s Cross Church, the Glue Factory and Burnbank Bowling Club.
Nilsson is among the raft of recent additions to the new festival, with performance poet Leyla Josephine, pop sorceress Elisabeth Elektra and loved psychedelic locals Holy Mountain joining a bill which boasts big indie names such as Cass McCombs, Rev Magnetic and 2018 SAY Award winners Sacred Paws.
Hot emerging acts to catch include London’s Dry Cleaning, new Paul Epworth signing Art School Girlfriend, Edinburgh bluesman Callum Easter, the heavenly Heir Of The Cursed and Lost Map Records new artist Molly Linen.
Elsewhere on the bill Admiral Fallow’s Louis Abbott and Canadian artist Dana Gavansi perform as guests to Start To End, a tribute supergroup who’ll pay homage to Hats, the 1989 classic by local legends The Blue Nile.
Talking of local legends, The Pastels curate the line-up at Maryhill Community Central Halls, with sets from Lightships, the outfit headed by former Teenage Fanclub songwriter Gerard Love, Apostille aka Night School Records boss Michael Kasparis, London trio Pozi and both Linen and Nilsson.
As 432’s owner and head booker Brian Reynolds explains, it was Pastels frontman Stephen McRobbie who first encouraged him as a young graduate to keep plugging away at his ambition to be a promoter. The Great Western is personal to the festival boss, who has lived in the area for 16 years.
“I used to live on St George’s Road,” he says. “I noticed that as well as established venues like Oran Mor and the QMU, there were places like the Mackintosh Church, where we put on Museum Of The Moon last year, the community halls, the Glue Factory – great spaces which weren’t often used.
“Over the years, with things like Museum Of The Moon, we each individually learned how to put on gigs in these beautiful old rooms. The area is really important to me and I want to help put these spaces on the map.”
The Great Western will continue into the wee hours with late night sets from exuberant jazz funk outfit Tom McGuire and The Brassholes, feral space-pop duo Free Love and Wuh Oh, aka fast-rising Glasgow producer Peter Ferguson. An after-party will follow the Blue Arrow jazz club on Sauchiehall Street. Don’t leave it too late to jump aboard, however: the music starts mid-afternoon with Malcolm Middleton, the fairer half of Arab Strap, opening the day at the sublime Mackintosh Church, Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s greatest intact building.
“The people who come out early will be rewarded,” says Reynolds. “If you’ve never been to that venue, this is the time to go.”
The festival founder says exploring unfamiliar venues and neighbourhoods will complement music fans’ curiosity in seeking out new sounds.
“The Great Western is a festival of discovery and musical exploration,” says Reynolds. “From the beginnings of African music and classical music, the space in which music is performed and listened to is always critical to the music that’s actually created there.
“We want to encourage that variety. If you come out of the comfort zone a little as far as the venue, you’re more likely to do that in terms of what you’ll want to check out musically.”
The festival takes place on November 23, at various venues in Glasgow, from 2pm, £31.50.
Head to tgwfest.com, facebook.com/GreatWesternFestival for more information.
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