Gigs in Glasgow

The audience know they’ve seen something special * * * * * BROADWAY BABY Energetic yet measured. Skillful and exuberant* * * * THE SCOTSMAN Mixing equal measures of sweetness and sass, grit and glamour, heartbreak and hilarity – cut with a dash of potent Scottish spirit – Since 2006 The Bevvy Sisters have won a uniquely…

The 2017 summer season of concerts at Kelvingrove Bandstand is almost upon us. Glasgow’s beautiful, bijou outdoor arena will host the likes of Brian Wilson, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Kool & the Gang, Sir Tom Jones, Texas, Pixies, Hipsway and Arab Strap over the next couple of months, but opening proceedings are The Divine Comedy, best loved for their elegant…

The Skids were one of Scotland’s most successful punk exports. Formed in Dunfermline in 1997 and fronted by the idiosyncratic double act of teenage singer Richard Jobson and gifted guitarist Stuart Adamson (later to form the much loved Big Country), they scored a handful of enduring hits, including Into the Valley, Working for the Yankee Dollar…

Barry Adamson is one of the supreme cats of the punk rock world – and we mean punk in its widest, most adventurous sense. Back in late 70s Manchester, he auditioned for the band who would be Magazine using a two-string bass and got the gig. Next up, a mid-80s stint in that magnificent band…

This weekend, folk legend Shirley Collins will make her Celtic Connections debut. A lot of people are very excited about welcoming this esteemed singer to the festival for her first Scottish show in decades. Emerging from the British folk boom of the 1950s and 60s, Shirley has released some of the most influential albums in…

Big Country were one of the biggest Scottish noises of the 1980s, renowned for their anthemic singles and the distinctive twin guitar attack of the late Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson, which seemed to echo the skirl of the bagpipes. The current incarnation of the band, including Watson and his son Jamie, original drummer Mark Brzezicki,…

Next Thursday 22nd December Mono will host a benefit in aid of Glasgow Night Shelter. It’s free entry and donations are welcome. The Primevals, Dumb Instrument & Rulers of the Root perform and there will be guest DJs. Primevals frontman, Michael Rooney, has compiled a very fitting guest playlist for us. Thanks Michael.  

Just like the contradiction at the heart of their name, Glasgow/Edinburgh power duo Honeyblood are an amalgam of contrasting elements, teaming the sweetest tunes with the most visceral backing tracks to widespread acclaim over the past few years. We spoke to frontwoman Stina Tweedale ahead of their gig at Saint Luke’s this weekend about some…

So we’ve heard from Malcolm Middleton. Now the other half of the Arab Strap partnership, frontman Aidan Moffat, tells us about reviving lyrics he wrote twenty years ago and what we can expect from this weekend’s gigs. “There’s a full set and hopefully we’ll find some requests. We’re going to have a wee box where you can post them…

Cult heroes Arab Strap have reformed ten years after they first split in order to celebrate their 20th birthday. An eponymous compilation of their singles, plus “secret hits and rarities” is out now on Chemikal UndergroundRecords, the esteemed Glasgow label who signed them in 1996 on the strength of a demo tape. The duo – Aidan Moffat on vocals and…