It’s set to be a tribute-tastic weekend at the Green Hotel. REM homage Stipe are the big Kinross draw tonight, with Courier Country regulars Pygmy Twylyte headlining tomorrow.
Formed in 2018, the Frank Zappa soundalikes have carved out a reputation for live shows that recreate the much-missed avant-garde rocker’s own genre-defying live performances.
Honky tonk bonus
A major bonus at the Green on Sunday is a 2pm set from honky tonk exponent John Miller, who’s bringing his Country Casuals backing band.
Miller started out as frontman of ’90s Glasgow legends The Radio Sweethearts, the UK’s first country rock band to have their debut single – produced by veteran music impresario Kim Fowley – released exclusively in the USA.
After working on the band’s 2000 album Lonesome Blue with ex-Big Star leader Alex Chilton, Miller recorded his critically acclaimed Popping Pills opus in 2002, scoring a European country hit with the single Don’t Forget To Tell Him.
The Green had been due to host Big Country duo Mark Brzezicki and Simon Hough in a celebration of the music of 60s favourites Procul Harum on Wednesday, but that gig’s now off – as is a set from blues rocker Laurence Jones that was due on Thursday.
However, a bumper turnout’s expected next Friday and Saturday when Wishbone Ash legend Martin Turner heads to Kinross on his latest European tour, marking the 50th anniversary of the prog hit-makers’ classic LP Live Dates.
LexFest at Church
In Dundee, Church has a bevy of homegrown artists taking part in its LexFest benefit gig tomorrow.
Kashmir Crows, Dukebox Cheese, Jack Jones, Connor Liam Byrne, Plaintiff and Sean Findley are all on the bill, with the proceeds from the event going to the charities Survivors Of Bereavement By Suicide and the Canmore Trust.
At Beat Generator, free speech gets its fling on the same night in the shape of Union Jack-waving street punks Gimp Fist.
The firebrands self-released their debut album One Tribe in 2007, following it up with Your Time Has Come on the Sunny B*****ds label the following year.
The three-piece have gone on to complete a further eight LPs, the most recent being last year’s Isolation.
Separately, a trio of upcoming gigs at a Stirling venue look well worth checking out.
The Tolbooth is hosting Scottish shoegaze exponent Quitter, aka Kenny Bates, in the latest in its popular cafe concerts series tomorrow, with the confessional storyteller playing the first of two sets at 1.30pm.
Idlewild’s Roddy Wooble
Wednesday sees Idlewild frontman Roddy Wooble hitting Jail Wynd with the promise of some new songs ahead of the eagerly anticipated launch of the Mull-based performer’s sixth solo album.
The following night at the Tolbooth it’s gothic blues exponents The Filthy Tongues, who recently released their most successful album to date in the shape of In These Dark Places.
As mentioned elsewhere today, Martin Metcalfe and co are also at Dunfermline’s PJ Molloys next Friday, with support at Stirling coming from Last Boy, aka Haydn Park-Patterson, from Glasgow noise popsters The Ninth Wave.
In Fife, Kings Live Lounge has a sold-out show from kingdom soulsters Lights Out By Nine tomorrow ahead of a visit from folk-punk troubadour and ex-Hold Steady keys wiz Franz Nicolay on Sunday.
He’ll be joined by Californian alt-rocker Aaron Cometbus and Edinburgh noisenik Billy Liar.
Blues noise terrorist
The Kirkcaldy venue is also hosting blues noise terrorist Dace Arcari next Friday – he’s supported by art rocker Kenneth Anthony Morton.
Elsewhere, alt-country songsmith James Edwyn has a brace of Courier Country gigs coming up.
He’s bringing his Borrowed Band – its line-up includes ex-BMX Bandits and Lloyd Cole and The Leopards drummer Jamie Gash – to the Wee Bear Café, Lintrathen, on Friday and Broughty Ferry’s Masonic Hall the following night.
Lastly, Conroy’s Basement has Tokyo industrial-meets-electropop subversives Psydoll, while PJ Molloys hosts a tribute two-hander to national treasures Simple Minds and Deacon Blue – both tomorrow.