At the tender age of 19, Dundee musician Nairn Thomson learned a hard lesson about matters of mental health.
“There’s only so much your pals can do,” says Nairn candidly. “Sometimes your friends just can’t cut it.”
Jutebox guitarist Nairn, now 22, lost his best friend to suicide in 2019 despite their close-knit friend group being “really open with one another” about mental health struggles.
Now, as founder of Dundee promotion company New Era Live Music, the Whitfield lad is determined to help folk access the professional care they deserve.
So after “wanting to do it for years”, he’s finally launching the inaugural Mental Night music festival next weekend in Church Dundee.
An all-day event, it’ll showcase 10 of the city’s best-loved homegrown talents – including Musica, Katie Nicoll and headliner Connor Liam Byrne – with all profits going to the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH).
“It’s predominantly local bands, mixed genres from classic rock to indie to punk, post-punk – it’s a big mix,” grins Nairn ahead of the August 19 festival.
“I wanted it to be like a Dundee showcase. It’s from Dunondians, for Dundonians.”
‘It takes months to get appointments’
For Nairn, growing up in Whitfield and making music in Dundee has seen him ingrained in a “tight knit” community of local musicians who look out for one another.
However, he knows that solidarity can only go so far without tangible, professional support.
And he observes that the extremely delayed waiting times for mental health services, and the dearth of available services in the local area, mean that young adults are relying more and more heavily on their peers to navigate mental health crises.
“It’s good to have a good circle, but if you need something more, it’s not always there – especially not in Dundee,” he explains.
“A lot of the services are diminished or underfunded. It takes months to get appointments, you’re on waiting lists. The only people who aren’t going to wait months to ask you if you’re alright are your friends.
“And a lot of people aren’t even aware of the services that they can go to, like Penumbra, Andy’s Man Club, all these sorts of things.
“So that’s why I wanted to partner with SAMH, one of the biggest mental health charities that are at the forefront of mental health fundraising in Scotland.”
Nairn praises the positive response to Mental Night so far, saying SAMH were immediately on board and Church even generously donated the venue for free.
However, he reveals he did receive resistance from SAMH regarding one small aspect of the Mental Night festival proposal.
“They hated the name at first,” he laughs. “They wanted me to change it, but I stuck my heels in because I know that it’s right for Dundee.
“I don’t mean mental like everyone’s crazy – I mean it like ‘good’, it’s that Dundee thing,” he continues. “Like, ‘C’mon boys, let’s have a mental night!’ It’s an accidental play on words, but I think it breaks the stigma.
“It’s alright to be a bit mental. I’m mental!”
Men ‘need to make sure we’re speaking to each other’
He’s joking around, but Nairn remains candid when opening up about his own mental health struggles. For him, being transparent is essential to Mental Night’s success, as he wants to lead by example.
“My mental health hasn’t been the best this year, I’ve struggled with some stuff,” he says. “Sometimes I feel like I’m not where I’m supposed to be in life. And sometimes that holds me back.”
He’s echoing a pressure felt by so many young people in 2023, particularly young men. Indeed, men’s mental health and the increased suicide rates among men is an issue close to Nairn’s heart.
With Mental Night, he wants to get across to other men how important it is to communicate how they’re feeling to the people in their life.
“Because we’re men, we need to go that extra mile to make sure we’re speaking to each other,” he says.
“No one can read your mind, so you need to be able to let people know how you’re feeling. It’s hard, but the more you do it, the easier it is.”
For Nairn and his Jutebox bandmates, it can be as easy as a text to a group chat saying: “Here boys, I’ve had a rubbish day.”
But the guitarist acknowledges that it can be harder for people to admit they’re struggling when there “isn’t a reason”.
“Sometimes it’s situational, and that’s easier [to look out for],” he explains. “Like if someone’s broken up with their girlfriend or they’re having trouble at home.
“But a lot of the time, it’s not.
“It’s waking up and being like ‘I don’t want to be here’. Or ‘I can’t even be bothered getting out of bed or brushing my teeth or showering today, because I just don’t have it in me’.
“That’s the stuff that’s harder to speak about.”
Mum’s struggles showed Nairn the power of music
Growing up, former Braeview Academy pupil Nairn was shown how music could be a source of strength and comfort in times of mental ill health.
“My mum suffers with mental health problems,” he explains. “And I remember once when she was really ill, she stopped listening to music.
“It was weird for all of us because when we were younger, she’d get through the day with music. It would lift her up and help her power through.
“So when she was feeling better again and she started putting her music back on, that was when I realised that it changes you.
“Now when I feel like I can’t be bothered doing anything, I just bang the tunes on!”
With Mental Night, Nairn wants to use the power of music to help not only raise cash for services, but to show friendship and solidarity on the day for anyone who might be struggling right now.
“I wanted to put on an all-day event where everyone can come together with their friends, but also have that backbone of knowing that there’s other people out there dealing with the same stuff as they are,” he says.
“Everyone’s welcome – bring your pals, bring your parents, bring yourself. No one’s going to be sat alone. Maybe at the start of the night – but certainly not by the end.”
Mental Night 2023 will take place at Church Dundee on August 19 from 3pm onwards. Tickets and more information are available from the festival’s Eventbrite page. All profits will go to SAMH.
