Garage rock chart-toppers Royal Blood are set to shake the Caird Hall to its foundations.
The thundering Brighton duo are warming up for the Reading and Leeds Festival on August 23-24 with a handful of shows — their first UK gigs in almost two years — starting in Southampton tonight. Monday’s Dundee date — the third of five concerts — is vocalist / bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher’s only Scottish show.
Royal Blood’s previous UK and Ireland arena tour shifted more than 100,000 tickets and included three sold-out shows at London’s Alexandra Palace. The festival favourites are being supported in Dundee by bizarrely-named Aussie rockers Psychedelic Porn Crumpets.
Formed in 2011, Royal Blood’s two bombastic albums to date – their 2014 self-titled debut and its 2017 follow-up How Did We Get So Dark? – both hit No 1 in the UK and also made a dent internationally, including USA Billboard placings.
The duo’s debut single Out Of The Black was released in 2013, and they’ve since scored four further hits including Little Monster and Lights Out. Royal Blood’s many accolades to date include a prestigious BRIT Award in 2014 for best group, and they were among the nominees pipped by Gorillaz in the same category last year.
A portion of the tour’s proceeds is being donated to War Child UK to provide protection and education to children caught up in conflicts overseas. Tickets £33 via Ticketmaster.
*** Courier Country favourites are among a strong line-up for this weekend’s annual Party At The Palace.
Staged in the grounds of historic Linlithgow Palace, the two-day extravaganza’s being headlined tomorrow by Madchester veterans The Charlatans, with Fife-raised KT Tunstall, Midge Ure — fresh from last month’s Rewind Scotland in Perthshire — Roachford, Republica and covers outfit Definitely Oasis joining them on the main stage, along with newcomers Molly Hall and Viral Train Weans.
A host of upcoming acts are also appearing on the event’s second stage, with Carly Connor, Foreignfox, Headland, Lisa Kowalski, Luke La Volpe, Mark Sharpe & The Bicycle Thieves, Kevin McGuire, North Atlas, Dirty Laces and Two Tone Television all featuring tomorrow.
Sunday’s top billing goes to Ricky Ross-led blue-eyed soulsters Deacon Blue, who’ll bring PATP’s curtain down following sets from Wet Wet Wet, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Craig Charles’ Funk & Soul Club, Tide Lines, Bobby Bluebell’s latest project Fat Cops and Tom McGuire & The Brassholes, plus warm-ups Brian McCafferty and Kieran Fisher.
There’s also sets from Kerry & The Maltings Boys, Primes, Sianar, Th13ves, The Phase, DMS, The Von Zillaz, Yoko Pwno and The Shackles on the Breakthrough Stage, with dozens of new artists including Leven songsmith Cody Feechan also playing the non-camping festival’s third live platform, its bijou Purple Orange Stage.
Gates open at the venue at 12.30pm both days, with performances running from 1.30pm to around 10.30pm. Weekend tickets are £95 (children £35) plus a fee via partyatthepalace.co.uk, with Saturday day tickets also still available.
*** Alt-folk duo Bear’s Den are on the way to Perthshire next week. The London outfit, which consists of lead singer-cum-guitarist Andrew Davie and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Jones, are at Birnam Arts on Friday.
Nominated for an Ivor Novello Award in 2015 for their song Above The Clouds Of Pompeii, the pair formed Bear’s Den with ex-member Joey Haynes three years earlier, dropping their Agape and Without / Within EPs in 2013. The band’s third album So That You Might Hear Me was released in April, following on from their UK top 50 debut Islands (2014) and 2016’s Red Earth And Pouring Rain.
Tickets £22.50 via birnamarts.com
*** There’s a Northern Soul and Motown-themed extravaganza at Clarks On Lindsay Street on Sunday from 3pm.
Power soul outfit The Messarounds are hosting the ‘Sixties celebration, with covers of uptempo groovers by the likes of Al Wilson and Shirley Ellis on offer alongside sets from guest DJs Steve Keenan and Derek Durno. Tickets £6.88 from the venue, Grouchos in Dundee and Assai Records, or via Eventbrite.
*** Perth guitar maestro Pete Caban is being joined by a plethora of talented local musicians at a free blues night he’s hosting at the city’s Green Room on Tuesday from 7pm.
*** Retro renegades Cherry Bombz check in at Arbroath’s Newgate tonight at 9pm, before heading to Rewind tomorrow (9.30pm) and The Admiral on Sunday (6pm).
*** Number 57 has old school Britrock homage Itchycoo Park tomorrow evening then it’s The Mivvies plus an open floor jam from 7pm on Sunday.
*** Dunfermline alt-rock four-piece Ivory Caves are on home turf at PJ Molloys tomorrow. Tickets £6.95 via Ticketweb.
