It’s a seriously quiet week on Dundee’s live music scene – but Perth and Stirling outdoor extravaganzas are stepping up to the plate.
Highly rated Glasgow-based house duo Illyus Brown and Ivan Hall Barrientos – they’ve done remixes for the likes of Alex Adair, Pixie Lott and no less than Kylie Minogue – are set to hit the Church decks tomorrow (Saturday).
The Ward Road visit from the cosmopolitan former Radio One regulars aside, there’s precious little to get gig-goers east of Invergowrie excited over the next week.
Otherlands
However, the big attraction in Perth this weekend is the inaugural staging of the niche Otherlands event at Scone Palace.
Organised by Edinburgh-based promoter Fly Events, the three-day music and arts festival gets off to a banging start tonight (Friday) with a headline set from French DJ, producer and label owner Folamour, aka Bruno Boumendil, who’ll be joined at the scenic venue by fellow jocks Elkka, Harri And Domenic and Rebecca Vasmant.
Grammy-winning London electro exponent Jamie xx is the big draw on tomorrow’s line-up, which also features leading disc-spinners Tom Misch, Ricards Villalobos, Alewya, Eclair Fifi, Roman Flugel and Joesef, as well as alt-rock outfits Theo Bleak – aka Katie Lynch – Vlure and Walt Disco.
There’s another packed bill at Scone Palace on Sunday, with Northern Irish breakbeat favourites Bicep – DJ duo Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar – and Anglo-Irish rapper Maverick Sabre heading up a list of diverse talents that also includes Honey Dijon, Biig Piig, Chaos In The CBD, Sherelle, Yung Singh, Alien Communications, Hyyts, Hayley Zalassi and the Fair City’s own Parliamo.
Around 7,000 music fans are expected to attend each day of Otherlands, with bosses claiming they’re primarily targeting the 20-40 age bracket’s more discerning punters.
A Fly spokesman told a recent licensing meeting in Perth: “This isn’t a run-of-the-mill festival, it’s multi-genre. We’re talking about everything from electronic music right through to jazz.”
Massive Stirling shows
Separately, there’s a couple of massive shows in the shadow of Stirling Castle this weekend.
The city’s all-Scottish Big Top Under Canvas weekend kicks off tonight (Friday) with a sold-out performance from Glasgow pop rock big-hitters Texas, who’ll be playing tracks from last year’s UK top three album Hi plus a host of crowd-pleasers from their three-decade-plus back catalogue.
Trad big noises Skipinnish appear to be taking top billing at the City Park Stage tomorrow (Saturday), with a batch of other artists – including two of Scotland’s best-known exports since the 1980s – also involved.
The Highland headliners are being joined by Fife-formed Celtic rock legends Big Country, ex-Fairground Attraction star Eddi Reader, fast-rising alt-folk troubadours Peat And Diesel and Aberdeenshire songbird Sandi Thom.
Still in Stirling, the Tolbooth is set for a busy few days with a batch of shows following on from Glasgow grunge popsters Honeyblood’s appearance on Wednesday.
First up tomorrow afternoon (Saturday), it’s Stirlingshire astral-folkster Norrie McCulloch in the guise of Canyons And Highlands at the Jail Wynd venue’s cafe.
His new album, due out on September 2, comprises a series of recordings that started out as home demos before being polished into shape via collaborations with a host of cohorts in the USA.
McCulloch’s followed on Tuesday by Harrison/ Petty/ Dylan/ Orbison/ Lynne tribute outfit The Unravelling Wilburys, with hotly tipped Highland folk troupe Eabhal at the Tolbooth on Thursday.
Further ahead, there’s a double bill in Stirling from alt-folk balladeer Jemima Thewes and electro instrumental exponent Gnac, aka producer Mark Tranmer, next Friday.
Elsewhere, Fife post-punk noiseniks Foreignfox are on home turf at PJ Molloys in Dunfermline tomorrow night, where they’ll be joined by Leven five-piece We Cry Wolf and Glasgow math rockers Triptych.
Lastly, Honeyblood are at the Canmore Street venue on Sunday, as previously bigged up on this page last week.
