Well, with a a summer of great festivals behind us, it’s time to consider staying indoors for your music fix over the next few months. First out of the box is the annual Glasgow Americana Festival. Now in its 13th year, Glasgow Americana attracts international artists alongside a healthy bill of local acts from all over Scotland. This year’s festival boasts nine full shows in six venues over its five-day duration with a total of 19 acts appearing from 2nd – 6th October.
Headliners this year include Rachel Sermani, Rod Picott, Nels Andrews, The Orphan Brigade, Chance McCoy and Sam Outlaw – a wealth of talent condensed into five days of gig going – but there’s a lot more going on. Glaswegian singer Mark McGowan plays a headline show in the ultra hip confines of Mono Café Bar threatening to transform this famous cafe/bar/record store into a Greenwich Village folk club for the evening. A Glasgow favourite, The Seven Song Club, have the opportunity to host two shows during the festival. The concept here, three acts each playing seven songs – was pioneered by Warren Starry Skies who will host both outings. In a neat twist, each show will have one act each from Scotland, England and Ireland (sorry Wales) appearing.
Festival director, Kevin Morris, spends all year promoting Americana in Glasgow and its environs under the aegis of The Fallen Angels club but he is particularly chuffed with the festival saying, “I am so proud of what we have achieved with Glasgow Americana over the years and to see my baby as a teenager is a very proud moment.” He has also introduced a new component to the festival, “We are very excited to introduce a song writing workshop to the Glasgow Americana festival, especially of the quality of The Orphan Brigade featuring Ben Glover, Neilson Hubbard, and Joshua Britt. We also think this will be something that we build on year on year during Glasgow Americana.”
Over the years, Glasgow Americana has built a solid reputation for offering such a concentrated dose of quality acts at a reasonable price and in excellent intimate venues. Folk still talk of last year’s incendiary appearance of Bennett Wilson Poole in the melting cauldron of The Glad Cafe and this year looks to maintain this reputation.
Last we heard, tickets for the song-writing workshop with The Orphan Brigade were selling like hot cakes but you can check availability here.
Here’s the full lineup. For more information and tickets see here.
Wednesday 2nd October- Rachel Sermanni plus Rose Cousins. St Andrew’s In The Square
Thursday 3rd October- Rod Picott plus Anthony Toner The Admiral Bar
Friday 4th October- Mark McGowan plus Gabriel Kelley Mono Cafe Bar
Friday 4th October- The Seven Song Club featuring David Latto, Jonas & Jane & Anthony Toner The Glad Café
Saturday 5th October- Workshop with The Orphan Brigade (12pm-2pm) The CCA- UWS space.
Saturday 5th October- Jess Morgan & Nels Andrews Matinee show The Glad Café
Saturday 5th October- The Orphan Brigade The Glad Café
Saturday 5th October- Chance McCoy plus Caitlin Buchanan The Hug & Pint
Sunday 7th October- The Seven Song Club Matinee show featuring Elaine Lennon, Jason McNiff & The Remedy Club The Admiral Bar
Sunday 7th October- Finale Night- Sam Outlaw plus Lydia Luce The Glee Club
