The Shipping Forecast Garden Party

[Little Pebble]

Relying on the Scottish weather is usually an act of sheer folly. But, for Shipping Forecast Garden Party (SFGP) organiser Dav MacNaughton, it’s integral to the success of his monthly music gathering.

“This is only our second show - another one we had planned was cancelled due to poor weather,” says McNaughton. “We had to cancel one show we were putting on with FOUND, Rozi Plain and We See Lights which was a bit gutting so lets pray for the sun.”

Based in the outdoor courtyard of Edinburgh’s Pear Tree bar, SFGP is a novel Sunday afternoon jamboree of music, barbecue and - luck prevailing - sunshine.

With a roster containing Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers, Zoey Van Goey, The Stormy Seas, Come In Tokyo, Ben TD and Ardent John, this month’s SFGP offers up a vibrant aural boost to the dissipating Fringe festivities.

“I'd love it if people did come down not only to support the band but also the event, that would make me chuffed to bits,” says McNaughton. “I think the fact it's an outdoor daytime event it should be a pretty chilled out fun day, I can't think of a better way so spend a Sunday than in a beer garden having a few beers with my pals and listening to some good music.”

And the shipping forecast for the day?

MacNaughton deadpans: “Hopefully pretty damned stormy.”

Words: Billy Hamilton

The Shipping Forecast Garden Party starts at 1pm on Sunday 30 August in the Pear Tree courtyard, Edinburgh. Admission is diddly-squat.

Our picks for Belladrum Tartan Heart '09

[Seating is optional at Belladrum]

With RockNess, T in the Park and Wickerman finally out of the way, the Tartan Heart Festival at the Belladrum Estate near Inverness this weekend is the last major open-air event on the Scottish summer festival calender.

Now in its sixth year, Tartan Heart is a family-friendly alternative to its beer-soaked cousins further south. Not that copious amounts of drinking are by any means ruled out, but segregated 'family' and 'quiet' camping areas and free admission for children under 12 hint at a more relaxed atmosphere.

The music's not half bad either. While big names like Ocean Colour Scene and Toploader might not exactly set pulses racing, there's more than enough Scottish talent across the festival's six stages to make Tartan Heart well worth a weekend jaunt into the Highlands.

Edinburgh's Broken Records are experiencing something of a second wind of late. An exuberant set at T in the Park last month revealed a band eager to let their scintillating live performances speak for themselves. Definitely one not to miss at the Garden Stage on Friday evening.

Two-man noise onslaught Bronto Skylift return to their northern homeland to appear on the HAIL Seedlings stage on Friday. What exactly Belladrum will make of their grungey racket remains to be seen but Bronto are indisputably one of the most visceral acts on the live scene at the moment.

Play: Bronto Skylift - Danny Glover Isn't Dead


Dananananaykroyd's legendary 'Wall of Cuddles' should prove a somewhat more enticing propect for those who like things a little less 'rawk' at the Hothouse Stage on Friday night. Despite their "fight pop" stylings, the undeniable feel-good factor surrounding the Glasgow outfit's anarchic live show will lend itself well to the laid-back vibes of Tartan Heart.

Since the time of writing, Dananananaykroyd have announced via Twitter that they have had to cancel their Belladrum appearance due to a stage-diving injury incurred by John Down Under. We wish him a speedy recovery.

Sparrow and the Workshop have the unenviable task of opening the Hothouse Stage for business on Saturday afternoon but the Glasgow-based trio are well up to the task. Sparrow's ethereal, electrified folk rock is just the thing to soothe sore heads after the inevitable excesses of Friday night.

Also on Saturday, 17-year-old wunderkind Unicorn Kid, aka Oliver Sabin, brings his 8-bit electronica to the HAIL Seedlings stage. Sabin is something of an anomaly in a music scene dominated by guitar-driven acts of all shades but in a live setting his pulsating synth-pop crashes through genre boundaries in a frenzy of hyperactive euphoria.

Tartan Heart 2009 takes place on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 August at Beauly on the Belladrum Estate in Inverness-shire. Click here for ticket information.

Words: Jodi Mullen

Is this year's line-up good enough to tempt you to Belladrum?

Versus: A night to prove that 3 really is the magic number

[From left: Enfant Bastard, Dead Boy Robotics, The Foundling Wheel]

There's something depressingly formulaic about gigs these days: you pay your money, the band turns up, plays the standard setlist, follows this with a rehearsed encore (whether they've earned it or not) and then leave for their next port of call.

It poses a question for even the most devoted fan: Why didn't I just listen to the album at home without the £3 pints and that tall bloke standing directly in my line of vision?

A group of Edinburgh artists may just have the answer, by devising a thoroughly different approach to the live music format: three bands, one stage. The trio of like-minded acts behind this unique night, which has been combatively titled 'Versus', are sonic pioneer The Foundling Wheel, synth-punk wizards Dead Boy Robotics and anti-folk master Enfant Bastard.

All three acts are members of the Bear Scotland collective, a prominent strand of Edinburgh's burgeoning music scene which also includes Meursault and Withered Hand.

'Versus' is being billed as "a night where innovative exploration converges with mind-blistering instrumentation."

So if you want to witness a bit of local history in the making, and perhaps even the live formation of Edinburgh's first superband, head along to the Wee Red Bar (at the Edinburgh College of Art) this Saturday, 7th March, from 7.30pm.

Meanwhile, have a listen to some tracks from each act...

Enfant Bastard - Vincent Van Gogh


Dead Boy Robotics - Cloud Sequence Animals


The Foundling Wheel - Out To See