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BBC Radio 6music Festival 2017, Various Venues, Glasgow - Day 2

  • Published in Live

The sun is blinding today in Glasgow. Apollo shines his light on the 6music Festival. The blessing of the gods follows us to the Barrowland ballroom. The Barras Market is in full swing and American singer Haley is talking to us after lunch. The Minnesota based singer plays Saint Luke's around the corner tonight with Sacred Paws, The Lemon Twigs and Car Seat Headrest. We'll be at Barrowlands too for Bonobo, Thundercat, Loyle Carner and Songhoy Blues.

And that's where we'll start tonight's adventure, with Loyle Carner it the main room. Security is tight here and given recent events, we'll just have to tolerate it. The young English lad performs vocal gymnastics over the mellow but effective backing of his DJ. The bass makes the jelly in our eyeballs tremble. Carner lived in Glasgow when he was younger, he even owns a kilt.

His autobiographical lyrics are a million miles from the sparkle and bling of some of his American counterparts; particularly when he's dressed in slacks and a woolly jumper. He carries a towel like Vegas-era Elvis. From up front at the barrier, he’s an impressive performer too. I don't see much hip-hop but I could be converted.

Over to Saint Luke's for Sacred Paws and this place makes a great first impression. You come around the corner from Barrowlands and there it is; a standalone deconsecrated church with gothic ornamentation. Inside, the stage has been expanded to accommodate the BBC logistics. The drum riser sits at the foot of a set of organ pipes and between two stained glass windows, each about five metres tall.

The start is delayed and music plays over the PA. Sleeper’s ‘Inbetweener’ followed by REM’s ‘Don't Go Back To Rockville’, one could put up with this. Eventually Liz Kershaw appears to introduce the band. They play danceable music with tight harmonies that would make The Bee Gees sit up and take notice. The guitars and drums unleash rhythms that are somewhere between math rock, Bloc Party and Paul Simon's Graceland. There are moments of early Vampire Weekend punkiness blended with tribal beats and glimpses of The Raincoats. They’ve a debut album coming out and from this display it will be well worth a listen.

Barrowlands has filled up rightly for Californian bassist Thundercat whose latest solo album has taken the world by storm. He's known for his signature six string bass, 50% more than the average, and for his work with acts as diverse as Suicidal Tendencies and Kendrick Lamar. It's too jazzy and self-conscious for my liking. You'll pass fifty similar acts at Glastonbury without pausing for too long. Too much of it sounds like the satirical “Jazz Club” from ‘90s sketch programme The Fast Show.

So with that, it's back to Saint Luke's for Haley. The sun has set so the huge neon Barrowlands sign has been turned on. It's quite a sight. Saint Luke's is lit up in the festival livery too. We spoke to Haley earlier today. This is the start of a European tour for her and she's a big fan of Car Seat Headrest who play this stage later tonight. She's played NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert and Later...With Jools Holland so the 6music Festival will be familiar territory.

It’s difficult to categorise her music. She's creatively restless and mercurial. The set opens with a torch song sung to a drum machine and sweeping guitars while the second is up-tempo rock in the vein of her other band Gramma’s Boyfriend. She's working on the third album of that band as well as a collection of short stories, and that’s on top of her solo stuff. You can read that interview here later in the week.

Described as desert blues Mali's Songhoy Blues are going down a storm in Barrowlands. They've a heavy dub reggae influence making them reminiscent of The Clash. They have fans in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Strokes and it's obvious why. There are a lot of shared influences. Lead singer Aliou Toure dances hypnotically between verses, eliciting uproarious cheering from the audience. Three songs in they are joined by a brass section for a song from their new album. The rolling bass and the horns make it sound like Level 42 with Songhai lyrics. They sing in English too and Toure straps on a Les Paul for an old favourite. They've a following here in Glasgow and it gets a massive reception.

Across the way in Saint Luke's The Lemon Twigs are having an extensive warm up before starting their set. The New York four piece are suffering technical difficulties but manage to overcome them and deliver some infectious harmonies. They mix rock ‘n’ roll, doo wop, and musical theatre. There are moments when it is hard to believe that there are only four of them on stage. Jim Steinman could use these guys for Bat Out Of Hell 4, provided the songs were up to scratch. There's a touch of Freddie Mercury to it too.

Barrowlands is eagerly awaiting tonight's headliner. Bonobo's sixth album, Migration, came out in January. He's someone who has passed me by over the years so I'll be interested to see if he can win over a sceptic, as Future Islands did last night. Over a steady drone the band enter the fray one at a time over the course of several minutes, each adding their own contribution to the cacophony. The six players assemble in a semi-circle at the front of the stage, facing the audience.

After five minutes, there is a break and they begin the next song but there is too little happening in the tunes to hold the interest. This is headphone music being played in a cavernous room. Guest vocalist Szjerdene helps add some variety and interest but it just doesn't work in this environment. It's a pity to end the day in disappointment but with Loyle Carner, Songhoy Blues, Haley, Sacred Paws and The Lemon Twigs, this has still been a good day for music.

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BBC 6music Festival Preview

  • Published in News

The BBC 6music Festival takes place in Glasgow this weekend and Musos’ Guide will be there bringing you updates on social media and day-by-day reports in the aftermath. There’ll be news, reviews, and interviews from the likes of Goldfrapp and Belle & Sebastian. Dark synthpop legends, and Vince Clarke castoffs, Depeche Mode will play Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom venue on Sunday 26 March as part of the three-day BBC 6 Music Festival. They will perform tracks from their new album Spirit along with classic hits. The full festival line-up, which includes Goldfrapp, The Jesus and Mary Chain and Bonobo was revealed by 6 Music presenter Lauren Laverne.

Other performers booked for the festival are Belle and Sebastian, Anna Meredith, Ride, Cate Le Bon and The Shins. Depeche Mode, who formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex, have not played at the 2,000 capacity Barrowland Ballroom for more than 30 years, when they performed as part of their Some Great Reward tour. They’ll be supported on the night by DJ and UNKLE founder James Lavelle.

Festival events will also be held at the O2 Academy, St Luke's and SWG3. There will be a "celebration of live music, conversation, comedy and spoken word" at Glasgow's Tramway on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 March from 11:00 to 17:00, with appearances from Father John Misty, Edwyn Collins, Sinkane, Temples, Emma Pollock, The Wedding Present, John Lydon, Anna Meredith and Ian Rankin.

This is the fourth year of the festival and the first time it has moved north of the border. Tickets for the event go on sale at 10:00 on Friday.

6 Music Festival 2017 Line Up At A Glance;

:: By Night ::

Friday 24 March

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN // RIDE // WARPAINT // SLEAFORD MODS - Barrowland Ballroom

GOLDFRAPP // SPARKS // FUTURE ISLANDS - O2 Academy

CATE LE BON // DUTCH UNCLES // GIRL RAY // DUDS - Saint Luke's

Saturday 25 March

BONOBO // SONGHOY BLUES // THUNDERCAT // LOYLE CARNER - Barrowland Ballroom

THE SHINS // GRANDADDY // HONEYBLOOD - O2 Academy

CAR SEAT HEADREST // THE LEMON TWIGS // HALEY BONAR // SACRED PAWS - Saint Luke's

:: Late ::

OPTIMO // NIGHTWAVE // SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO (DJ SET) // NAN KOLÈ (GQOM OH!) // DUSKY // JUNGLE (DJ SET) // ANDY BUTLER (HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR - DJ SET) // REBECCA VASMANT // LINDSTRØM // MWX // K4CIE // FEMME FRESH // JUNGLEHUSSY

Sunday 26 March

DEPECHE MODE // JAMES LAVELLE [UNKLE] (DJ SET) - Barrowland Ballroom

BELLE & SEBASTIAN // WHITNEY // JULIA JACKLIN - O2 Academy

ANNA MEREDITH // GAIKA // FOREST SWORDS // KADHJA BONET - Saint Luke's

:: By Day ::

Saturday 25 March

CRAIG CHARLES (DJ SET) // SINKANE // TEMPLES // EMMA POLLOCK // JOHN LYDON IN CONVERSATION WITH MARK RADCLIFFE // OPTIMO WORDS & MUSIC WITH NEMONE // MAKING MUSIC IN GLASGOW: PAUL BUCHANAN (THE BLUE NILE), STUART BRAITHWAITE (MOGWAI), EMMA POLLOCK, HAPPY MEALS // EDWYN COLLINS IN CONVERSATION WITH STUART MACONIE + ACOUSTIC SESSION // COMEDY WITH SHAUN KEAVENY: FERN BRADY, SCOTT GIBSON, LIMMY // BBC RADIO 5 LIVE'S FIGHTING TALK

Sunday 26 March

FATHER JOHN MISTY // THE WEDDING PRESENT // BALOJI // FOLK AT THE FESTIVAL WITH MARK RADCLIFFE : YORKSTON/THORNE/KHAN, KING CREOSOTE, JESCA HOOP, HOLLY MACVE // FILM SCREENING: LOST IN FRANCE + Q&A WITH NIALL MCCANN // THE PASTELS IN CONVERSATION WITH GIDEON COE // ANNA MEREDITH IN CONVERSATION WITH MARY ANNE HOBBS // SPOKEN WORD SESSIONS - LITERARY: IAN RANKIN WITH STUART MACONIE // SPOKEN WORD SESSIONS - POETRY: MURRAY LACHLAN YOUNG, VICTORIA MCNULTY, KEVIN P GILDAY & CAT HEPBURN, KOBI ONYAME & RANSOM FA // BELLE & SEBASTIAN IN CONVERSATION WITH CERYS MATTHEWS

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