The Kintyre Songwriters Festival allows local talent to showcase their original music to a supportive audience and the organisers have pulled out all the stops to make the 10th anniversary memorable by expanding to a new weekend with a brand new larger venue in Campbeltown Town Hall, a late license and more musical acts than ever before.
Friday night is rock night at Whisky Macs and top emerging Glasgow rock band The Van Ts will be hitting Campbeltown fresh from their American tour and an appearance at the SXSW festival in Texas. Support comes from Gullion, The Shift, Sleeping With The Enemy and many more.
Saturday in the town hall will see a performance from Pronto Mama, currently the hottest new indie band in Glasgow following their sell out Celtic Connections show at the Oran Mor and their announcement as headliners of the King Tuts stage at the BBC 6 Music Festival. They will be playing tracks from their forthcoming debut album "Any Joy" which will be released on the iconic Electric Honey record label.
They are joined by the legendary Funk Warrior Jesse Rae, who has worked with Parliament/Funkadelic, wrote several of the top disco tunes of the 70s and is sure to get the crowd moving. Singer-songwriter Chrissy Barnacle brings stunning guitar skills and quirky storytelling alongside well-known locals Thom MacEwan, David Bisset and Gareth Croll, while newcomers include Hope Strang, Swanfactory and Chris Annetts.
Sunday will be a slightly more laid back affair with Mull Historical Society flying in from London for a special acoustic performance. Donald MacNeill from Colonsay provides island folk vibes and Glasgow-based singer-songwriter Emme Woods brings a gothic Americana that has seen her compared to Lana Del Rey. Local institution The Gilchristians will perform songs by festival founder Kenneth Gilchrist alongside established local acts like David Fee and The Strunts, Violent Echo and The Twisted Melons and fresh talent like Thomas Jordan and Jenni Martin. Sunday night will also see the long-awaited return of festival favourites A New Hope.
Festival organiser Pete Cockburn said "It's great to see top talent from around the country coming to Campbeltown but allowing the audience to see brand new local talent emerging is what the festival is all about. With 6 hours of music per night and open stages in the afternoon the festival has something for everyone".
Tickets for all events are on sale now from The Town Hall box office, Whisky Macs and ticketweb.co.uk
"Definitely one of the finest gigs I've been involved in. Super people and good times! What more can u ask for?" Graeme Ferguson
"Probably one of the best gigs we have played" Amber Wilson
"Fantastic time. Possibly one of our finest gigs so far" Pete MacLeod
We have three amazing nights of entertainment lined up for your enjoyment
Kicking things off on the 28th April will be the "Rock Night" held in Whisky Macs, where everyone lets their hair down ready to start the weekend off in style. This event is free entry (until 11:30PM)
Then, during the afternoon of 29th April we will be hosting open-mic stages throughout the day. These are open to all, and again are free, so why not come along and give us a song?
In the evening, we host the first of our main concerts in the Town Hall. This is a ticketed event.
And on Sunday the 30th, we do it all again.
2016 has been a breakout year for the Glaswegian surf-rock band having released their EP A Coming of Age to critical acclaim in July. Gaining premiere’s on Huw Stephens BBC Radio Introducing show, Noisey, Consequence of Sound and Clash Magazine the band’s name began to resonate from the UK to the US and beyond. Now, the four-piece look set to pick up exactly where they left off with the release of single Fun Garçon. The track encapsulates all the great elements of a band who exude talent way beyond their youthfulness; relentless guitar washes over the listener like the sound of a crashing wave, as the duel vocals of twin sisters Hannah (guitar, vocals) and Chloe Van Thompson (guitar, vocals) amplify the diner-like retro feel the song already has all fused together beautifully by the tight rhythm section headed up by Joanne Forbes (bass) and Shaun Hood (drums).
The release of Fun Garçon will complete what has been a wonderful year for the band. Support slots with Yuck and Rat Boy, who personally chose the band to play, were followed by a stellar festival season which saw the band play T in The Park’s BBC Introducing stage, Electric Fields, Wide Days and Stag and Dagger. They also picked up further support form the likes of The Scotsman, Beat Surrender, Backseat Mafia, Amazing Radio and BBC Introducing Scotland, where they recently performed a superb live session, and culminated in a nomination at this years Scottish Alternative Music Awards.
Pronto Mama are a past post-modern bug-eyed beatnik group from Glasgow who are just as confused as anyone else. They are soulful. They believe irreverent wordplay, clean musicianship and a dirty dedication to song-writing is how you do it. The music is built around the songs written by Marc Rooney and Ciaran McEneny, who in coughing copy-cat fashion opted for McEneny/Rooney. Keeping it alphabetical preserves good feeling and the over-arching idea you have of yourself, maybe.
Pronto Mama have a split personality disorder and should probably have never have went to University. The drums are schizophrenic. The bass has an eating problem. There are too many keyboards and their parents can’t tell which is which anymore. The horns were made in Britain so really there is nothing to worry about. Electric guitars feature occasionally but get terribly lonely and morose because they think their girlfriend is going to leave them. She did. They are writing songs about it right now.
Recording Artist/ Producer/Music Video Artist/Director lives in The Scottish Borders. Scotland Ambassador for The Funk Music Hall of Fame and Exhibition Center Dayton Ohio USA
Best known for his song “Inside Out” which was a top 3 UK hit for Odyssey and reached number 12 in the US R&B chart, Jesse spent a decade in the US working with funk and pop legends like Bernie Worrell of Parliament/Funkadelic and Talking Heads, Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates, Roger Troutman of Zapp, Buddy Miles from Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsies and jazz guitarist Hiram Bullock.
Chrissy Barnacle writes honest and offbeat alt-folk songs about, among other things, hazelnuts, cannibal rats and the impossibility of love.
Colin MacIntyre - who releases under the pseudonym ‘Mull Historical Society’ - is one of the UK’s most respected songwriters & performers. A multi-instrumentalist, programmer and producer, he is now also an Award-winning novelist, 2016 saw MacIntyre release his seventh MHS album to date: ‘Dear Satellite’. So far he has achieved two Top 20 albums and four Top 40 singles. In 2015 his debut novel, ‘The Letters of Ivor Punch’, won the prestigious Edinburgh International Book Festival First Book Award.
2015 also saw MacIntyre release a Best Of album to mark 15 years of MHS, and sign an exclusive music publishing deal with BMG/Xtra Mile Music in a landmark deal which includes new MHS albums and his entire back catalogue, as well as his new electro pop project
Born on Colonsay in 1953, Donald MacNeill has lived and worked on Colonsay for most of his life. Influenced by the Gaelic culture he grew up in, and the external influences from beyond the Island shores he has been chronicling island life in song for over 40 years. In 2011 he recorded the critically aclaimed album "Fathers and Sons" in collaboration with Italian rock band Lowlands
Donald is writing songs describing Colonsay's recent history, and working on audio visual presentations in collaboration with Colonsay and Oransay Heritage Trust and musicians Seumas and Hughie McNeill.
Hailing from Clackmannanshire, near Stirling, Emme Woods is the solo project of singer/songwriter who is now based in Glasgow. Now after trading in acoustic folk for a Fender Jaguar and the hopes of becoming the guitar playing Stevie Nicks, a new single release 'I Don't Drink To Forget' is the signs of a new musical direction. Woods has music featured in 'The Space Between' [Film] Soundtrack produced by Amy Jo Johnson [Power Rangers, Felicity, Flashpoint]. Emme is currently writing and performing with Barrie James O-Neill [Kassidy] and plan to release music together in 2017.
Woods previously performed live with a regularly revolving pool of musicians under the moniker Something, Someone, who’ve featured on Roddy Hart’s BBC Radio Scotland show, Amazing Radio with Jim Gellatly and appeared live on STV Glasgow. She has supported the likes of 2015 Scottish Album of the Year winner Kathryn Joseph and performed at The Wickerman, Belladrum Tartan Heart, Dougie MacLean’s Perthshire Amber festivals. Woods kick started 2016 at the World’s largest winter festival Celtic Connections, and is set for a landmark year.
Besides the remote mainland location, and the sense of common purpose amongst artists, the festival has several other unique characteristics which make it supremely artist-friendly. It is a grass-roots cultural event that focuses on artistic development and to date has not sought grant funding of any kind. All organisers, graphic designers, web developers, local performers and sound crew give their time for free.
All performing local musicians are given free entry to all events to encourage mutual support, collaboration and networking.
A seminar programme allows locals to meet guest artists and learn about writing, performing and the industry, while open stage events provide a feeder to the more formal showcases. Each performer receives a unique artist pack with exclusive festival souvenirs including a CD of the best of the live performances from the previous year.
Besides the remote mainland location, and the sense of common purpose amongst artists, the festival has several other unique characteristics which make it supremely artist-friendly.
It is a grass-roots cultural event that focuses on artistic development and to date has not sought grant funding of any kind. All organisers, graphic designers, web developers, local performers and sound crew give their time for free.
A seminar programme allows locals to meet guest artists and learn about writing, performing and the industry, while open stage events provide a feeder to the more formal showcases. Each performer receives a unique artist pack with exclusive festival souvenirs including a CD of the best of the live performances from the previous year.
The focus of the festival is to showcase the songwriting talent of Kintyre, however we also invite guest artists from outside of Kintyre to attend. Established in 2008, we have been bringing together a like-minded group of individuals to not only perform, but take part in organising the festival.
Below are the posters from previous events. Hover over them to find out the guest artists for that year.
Louis Abbott, Finn LeMarinel, Mayor Stubbs, Shanine Gallagher, Martha Ffion, Marc Rooney
Colin Macleod, Charlotte Brimner, Miss Irenie Rose, Kathryn Joseph, Angus Munro, Black And White Boy
Pete Macleod, CS Buchan, Zoe Bestel, Scott Hutchison, Siobhan Wilson, Tommy Reilly, Sophie Rogers
Rachel Sermanni, Emma's Imagination, Colin Train, Megan D
Billy Bates, Duncan McCrone, Panda Su, Macanta, Erin Todd, Pol Stevenson
Dave Arcari, Ivan Drever, Robin Adams, Adriana Spina, Emily Rose Condon
Lyndsey Cockwell, Donnie Nicolson, Amber Wilson
Pippa Drysdale, Lisa Polson
Lisa Polson
We're always looking for new artists
If you'd be interested in performing at a future event, let us know.
Be sure to include a short biography and any links to your music should you have them.
