June 19, 2013: Adam Stafford’s song Please is free to download – it’s taken from his second album Imaginary Walls Collapse, out on July 15.
Arches are previewing their debut Broken Clocks EP with snippets of the tracks on YouTube ahead of its release on August 11.
BrewDog are opening up their post-AGM live music bash at Aberdeen’s AECC on June 22 to the public, with the £5 entry fee getting you Fatherson, United Fruit, The Little Kicks and Kitty Daisy Lewis.
Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival has sold out its 15,800 capacity in record time, more than six weeks before the event on August 2-3.
June 18, 2013: The View have released Seven Year Setlist, a greatest hits compilation which also features new songs Dirty Magazine, Kill Kyle and Standard, which comes with this video.
Glasvegas have unveiled the video (introduced by William Shatner) for new single If via NME.com - it’s taken from their third album Later…When The TV Turns To Static, out on September 2.
June 17, 2013: Four SAY Award nominees are playing free live sets at HMV Glasgow Argyle Street this week – Stanley Odd and The Twilight Sad are on June 19, while RM Hubbert and Admiral Fallow are on June 20, the day of the ceremony. Each gig runs from 12-2pm.
Mogwai will perform their Zidane soundtrack album live at Glasgow’s 220 Broomielaw on July 21.
Applications are open for songwriters to apply for The Gathering, an annual competition run by Burnsong. Entry deadline is June 30.
Alphabetical Order Orchestra have unveiled new song Butterflies.
The New Mendicants – a project formed by Norman Blake and Joe Pernice – release their debut Australia 2013 EP via One Little Indian on July 8. It includes covers of each of their other bands – Teenage Fanclub’s I Don’t Want Control Of You and Pernice Brothers’ Amazing Glow, as well as a version of This Time by INXS. The duo play Glasgow’s Mono on July 15.
June 14, 2013: CHVRCHES will release their debut album The Bones Of What You Believe on September 23. They have also unveiled a video for single Gun.
Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, Aidan Moffat, Eugene Kelly, Emma Pollock and Remember Remember will play at Glasgow’s Platform on July 27 to support the campaign to save the Sighthill Stone Circle from demolition. You can read more about the issue on The Skinny.
June 13, 2013: Friends In America are streaming Quietly Quietly from their forthcoming debut record What It Is To Be. Its release coincides with the band’s launch gig at Glasgow’s Broadcast on June 26.
Friends In America have also been added to the Wickerman Festival bill on July 26-27 as part of the GoNorth Festival tour line-up along with Friday acts Three Blind Wolves, Prides, Blood Relatives, Hector Bizerk, Lidh, Pinact, Be Like Pablo, Eugene Twist, The Deadline Shakes, Plastic Animals, The Velveteen Saints and Maask; Saturday additions are Casual Sex, The Yawns, Garden Of Elks, Willie Campbell, Alarm Bells, The OK Social Club, Book Group and Jemma Tweedie.
Shambles Miller has released his new single Deadpool on a mini-comic which contains a download code. It’s all explained in his Vine video.
Rick Redbeard and RM Hubbert are playing a free gig at Mugdock Country Park bandstand on June 16 from 2pm-4pm.
June 12, 2013: Belladrum have announced a host of new additions to its festival line-up on August 2-3 including Alabama 3, Malcolm Middleton, We Are The Ocean, Baby Strange, Withered Hand, The Boy Who Trapped The Sun, Anderson McGinty Webster Ward and Fisher, Shutter, Vasquez, Davy Cowan, Woodenbox, The Oxides and Be Like Pablo.
Young Aviators have unveiled a video for new single Forward Thinking via Clash, taken from their debut album Self Help.
Nina Nesbitt has a video for the title track of her Way In The World EP, out on July 22.
Capitals also have a video for A Spectre Is Haunting Europe.
The Grand Gestures have revealed new track Regret Is A Dish Best Served Cold featuring RM Hubbbert, taken from the collective’s forthcoming album Second, out on September 8.
June 11, 2013: All five of Aereogramme’s Acoustic Tour CDs have been put on Bandcamp. The collection features 23 mostly acoustic tracks, 10 of which are unreleased.
Highlights of various performances from last weekend’s RockNess, including Fatherson, The Vaccines, The Futureheads and Alabama 3, are on the Festivo YouTube page.
Werd (SOS) has unveiled a video for My State Of Mind, taken from his Untitled Scot album.
June 10, 2013: New releases include Boards Of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest; Algernon Doll – Citalo-pop; Poor Things – Hurricane Poor Things EP; The Birthday Suit – Covered Up; KT Tunstall – Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon.
Early-bird tickets are on sale for The Riverside Festival, a new outdoor dance event being held on the banks of Glasgow’s River Clyde on August 24, organised by Electric Frog and Pressure. Acts confirmed for the three stages are Boys Noize, Len Faki, Josh Wink, Slam and Optimo.
June 7, 2013: Bwani Junction have unveiled new song Papa Candy.
The full line-up for the BBC Introducing Stage at T in the Park is The Recovery!, Roman Nose, The LaFontaines, Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun, PAWS, Baby Strange, Fat Goth, Discopolis, Departures, Saint Max and the Fanatics, Animal Noise, Astroid Boys, Story Books, Propellers, The Adelines, Emily Burns, Model Aeroplanes, Big Beat Bronson, Steel Trees and The Lake Poets.
Herculean have released their debut EP The Falling Thunder.
June 6, 2013: Discopolis will headline the BBC Introducing Stage at T in the Park on July 13. TITP have also unveiled a promo video featuring a ‘fan’ interviewing Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit, who have released their Late March, Death March EP – you can hear the alternate version of its title track on SoundCloud.
June 5, 2013: The Great Hip Hop Hoax, a documentary about two Scots who fooled the music industry into thinking they were American rappers (and the subject of a feature on The Pop Cop in March), will be shown at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, with screenings at Cineworld on June 26 and June 27 and Odeon Wester Hailes on June 28.
June 4, 2013: BMX Bandits documentary Serious Drugs is finally out on DVD after its original release date was held up by several months of production delays. You can order it via Bandcamp.
goNORTH takes place in Inverness on June 5-6 with daytime seminars and evening showcase gigs, all free to attend. Check out the festival programme (which includes Rachel Sermanni playing the HIE Opening Reception at 6pm on Wednesday), the Independent Label Fair from 12pm-4.30pm on Thursday and the live music schedule which includes a Scottish Bloggers Showcase part-curated by The Pop Cop featuring Plum, The Yawns, Friends In America, and Garden Of Elks.
June 3, 2013: New albums out today include Quickbeam – Quickbeam; Camera Obscura – Desire Lines; Capitals – A National Service; Birdhead – Pleasure Centre.
Galleries will release their debut album No Miracles on July 29, followed by a launch gig at Glasgow’s Bloc on July 30. Click here to get one of the tracks, Great Comets (of 1910), for free.
June 2, 2013: Vigo Thieves are celebrating after winning this year’s MD Cup football tournament, beating The Twilight Sad team 4-0 in the final.
May 31, 2013: The 10 shortlisted albums for The SAY Award are: Admiral Fallow – Tree Bursts In Snow; Django Django – Django Django; Human Don’t Be Angry – Human Don’t Be Angry; Karine Polwart – Traces; Lau – Race The Loser; Meursault – Something For The Weakened; Paul Buchanan – Mid Air; RM Hubbert – Thirteen Lost & Found; Stanley Odd – Reject; The Twilight Sad – No One Can Ever Know (public vote). The winner of the £20,000 first prize will be announced on June 20.
Capitals debut album A National Service is streaming via Glasgow Podcart ahead of its release on June 3.
The Enemy, The Beat, Roddy Woomble, The Moulettes are the first acts confirmed for Loopallu in Ullapool on September 20-21.
May 30, 2013: Pre-sale tickets are available for Sigur Ros at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on November 18.
Admiral Fallow will play Edinburgh’s Queens Hall on August 13.
Washington Irving have released a video for You’ve Seen The Last Of Me featuring footage from their most recent UK tour.
May 29, 2013: The third annual MD Cup, a five-a-side football tournament for Scottish music types run by Miniature Dinosaurs, takes place at Stirling’s Forthbank from 2pm on June 1. The 10 teams competing for the trophy (won for the past two years by We Were Promised Jetpacks) are Miniature Dinosaurs, Admiral Fallow, Brown Bear & The Bandits, The Twilight Sad, Fluorescent Hearts, Vigo Thieves, Washington Irving, Pronto Mama, John Wean and DF Concerts.
We’re Only Afraid Of NYC have released their debut album Patterns.
Scarlet Shift launch their debut album Found with a gig at Glasgow’s Arches on June 1. Lead single Clouds features guest vocals from Vukovi’s Janine Shilstone.
Kevin Harper is streaming two bonus tracks from the limited edition version of his debut album Kingdom Of Wires.
May 28, 2013: CHVRCHES are streaming fantastic new single Gun, released on July 15.
Kitty The Lion have changed their name to Blood Relatives and unveiled a video for Dead Hip, taken from their debut album, out in September.
Camera Obscura’s fifth album Desire Lines is streaming in full via NPR ahead of its release on June 3.
Free tickets are available for the City of Stars launch party featuring Bwani Junction, Rise Kagona (The Bhundu Boys), Auntie Flo and writer John Lwanda at Glasgow’s Arches on May 30 by emailing guestlist@lakeofstars.org to confirm attendance.
May 27, 2013: The SAY Award public vote runs until midnight tonight, offering the chance to pick your favourite album from the longlist of 20. The record with the most votes will secure an automatic place on the shortlist of 10, with the other nine titles being chosen by a judging panel.
New albums out today include Woodenbox – End Game, Sparrow And The Workshop – Murderopolis and The Pastels – Slow Summits.
People, Places, Maps are to split up. They will release their final batch of songs before bowing out with a hometown gig in Dunfermline on July 26.
May 25, 2013: The first wave of acts confirmed to play the Belladrum festival’s GoNorth Seedlings Stage on August 2-3 has been announced – Cleavers, Prides, Roman Nose, Blood Relatives, Red Ronson, Ranald, Dylan Tierney, Crystal Seagulls, Three Blind Wolves, Garden Of Elks, The Oxides, Fat Goth, St Max And The Fanatics, Fake Major, State Of Flux, Bear Arms, Little Fire and Lionel.
Sarah Hayes’ debut EP, Mainspring, is streaming on Bandcamp ahead of its release on May 28. She has Glasgow gigs scheduled for The Old Hairdressers on May 29 and The Wee Chill festival at SWG3 on June 29.
Boards Of Canada have unveiled new song Reach For The Dead, taken from forthcoming album Tomorrow’s Harvest, out on June 10.
May 24, 2013: The line-up for King Tut’s Summer Nights, which runs in the Glasgow venue from July 15 to August 1, has been revealed. The headliners are The Recovery!, Sunshine Social, TeKlo, Alarm Bells, Taffy, Sienna, So Many Animal Calls, Michael Cassidy, The OK Social Club, SOS, Departures, Fake Major, Prides, Waiting For Go and Arches. Other acts worth checking out include Cherri Fosphate, The Clock, The Youth And Young, Campfires In Winter, Kevin Harper, Discopolis and Father Sculptor. There’s also a Pop Cop DJ set on July 25.
Quickbeam song Grace is available for free download – it’s taken from the band’s self-titled debut album, out on June 3.
Giant Fang has unveiled a video for Aqualung.
May 23, 2013: A Music Open Day is being held at Aberdeen’s Lemon Tree on May 26 with a programme that includes three music industry panels, a soundcheck workshop and live music from Revere, Uniform, Leanne Smith and Marionettes. Free tickets to the evening show will be available to anyone who attends the free seminars during the day.
The Wickerman Festival has added Admiral Fallow, Chic ft Nile Rodgers, Dreadzone, Waylayers and Greg Wilson to its line-up on July 26-27.
Algernon Doll track Anti-them is available for free download – it’s taken from second album Citalo-pop, due for release on June 10.
May 22, 2013: The Basement Coffee House in Ayr has been shortlisted by NME as Scotland’s representative in a public vote to find the best small venue in Britain. The 80-capacity venue opened eight months ago.
Tomorrow’s second instalment of the Dewar House Experimental Batch series sees Edinburgh’s Caves host free live music from Kid Canaveral, The Last Battle and Adam Ross (Randolph’s Leap). There will be 550 tickets available on the door on a first come, first served basis.
May 21, 2013: Camera Obscura song Fifth In Line To The Throne is available for free download in exchange for an email address. It’s taken from the band’s fifth album Desire Lines, out on June 3, and pre-ordering it will get you another track, Do It Again.
Book Group have released their debut EP, Homeward Sound.
Sparrow And The Workshop’s third album Murderopolis, out on May 27, is streaming in full via DIY - one of the songs, The Faster You Spin, is also available for free download.
May 20, 2013: Garden Of Elks’ debut EP, Extended Play, is available to buy and stream.
The Clock have a video for their excellent song Everything’s Eventual, which is released on May 28. They have Glasgow gigs lined up at Broadcast on June 1 and Roxy 171 on June 20.
May 18, 2013: The 16-strong T Break line-up for T in the Park on July 12-14 has been unveiled - Arches, Blindfolds, DARC, Fake Major, Hector Bizerk, Honeyblood, Machines In Heaven, Michael Cassidy, Poor Things, Pronto Mama, Seams, Sunshine Social, The Merrylees, The Velveteen Saints, Vasa, Waiting For Go.
Anna Sweeney has announced she is taking a full break from music and has cancelled her scheduled appearance at Wickerman in July as she relocates to Reading for work in June. Another musician swapping Scotland for England is Plum, who is moving to Brighton in July.
May 17, 2013: The stage times have been released for the 35 acts playing Stag & Dagger across seven Glasgow venues on May 18.
Franz Ferdinand’s fourth album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action will be released on August 26 – check out this brief trailer.
Frightened Rabbit recorded a cover of Best Coast’s The Only Place for Australian radio show Triple J. The band release their Late March, Death March EP on June 2.
The Mouse That Ate The Cat song When I Wake Up is available for free in exchange for your email address.
The title track of Adam Stafford’s forthcoming second album Imaginary Walls Collapse is streaming here.
May 16, 2013: The Discopolis remix of Bwani Junction single Civil War is available to download for free from SoundCloud.
Born To Be Wide’s next seminar at Edinburgh’s Electric Circus on May 30 is on the topic of goNORTH, with a panel featuring broadcaster Vic Galloway, goNORTH duo Amanda Millen and Alex Smith and Chasing Owls frontman Ben Sunderland explaining how musicians and delegates can get the most out of the annual Inverness convention. Tickets are free.
AC/DC have backed a campaign to erect a bronze statue of their former frontman Bon Scott in his hometown of Kirriemuir in Angus. Community music group DD8 Music hope to raise £50,000 via Kickstarter by June 5.
Kite And The Crane’s debut EP, Found In The End, is out on Bandcamp.
May 15, 2013: Biffy Clyro have a video for their new single Opposite.
The View are playing a one-off show at Glasgow’s King Tut’s on June 12 for the Sunday Mail Centenary Fund.
Adam Stafford is launching his second album Imaginary Walls Collapse with a gig at Glasgow’s Glad Cafe on July 5 with support from Siobhan Wilson and Robbie Lesiuk.
May 14, 2013: The Wee Chill will mark its 10th anniversary with a two-stage bill at Glasgow’s SWG3 on June 29 for the West End Festival. The line-up features Malcolm Middleton, James Yorkston with Sparrow & The Workshop (collaborative debut), Aidan Moffat (spoken word), Three Blind Wolves, Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire, Miaoux Miaoux, Fake Major.
Tommy Perman, who recently left FOUND, has unveiled his new solo project ComputerScheisse – check out These Beautiful Minds, the title track of his debut EP, out on July 15 through Phuturelabs.
RockNess have announced more acts for the festival on June 7-9 including Fenech-Soler, Fatherson, Public Service Broadcasting, The Boy Who Trapped The Sun, Niteworks and Jemma Tweedie.
Too Many Fireworks Records will donate all profits from sales of Variations Of Chopin, an album of contemporary interpretations of the composer’s music, to the fundraising campaign for drummer Robbie Cooper, whose cancer fight was documented on The Pop Cop.
May 13, 2013: New releases out now include Young Aviators’ debut album Self Help, Eagleowl’s debut album This Silent Year, and Cherri Fosphate’s new Burning Youth EP.
May 10, 2013: The live schedule for goNORTH in Inverness on June 5-6 has been unveiled – it includes a Scottish Bloggers Showcase hosted by The Pop Cop, Peenko and Song, by Toad featuring a four-band bill of Garden Of Elks, Friends In America, The Yawns and Flutes.
May 9, 2013: The documentary Hunting For Remoteness details The Magnetic North’s visit to Orkney – where frontman Erland Cooper is from – for the making of their debut album. It will be released on June 24 alongside a reissue of that record, Orkney: Symphony Of The Magnetic North. You can watch the trailer here.
Alphabetical Order Orchestra are streaming their first song, The Architect. The band is made up of My Latest Novel members Chris Deveney, Gary Deveney and Ryan King.
A Band Called Quinn have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support performances of their multimedia show Biding Time (remix) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.
May 8, 2013: Three Blind Wolves have released their new album, Sing Hallelujah For The Old Machine.
May 7, 2013: Adam Stafford’s new single Please is streaming online – it’s taken from his second album Imaginary Walls Collapse, out in July.
May 6, 2013: The T in the Park Roadshow is bringing free live music to Scottish towns this month – it stops at Glasgow today for The View at Kelvingrove Park (1pm) and Buchanan Street (3.30pm); Edinburgh on May 10 for Vigo Thieves at Queen Margaret University’s Student Union (noon), Dundee on May 11 for The LaFontaines at Overgate Centre (noon); Aberdeen on May 12 for Sienna at Aberdeen University (noon); and Ayr on May 18 for The Redettes at Ayr Railway Station (noon).
Fake Major have a video for Fiction, a song on their Have Plenty Of Fun EP. Fellow Comets & Cartwheels artist Finn LeMarinel has a new video for Garden, taken from his debut album Violence.
Capitals have released a sampler of all the tracks on their debut album A National Service, out on June 3.
May 3, 2013: Episode 11 of BBC ALBA’s Rapal music TV programme is on iPlayer and features Cara Mitchell, Brown Bear & The Bandits, Three Blind Wolves and Anna Sweeney.
Steve Mason has accused Samsung of plagiarising the video for The Beta Band’s 2004 single Assessment for their new television advert. Both show historical figures running down a beach and helicopters circling overhead.
May 2, 2013: Young Aviators’ debut album Self Help is streaming on Electric Honey’s SoundCloud ahead of its release on May 13.
May 1, 2013: Travis have a video for Where You Stand, the first single and title track of the band’s seventh album, out on August 19.
Fake Major’s debut EP, Have Plenty Of Fun, is available for download.
My Latest Novel have gone on hiatus, with three of the members forming Alphabetical Order Orchestra - look out for music from them next week.
Kobi Onyame has a video for his new single The Real Part 2.
Trapped In Kansas have unveiled new song Collapse Rebuild.
Rob St John’s new AA single Charcoal Black And The Bonny Grey/Shallow Brown is out now.
April 30, 2013: Boards Of Canada will release Tomorrow’s Harvest, their first new album in eight years, on June 10.
Quickbeam song Immersed is available to download for free from DIY – you can also listen to snippets from every track of the band’s self-titled debut album, out on June 3.
Discopolis have unveiled the video for their new song Falling (Committed To Sparkle Motion), out on May 5.
April 29, 2013: The SAY Award will stream each of the 20 longlisted albums for 24 hours through their app, starting today with Miaoux Miaoux’s Light Of The North. You can read The Pop Cop’s feature here.
Panda Su’s new song MAPS is available to buy now on Amazon, while Bwani Junction’s new single Civil War is on iTunes.
The Boy Who Trapped The Sun has a video for new song California ahead of his May tour in Scotland.
The Pastels have a video for Check My Heart, taken from their forthcoming new album Slow Summits, out on May 27.
Frank Turner covered Frightened Rabbit’s The Modern Leper for Jim Gellatly’s In:Demand Uncut session.
April 27, 2013: Episode 10 of BBC ALBA’s Rapal music TV programme is on iPlayer and features two fantastic unreleased songs by Beerjacket as well as The Holy Ghosts, The Merrylees and Ray McCartney.
Travis, Johnny Marr, Hurts, James Skelly, Jack Savoretti, Willy Mason, Foy Vance, Steve Mason, Milo Greene and DIIV have been added to the T in the Park line-up, which has now been separated into day-by-day splits.
Edinburgh venue The Forest Cafe, which has been banned from hosting live music due to council restrictions, are looking for acts to play their new monthly event, the Forest Big Night Out at Old St Paul’s, which launches on May 23. Email foresteventsedinburgh@gmail.com for details.
April 26, 2013: The Burns an’ a’ that! Festival will feature live music as part of Weekend in the Park at Ayr’s Belleisle Park on May 25-26. Rose Parade, Little Fire, Pronto Mama and The Bluebells are among the free acts; Justin Currie + Rachel Sermanni play a ticketed gig on May 26.
Other newly-announced concerts on sale include Lana Del Rey + Kassidy at Glasgow’s SECC on May 16 (replacing her two dates at the Academy on May 15/16) Bombay Bicycle Club at Edinburgh’s Liquid Room on June 7, Belle & Sebastian at Inverness’ Ironworks on July 1, We Are Scientists at Glasgow’s Oran Mor on July 29, Kid Canaveral + Ballboy at Edinburgh’s Liquid Room on August 10.
Kid Canaveral + The Last Battle + Adam Ross (Randolph’s Leap) also play a free show at Edinburgh’s Caves on May 23 with 300 tickets on the door on a first come, first served basis as part of a Dewar’s event.
April 25, 2013: Seasick Steve, The Pigeon Detectives, Julie Fowlis, Meursault, Washington Irving, PAWS and The LaFontaines have been added to the Belladrum Festival line-up on August 2-3.
Washington Irving have released Palomides Volume 1, the first half of their debut album.
The View are streaming Kill Kyle, one of two new songs on their compilation album Seven Year Setlist, out on June 17.
April 24, 2013: The showcase list of artists picked to play goNORTH in Inverness on June 5-6 has been announced. For the third consecutive year there will be a bloggers’ showcase stage hosted by The Pop Cop, Peenko and Song, by Toad. More details to follow soon.
Kilmarnock’s Dirty Weekender will feature 45 acts over three venues on May 31 to June 2 including Fridge Magnets, Bwani Junction, The Ok Social Club, Ross Leighton (Fatherson) and Chris Helme.
Poor Things’ new single Morgan is free to download – it’s taken from their Hurricane Poor Things EP, out on June 10.
Similarly, Cherri Fosphate are giving away Wool from their Burning Youth EP, out on May 11.
April 23, 2013: Glasvegas will play Aberdeen’s Garage on June 27, Edinburgh’s Liquid Room on June 28 and Glasgow’s ABC on June 29.
Reverieme’s second album With Up So Floating is out now.
Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire have announced they will release their self-titled new album through Middle Of Nowhere Records in July.
Herculean have a video for Red Weather, taken from The Falling Thunder EP, out on June 7.
April 22, 2013: Stag & Dagger have added Phosphorescent, Rachel Sermanni, Randolph’s Leap, French Wives, Fake Major, Prides, Chris Devotion & The Expectations and Donald Macdonald & The Islands to the Glasgow festival’s line-up on May 18.
Episode 9 of BBC ALBA’s Rapal music TV programme is on iPlayer and features Brown Bear & The Bandits, Cara Mitchell, The Open Day Rotation and John Wean.
Texas have unveiled a video for The Conversation, the title track from their first album in eight years, out on May 20.
Bronagh & The Boys have released their debut single Green, taken from A Young Heart EP, out on May 19.
April 19, 2013: Kassidy’s Barrie-James O’Neill and his girlfriend Lana Del Rey have recorded a cover of Summer Wine (made famous by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood), backed with a video featuring handheld footage of the pair in Los Angeles.
My Bloody Valentine, Trash Talk, Fidlar and The VirginMarys have been added to the T in the Park line-up.
April 18, 2013: Pre-sale tickets are available for Regina Spektor at Glasgow’s Academy on August 20 and Kings Of Leon at the ciry’s Bellahouston Park on August 15, the latter being part of the Glasgow Summer Sessions.
The Mirror Trap have unveiled a video for Westminster Ghost Story, the first track to be taken from their second album Stay Young, due out this autumn.
April 17, 2013: Midnight Lion have changed their name to Prides and expanded to a trio with the addition of Kitty The Lion’s Callum Wiseman on guitar and vocals. To coincide with the announcement, they have unveiled wonderfully addictive new song Out Of The Blue.
T in the Park have added Local Natives, Lucy Rose, Swim Deep, Theme Park, Lewis Watson and Sons & Lovers to the festival on July 12-14.
April 16, 2013: Doune The Rabbit Hole have announced that this year’s festival will take place at the new location of Cardross Estate at Port of Menteith in Stirlingshire on August 22-25. The line-up features Clinic, Meursault, Rachel Sermanni, Alasdair Roberts, Washington Irving, The Pastels, PAWS, Beerjacket, Rick Redbeard, We Are The Physics, Randolph’s Leap, Siobhan Wilson, Panda Su, Shambles Miller, Jo Mango and TeenCanteen. See here for full day-by-day splits.
April 15, 2013: James and Twin Atlantic will headline the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival on August 2-3. Other acts on the bill include Admiral Fallow, Fatherson, Rick Redbeard, Noisettes, The Horrors and King Charles.
April 13, 2013: Edinburgh’s live music scene has suffered yet another setback with Forest Cafe having its live music licence reviewed, causing the immediate postponement of gigs there, starting with the Solas Showcase scheduled for today.
Newsnight Scotland featured a report on the music industry on April 10, prompted by the Wide Days convention in Edinburgh. Watch the segment on BBC iPlayer, with contributions from Stanley Odd’s Dave Hook, Plum’s Shona Maguire, Chemikal Underground’s Stewart Henderson, Wide Days organiser Olaf Furniss and journalist Nicola Meighan. The interviews were conducted by Galleries drummer Andrew Black.
April 12, 2013: Episode 8 of BBC ALBA’s Rapal music TV programme is on iPlayer and features Niteworks, The Holy Ghosts, Miaoux Miaoux and The Merrylees.
Eagleowl have unveiled Not Over, the first offering from debut album This Silent Year, which will come out through Fence Records on May 13.
Dear Lara, aka David Lan, has released his debut EP Plans as a free download.
April 11, 2013: Capitals’ debut album A National Service will come out on June 3, with those who pre-order it (from just £5) getting an immediate download of any of the record’s 11 tracks, one of which is Reliever.
The View will release singles compilation Seven Year Setlist on June 17 – the album features two new songs, Dirty Magazine and Kill Kyle.
Several Scottish acts have posted tracks from forthcoming new albums – check out Washington Irving – Wandering Wits, United Fruit – Taste I Can’t Give Up and Hector Bizerk – Orchestrated Madness.
April 10, 2013: Promoters Cry Parrot will host their 6th Birthday Party at Glasgow’s Glue Factory on April 26 with a gig featuring Sacred Paws, Hector Bizerk, Tut Vu Vu, Ultimate Thrush, Ela Orleans and Sad City.
Three Blind Wolves are previewing Slow Summer Deer, taken from their Sing Hallelujah For The Old Machine album, released on May 6.
Where We Lay Our Heads single Keanu Leaves is out now.
Great Cop are giving away new song Stop Hiding as a free download.
April 9, 2013: Mogwai guitarist John Cummings uploaded a photo of himself at Glasgow’s George Square yesterday where more than 300 people gathered, inspired by his band’s 2011 song George Square Thatcher Death Party.
Hi-Arts, which promotes arts in the Highlands and Islands, has issued notices of redundancies to all 10 of its staff in the wake of funding cuts.
April 8, 2013: Fridge Magnets will play a ‘silent gig’ at a secret outdoor location in Glasgow on May 15 (6pm) – tickets can be won through organisers Deezer. The band will perform inside a mobile perspex box with the 300-capacity audience able to hear them through headphones.
Kassidy have released new mini-album People Like Me.
April 7, 2013: Song Of Return have launched their Singles Club project on Bandcamp through which they’ll be selling unreleased tracks. Month 1 contains Torn Between The Tides (see video) and Enough.
Cairn String Quartet, who were profiled on The Pop Cop in March, have unveiled their orchestral cover of Kid Canaveral’s Low Winter Sun.
Travis have made new song Another Guy available to download for free through their website. It also has a video.
April 6, 2013: The following 16 HMV and Fopp stores in Scotland will remain open following Hilco’s takeover – HMV: Aberdeen, Ayr, Dundee, East Kilbride, Edinburgh Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh Princes St, Glasgow Argyle St, Glasgow Buchanan St, Glasgow Fort, Inverness, Livingston, Stirling; Fopp: Edinburgh; Glasgow Union St; Glasgow Byres Rd.
Bwani Junction have a video for new single Civil War, out on April 29.
Rachel Sermanni and Emma’s Imagination are among the acts playing the Kintyre Songwriters Festival in Campbeltown on May 24-26.
Quickbeam will launch their debut album with a gig at the disused Govanhill Baths in Glasgow on May 31. They will be supported by Fake Major whose debut Have Plenty Of Fun EP comes out on May 1.
April 5, 2013: Spotify director Mark Williamson will give the keynote speech at next week’s Wide Days event in Edinburgh as part of a session on the business of streaming. The full running order is here.
Episode 7 of BBC ALBA’s Rapal music TV programme is on iPlayer and features Anna Sweeney, Cara Mitchell, Discopolis and Paul McGranaghan.
Dot JR has uploaded new song Waterfalls to SoundCloud.
April 4, 2013: The Tiree Music Festival will take place in An Talla on July 20-21 with a bill that includes Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire, Washington Irving, The Youth And Young and Brown Bear & The Bandits.
Galleries’ fantastic new single Midnight Rush is out now.
Casual Sex have made a video for their debut single Stroh 80. They play Glasgow’s Nice ‘n’ Sleazy on April 5 and Oran Mor on April 7.
April 3, 2013: Comlongon Rocks have added a third day of live music to its line-up at Comlongon Castle in Dumfries & Galloway on May 17-19. The festival’s line-up features Three Blind Wolves, Emma’s Imagination, The OK Social Club and Saint Max.
Chem 19 are offering three days of free recording time to five Scottish acts through their Creative Scotland Demo Fund. To apply, musicians (under-25s only) should email a link to some demos and a bio to info@chem19.co.uk with the subject Chem19 Demo Fund Enquiry before April 26. Chosen acts will also take part in a live showcase.
Siobhan Wilson + Julia And The Doogans + Jo Mango will play Glasgow’s Roxy 171 on June 26 as part of the Scottish Fiction Presents: Aye Tunes vs Peenko night at the West End Festival.
April 2, 2013: Acts confirmed for The Insider Festival in Aviemore on June 21-23 include Rachel Sermanni, Karine Polwart, Hector Bizerk, Urstan, David Thomas Broughton, Miaoux Miaoux, Pete Roe, Jonnie Common, Adam Holmes And The Embers and Sparrow And The Workshop.
Up-and-coming acts can apply to play the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Stornoway on July 17-20 through their One Step Further competition which is open to musicians aged 18-25. To enter, artists need to email office@hebceltfest.com with the subject HebCelt New Talent Submissions and include links to three songs, a biog and high-res photo. Closing date is April 12.
April 1, 2013: Quickbeam’s self-titled debut album will be released through Comets & Cartwheels on June 3 – check out the video for lead track Immersed which will be available as a free download on April 29.
We Were Promised Jetpacks will headline the second night of the three-day Solas Festival in Perthshire on June 22.
Minor Delilah will be giving away copies of their new EP, Only Dust Can Hear You, to anyone who attends their launch gig at Glasgow’s Classic Grand on May 3.