NTS says the likes of King Creosote and Hector Bizerk are set to bring contemporary music with a Scots accent to Burns' birthplace
The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) is to host the country's newest music festival set to feature an impressive array of Scottish talent, including King Creosote.
Tickets are now on sale for Upside Doon which is to take place on 20 August at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway.
The NTS team have put together a bill that they say showcases “music with a Scots accent” across all genres from folk, hip hop, punk, trad and electro.
King Creosote opened the museum in 2010 and returns to headline the festival alongside acclaimed hip-hop artists Hector Bizerk.
Skye’s Niteworks will share their unique fusion of trad and electro and the Trongate Rum Riots will get the mosh-pit going with their raucous folk-punk sea shanties.
Completing the line-up, Ayrshire’s own Junkman’s Choir will perform songs from their latest album Reek, Rattle n Roar, which they describe as “a devil’s dozen of Rabbie's rarities with a wilder edge and punk-rock punch”.
Event organiser Claire Grant said: “Scotland’s musical heritage is a rich one, full of talent and diversity. These acts are amongst the best the nation’s got on offer. They mash up the traditional with the contemporary, creating fresh, relevant music with a Scots accent, just like Burns did all those years ago.”
Tickets for the all-ages festival are available at www.nts.org.uk and cost £25 for an adult, £15 for children and £70 for a family.
King Creosote
Kenny Anderson has become one of Scotland's most acclaimed and prolific, singer-songwriters: a squeezebox Casanova with a cosmic wordplay fetish, whose voice leaves gentle devastation in its wake.
He was short-listed for 2011's Mercury Prize thanks to Diamond Mine, his sublime collaboration with Jon Hopkins. Other key LPs in the KC canon include Kenny and Beth's Musakal Boat Rides (2003), Rocket DIY (2005), KC Rules OK (2005) Bombshell (2007), Flick the Vs (2009) and his live-only album, My Nth Bit of Strange.
In 2014, Anderson completed his first-ever film soundtrack for From Scotland With Love. The film weaves Scottish archive film footage with KC compositions.
Creatively King Creosote continues to thrive and the Domino Recording Co will release Kenny’s highly anticipated new album - Astronaut Meets Appleman in September this year.
Niteworks
Niteworks are Ruairidh Graham, Allan MacDonald, Christopher Nicolson and Innes Strachan. Formed on the Isle of Skye, they fuse Gaelic language and traditional music with electronic influences to create a fresh and exhilarating sound.
Following their first EP ‘Niteworks: Obair Oidhche’ in 2011 the band were winners of the ‘Up and Coming Artist of the Year’ award at the 2012 Scottish Trad Awards. In 2015 the band released their highly anticipated debut album NW to acclaim from around the folk community.
The band’s unique sound comes into its own in the live arena with the last year alone having seen multiple sold-out shows in Glasgow and stage-closing performances at festivals across Scotland, leaving packed crowds pulsating into the night.
Hector Bizerk
Hector Bizerk are something of a cultural phenomenon combining front-man Louie's razor sharp poetry with the experimental rhythms of drummer/producer Audrey Tait.
Surrounded by an incredible band they create a crescendo of thought-provoking music that encapsulates audiences to move both mentally and physically. Releasing 4 albums in 4 years has seen them grow and develop their creativity from the raw beginnings of Drums. Rap. Yes. to SAY Award shortlisted, Nobody Seen Nothing. The Waltz of Modern Psychiatry was one of The Herald's top 3 albums of 2015, and recently released The Second City of the Empire which includes acclaimed short film, The Bird That Never Few.
It's no surprise they have been called "Scotland's best hip hop export" by the NME and recently were quoted as "the most important band in Britain right now" (Daily Record) after an intimate performance with a string quartet.
This band have pushed the boundaries of innovation since their carnation in 2011 growing into a movement celebrating hip hop culture with a Scottish twist.
Their Alloway performance is one of the last chances to catch them live.
Trongate Rum Riots
Glasgow’s Trongate Rum Riots originally formed as a sea shanty band to revive the rich and emotive style of music, and has evolved over the past four years to incorporate the many influences its troupe of musicians bring on board. Their style ranges from sweaty punk to dirty folk, with the occasional bluesy lick and Balkan riff, and is equally as visceral in its plugged-in form as it is in its stripped-back acoustic set.
Trongate Rum Riots always bring their unique and powerful style, leaving no listener safe from its pounding rhythms. Behind the joyous chaos lies an eight-piece of dexterous, talented musicians who continue to charm and exhilarate crowds around Scotland and beyond.
The band had a summer full of festival shows, including headlining Wickerman’s Acoustic Tent and playing Eden’s main stage, and is currently organising a UK tour. They have released 2 EPs to date and are working on recording a debut album, due out in autumn 2016.
Junkman's Choir
Hailing from the dark heart of Ayrshire, Junkman's Choir are a two man band with a bucket full of styles; mashing up Ceilidh, Cajun, Country, Sea Shanties and reelin' it into a swingin' Celtic gumbo. The unique sound of electro-accordion, pocket trumpet, guitar and vocals makes this duo sound like a full band.
Junkman's Choir have recorded three albums and four EPs since the band’s formation in 2003. The latest, ‘Reel Rattle n Roar’ is an album of 13 Burns’ songs; upbeat, up-tempo and updated. Eighteenth century love songs are turned into 21st century blues and Burns' songs of colourful characters are reinvented in the Junkmen's unique style.
They have supported Ocean Colour Scene, The Soweto Gospel Choir, Onthank Gaelic Choir and The Pogues.
