Rockness 2013, in conjunction with Inverness Gigs and Netsounds Unsigned have announced that Niteworks, The Boy Who Trapped the Sun , The Little Mill of Happiness, Jemma Tweedie and Toby Michaels Rolling Damned are to play this years festival.
As legend has it, Little Mill Of Happiness were formed outside the Market Bar in Inverness. Fronted by the gritty vocal of Steve Obern and backed up by the 3 “guitar orchestra” of Matt Campbell, Pete MacDonald and Willie Macaskill. Add to that the bass of Ali Brown and drumming of Craig Aitkenhead and you have a band firmly steeped in local modern music history.
Little Mill created a storm with the release of their Gareth Ince produced debut EP Capsized Sailors in 2011 and a follow up is due later this year recorded at Gareth’s new studio at Bogbain.
With layered guitars, a brooding Steve Obern they are devastating in execution. The kick up a storm and bring you through the eye of it. Uncompromising and emotionally intense they never disappoint.Having graced both the Seedlings and Hothouse Stages at Belladrum in recent years the time is now right for the Little Mill of Happiness to be unleashed on Rockness.
Jemma Tweedie is a young singer songwriter from Nairn. Jemma’s style crosses over into warm country and heartfelt blues and belies a label but is equally accessible. Jemma is not a clone of many of the acts we hear on the national stage which will put her in good stead for the future. Gigging for less than a year, Jemma’s debut EP “Two Hands” brought notable acclaim from BBC Introducing’s Tom Robinson who has described her as “one to watch”, even managing a SAMA nomination for best acoustic act after less that six months gigging.
Jemma made her first festival appearance this year at the MV Festival and as well as Rockness she has also been announced as playing at goNORTH and Cornbury Festivals. Self taught, but recently working under the mentorship of Musicplus, Jemma has shown a real appetite to get out there and gig well characterised by Jemma embarking on a nationwide tour in conjunction with Caffe Nero playing 41 venues from the 16th June to 4th July. You can, and should, hear what makes her special here first at Rockness. See our review of Jemma Tweedie from earlier this year.
Craig McGee finished his five star review of Niteworks with the line “I could have saved myself some writing time by just saying ‘F**k me! That was good…!’”.With feedback like that Skye’s Niteworks are steadily building on their reputation as one of Scotland’s premier live acts with their fusion of electronica, pipes, whistles and Gaelic vocals delighting crowds wherever they play.
Formed on Skye in 2008 their name comes from the sample of a Gaelic speaker who referred to Obair Oidhche or ‘Night Work’. After winning a song contest on BBC Alba’s ‘Rapal’ they’ve gone on to play festivals across Scotland, including being voted ‘Band of the Evening’ at Heb Celt 2011 and brought in the bells at Inverness’ Bogbain Farm Hogmanay party in 2012. Whilst EP ‘Obair Oidhche’ is currently their only release, they will be using Rockness and other dates as a test bed for new ideas and live concepts. See our review of Niteworks at Celtic Connections.
Lewis resident Colin Macleod aka The Boy Who Trapped the Sun, wears his influences on his sleeves, you could almost smell the peat smoke on debut album ‘Fireplace’. At times whimsical but never dipping into pretentiousness the album created a minor stir in the folk rock world with Metro describing it as a “A ray of musical Sunshine”, “Exquisite” by Mojo and “One of the year’s brightest debuts” in the Sunday Times Culture Magazine.
He has since left former label Geffen and is making his own way and is currently working on new material. May sees him play a seven date tour of Scotland, and from the response on Facebook shows a growing anticipation for his new material.
Toby Michaels Rolling Damned joins peers such as Heaven’s Basement and Voodoo Six in feeding the new found hunger for rock ‘n’roll. The band have built a strong CV of local festivals along with dates in Glasgow and Aberdeen to name a few. However through the magic of radio and the internet their tracks have received airplay from Alness to Philidelphia. “Rock ‘n’ Roll ain’t nothing without soul, so we promise to bring absolute anarchy, hilarity and hard rock power to the festival.” promises front man Toby Michaels.
The band have also been confirmed to play Belladrum on Friday August 2nd and are also due to confirm additional dates in and around the UK for the rest of 2013. You can read a review of the Toby Michaels Rolling Damned recent Ironworks gig.
Tickets are available for the festival via www.Rockness.co.uk
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