Rocking Edinburgh

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Final of Holyrood Rocks, Edinburgh, 31/1

The Silver Coast coach rolled out off the Matalan carpark shortly after 945 having waited around in the hope of catching one or two stragglers. Friday night, Saturday morning – never a good mix. So the Silver Coast faithful set off on the long A9 journey south to the capital.
Holyrood Rocks has been a series of eight battle of the bands events culminating in the final at Holyrood all with the aim of promoting electoral registration to young voters. Silver Coast made their way to the final following a keenly, and friendly, fought event at the Spectrum Centre in Inverness where they edged out All So Simple and Sly At Last.

The finalists would come from all over Scotland with acts representing the eight regions at the Scottish Parliament. As well as catching Silver Coast it would be an opportunity to catch some young bands who were new to me.

There were also a couple of workshops thrown in for good measure on songwriting and music promotion which were free to attend and the trip down gave the opportunity to sign up for those. So then it was a case of sit back, relax and ask myself that question ‘why didn’t I take my headphones with me?’

On arriving at the parliament building we were lead through the airport style security and quickly whisked into a workshop on songwriting and music promotion. Hosted by Derek and Mark, both with great experience in the industry took the young acts through the main aspects of songwriting giving valuable tips along the way interspersed with songs to illustrate their points including how Pulp’s Disco 2000 is one of the finest examples of songwriting. Discuss.

Invaluable advice on social media were given too. Some may have seen obvious but not all are obvious to some young acts. Overall this was a very worthwhile 35 minutes or so.

While the bands were doing their final soundcheck there were some open mic acts playing in a side room and a large stock of Irn Bru and Tunnocks Caramel Wafers set out for those wanting a wee snack.

The main event was in the airy Garden lobby. With eight acts and to keep the proceedings rolling there were two stages. The main stages which hosted four bands and the mid stair landing which held the solo acts. A fortuitous four four split.

A solid start with a few extra brownie points thrown in.

Opening were Forgotten Drive from the north east. They gave us an enthusiastic set of uptempo rock with a splash of pop punk. To their credit they took the electoral registration theme seriously and penned a new song on the subject. A solid start with a few extra brownie points thrown in.

First on the stairs was Kate Kyle from South Scotland, the youngest act on the day. In fact too young to go on the electoral register! Katie is in her second year at school but although appearing a little nervous well and truly held her own. Her self-penned songs showed a lot of promise and there was a good range within her vocal. Today may not have been her day but certainly she has gained some valuable experience.

The Vistas, from Wishaw and flying the flag for Central Scotland, were on next and this band had a well rehearsed set and strong stage presence. There was a lot to enjoy here and again pop punk influences shone through but there was a certain individuality to them that stopped them just being another generic band.

a slight quirkiness in his songwriting which shaded it away from the standard

With solo acts it’s a packed market especially with guitar based acts but, hometown boy and Lothian’s entry, Gus Harrower begun his set sat behind his keyboard. 17 years old with a big powerful vocal that complemented his keyboard skills. There was a slight quirkiness in his songwriting which shaded it away from the standard. This was evident in ‘Stuck on You’ which he is going to release as a B-side. This in turn shows the quality of his material. His last couple of songs were accompanied by guitar instead of keys. A versatile and accomplished musician.

The moment the Silver Coast faithful had been waiting for arrived as they took to the main stage. Silver Coast’s songs are a little lengthier than other bands and as such don’t pack as many songs in. Current single ‘Wake Up’ was best received by the neutrals in the audience and the band’s interaction with the audience certainly won them some new fans. Their stadium sound did fill the room but would it fill the coveted first place?

Heads then turned to the staircase stage and Hayley Miller. Hayley hails from Balloch, that’s Balloch by Loch Lomond, and represented West Scotland.  She produced a set of songs which covered the whole range of emotions attached to love. With this theme running through her set it took you on a journey. A well constructed and projected group of songs with an effervescent personalty to deliver them.

Last on the main stage were the entrants from Glasgow, Single By Sunday. We were told they would give us a fun set and on that they were good as their word. As well as being fun they gave an infectious set of of songs. A lot of confidence and a strong following were there to give them their backing.

Amy is only 16 but is so self-assured she would put many seasoned performers to shame.

The final hopeful of the day was Mid Scotland and Fife’s Amy Louise Rogers. Amy is a lively individual who’s set mixed a cheeky country style, a more reflective song for her late grandparents and a fun upbeat song about a certain would be marine biologist. If you didn’t know that one before, Amy certainly made sure that you knew it now! Oh, there was even a little reworded splash of ‘Loch Lomond’ thrown in for good measure if the set wasn’t varied enough already. Amy is only 16 but is so self-assured she would put many seasoned performers to shame.

Great way to end the competition. I say competition but in fairness to the acts there was a spirit of togetherness with the bands and their bus loads of followers taking a keen interest in each act.

Before the result was announced we we treated to a performance by Withered Hand. As you would expect this was a quality set which would have given some of the young bands food for thought on the level which they should be aiming for.

Finally the moment that everyone was waiting for arrived and after the obligatory thank yous and well deserved applause for each act the winner was announced. The winner, who appeared to be taken by surprise was Gus Harrower.

In my opinion it was well deserved. It could have gone to one of about four acts but I would have to say the judges called this one right. I hadn’t realised until I spoke with him afterwards that Gus had played Inverness recently as part of a Hit The Road tour. Unfortunately I was out of town that night but hopefully we will see Gus up here again sometime soon. Certainly an act not to miss.

So it was back on the bus and the journey north. But it was time to reflect on some great acts who I’m sure we will hear a lot more about. And well done to Silver Coast who did the Highlands and Islands proud.

The event was to publicise electoral registration with young people. The final I think was more successful than some of the heats but as an idea I think it is something that can be built on. A few lessons will no doubt be learnt but this could be an event which can grow.

See the photos of the event.

A notefrom the editor

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Frank Finlayson
Frank Finlayson
Chartered surveyor by day, music reviewer by night, and occasionally I get to use my camera. A strange mix, but one that I enjoy. A chance meeting in the queue for Bella in 2010 led to the opportunity to write for InvernessGigs; a far cry from the days of writing for a football fanzine back in the late 80s, early 90s. My interests lie between the mainstream, the emerging and the local. Increasingly I find that we have more than enough locally to entertain us to necessitate a trip south. I’m always happy to give a listen, whatever the genre. Inverness has a plethora of talent, all of which I am more than keen to write about. If it encourages just one person to make the effort to listen to some new music I’ll be happy. You can contact Frank direct via frankieboyfin@gmail.com

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