Inverness Gigs stage announced for XpoNorth 2017

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Inverness Gigs to host Hootananny stage at Hootananny, Inverness.

Inverness Gigs are proud to announce we are returning to hosting the stage at  Hootananny during this year’s music showcase. Previous years have seen Inverness Gigs host Pale Honey, The Mirror Trap, Lional and NIEVES at XpoNorth, this year there is certainly no drop in the quality of the acts….

Opening Hoots for us will be Ernest Rambles, when we caught up with the band earlier in the year we asked how they saw their style, they talked about indie folk but keen to emphasise the pull of blues, country and folk. Their album ,“My friends call me…”, was recently released and earned the tracks the description of  “songwriting of the highest calibre” by Lochbroom FM.

November Lights contrast their Glasgow/Ayrshire roots with the clear American influences, bringing a sound that is as commendable as it is bold. “We always feel confident that people will see the merit in what we’re trying to do…” lead singer John Hopkins added “We take a lot of pride in what we produce.” They are currently supporting Hunter and the Bear on tour and have just announced that they will be headlining the King Tuts Summer Sessions on the 13th of July.

Reverieme whose twelve years of gigging have seen her evolve and perform into varying guises, describes itself as “a musical act that looks mostly like Louise Connell and sounds mostly like pop.” Her album ‘Straw Woman’ has won many fans  including blog Unfashionable Male, who described it as “an intelligent slice of quirky folk that has a compelling pop sensibility” . Reverieme will be performing in her solo guise on Wednesday night.

The three-piece Pinact display grunge stylings with echoes of Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Mogwai and ,of course, Nirvana. Having just returned from SXSW, work is almost complete to the follow-up to their 2015 release ,’Stand Still and Rot’ ,which is due out in Autumn.It will be loud, it will be proud and it will be awesome way to close the stage on the Wednesday night.

On Thursday it is Nova Scotia’s Quake Mathews, brought to XpoNorth via Excite project, that opens the stage. Emerging from the underground battle rap scene to award winning emcee who has recently released his fourth album ‘Rap Music’. He plays XpoNorth as part of his Celebrate the Struggle Tour that will also see him visit England, Holland and Sweden.

Drawing similarities with the likes of Air, Alt-J and Gorillaz, Faces on Tv, is the brainchild of Belgian producer, musician and songwriter Jasper Maekelberg. Faces on Tv’s popularity can be seen by ‘Love / Dead’ from their 2016 EP , Traveling Blind, which has earned over a million listens on Spotify, an impressive achievement by all accounts.

Indigo Velvet were heralded by BBC Introducing as “..effervescent, sparkling, tropical indie-pop..they’re young, talented, ambitious and going places!”. Indigo Velvet have had those in the know, including Janice Forsyth, Jim Gellatly and Vic Galloway pouring praise over the four piece from Edinburgh. The band have recently released ‘Mona’ described by The Indiependant as “the perfect contender for your late night, beer garden playlists.”

Closing the Inverness Gigs stage for XpoNorth 2017 will be Tijuana Bibles heralded by many including Q who wrote that they are like a “huge slab of aural red meat that would cause the the Black Keys to salivate with jealousy”. The band have recently recorded new material at Rubber Gum Studios which promises to challenge expectations of their sound with the terms propulsive and volatile being used frequently, catch a taste of what is promised with forthcoming single ‘Pariah’.

Inverness Gigs presents Ernest Rambles, November Lights, Reverieme, Pinact, Quake Mathews, Faces on Tv, Indigo Velvet and Tijuana Bibles as they play Hootananny, Inverness on Wednesday 7th June and Thursday 8th June.

The full line-up for XpoNorth 2017 can be seen here.

A notefrom the editor

Support live music in Inverness by supporting IGigs! For over 10 years, IGigs has been showcasing the best of the local music scene through previews, reviews, photographs, and more. But maintaining the website incurs costs, and your support can help keep this invaluable resource alive.

Chris Lemon
Chris Lemon
A lifelong passion for music matched with a geeky fascination for social media and websites resulted in the creation of Inverness Gigs back in 2010. The aim of the site is to help promote, support and generally raise awareness of the local music scene.If you want get in touch you can contact me direct at invernessgigs@gmail.com

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