Hen Hoose & Friends – The Old Fruitmarket

The Old Fruitmarket is a wonderful venue, not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but the acoustics are tremendous and this was a wonderful musical occasion in association with the Commonwealth Games and the Merchant City Festival. Talking of the Merchant City Festival I’m also buzzing for this Friday’s indie music showcase featuring 4 Outta 5, Radhika, f.o. machete, Youth of America, and Lungleg, having taken a day’s annual leave to go. Unfortunately, personal circumstances changed and I now won’t be there for the first two bands, hopefully arriving in time for f.o. machete. This really disappointed me as I’d been trying to see Radhika live for ages, but the planets have just never aligned, so it was just as well she was opening proceedings at this very special gig…

Radhika was the first of three supports on this wonderfully varied and eclectic bill, playing her indie dream pop solo and acoustically ahead of the County & Western stylings of Riley and the acoustic folk of the delightfully engaging duo of Carol Laula and Yvonne Lyon.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2026 – May – Part 4

The latest part of May’s singles is another smorgasbord from across genres and spanning the Atlantic with a good sprinkling of up and coming Scottish bands and there is an undercurrent of rock n roll/rockabilly and blues in several of the songs in this part of the round up…

First up, having collaborated on their previous single with The Interrupters, Dead Pioneers have joined forces with Sleaford Mods Jason Williamson for The Worst Among Us. The message behind the song is as valid for the UK in our present times as it is for Gregg Deal’s home in the  USA. US Presidents and parties like Reform with their racist narratives are emboldening the far right… “The worst among us cast shadows long” …as seen by recent events in Belfast and closer to home in Glasgow.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2026 – February – Part 2

I’m not going to go into the reasons why this is so late, but I started this such a long time ago now, half of the bands have probably released more music or split up since but hey, as the saying goes, I’ve started, so I’ll finish…

February seems a long time ago and a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. And as you can see from this second part of the singles for the month, there was a lot to digest including a few new releases from bands who feature on the “You are Here – The New Sound of Scotland” CD (yes, I know… I’m awaiting delivery of said CD, once they are in my grubby mitts they’ll be unleashed on an unsuspecting public….)… Read the rest