Magnificent Seven storm Dumfries

Nov 11 2011 by Sara Bain, Dumfries Standard Friday

FOR many years the region’s music lovers have travelled to the major cities of the UK to see quality bands play quality music.

Now it is time for the mountain to come to Mohammed and for the good folk of Dumfries to be treated to music from bands who have connections with the town and who enjoy playing there.

The Magnificent Seven is the chance to see seven leading unsigned bands of the highest quality perform in Dumfries in one spectacular evening.

Taking to the stage at the Venue in Dumfries on Saturday, December 7, from the Dumfries area comes Finding Albert, Turbyne, The Uzis and Room 16.

From Glasgow there is Skippy Dyes who have Doonhamers in their line-up.

Travelling to the town are two of the best unsigned bands in the UK.

From Paisley comes Majestic Dandelion, and from Sheffield the mighty StoneRun. Both bands are very fond of Dumfries and have built up many fans and friends in this area.

Magnificent Seven organiser David Kirkwood said: “This is a massive gig for everyone who likes quality music. These seven bands will put on a feast of entertainment and people will notice that Dumfries can rock and many more bands will want to play here.

“There are no support bands on the evening, every one is a headline act.”

Stonerun

February this year saw Stonerun play a sold out show at the O2 Academy in their home town before setting off on another tour playing South Wales, London and Scotland.

The band have spent the majority of this year writing the yet to be titled debut album, recording the new single and filming the video for Silver which will be out in December.

Their reputation as one of the UK’s best live unsigned acts is hard to live up to and, in the words of Kerrang radio’s Alex Baker: “Stonerun, it’s like being on the receiving end of a Mike Tyson haymaker.”

Uzis

For many years Dumfries has been privileged to have hometown boys The Uzis play with many bands.

Every show they play is quality, humorous and different.

With an ever-changing set list of own material and new covers, this band knows how to rock. With Gareth, Gordon, Aymer and Cameron on stage, audiences will always have a great night.

Turbyne

This five-piece from Dumfries and Glasgow play an original and diverse style of heavy progressive metal.

They have been motivated and driven over the years in producing and refining their signature sound.

Their musical styles range from the heavy, riff-driven sound of modern metal to longer epic instrumental sections of bands such as Iron Maiden and Metallica, with the occasional prog stylings of Rush.

They have played alongside many established bands, including a tour with ex-Maiden singer Blaze Bayley.

Skippy Dyes

Hailed as one of Scotland’s most talked about emerging acts, Skippy Dyes came onto the music scene with a powerful presence.

Within six months they had supported the legendary Stiff Little Fingers on St Patrick’s day to a sold-out Glasgow Barrowlands crowd.

They launched their EP at Nice N Sleazys and sold the event out within the first week of tickets going on sale.

The band are set to take to the main stage of the 02 Academy as part of a futures event which is being hosted by BBC’s Ally McCrae.

Their album We Were Once Fiction has received widespread praise from bloggers and reviews.

Finding Albert

Scottish indie outfit Finding Albert and frontman Robert Shields have already had some good achievements in the their short existence.

They have supported Biffy Clyro in LA and Newton Faulkner on his UK tour; they have aired live sessions on BBC Radio; worked with respected producers including Mark Needham (The Killers, Bloc Party, Fleetwood Mac), Greg Wells (Mika, Keane) and David Kosten (Chris Martin, Bat For Lashes); made the MusicWeek Playlist; get regular airplay on Radio1, XFM, Clyde FM, TayFM and more; write and record tracks currently used in Sky Sports Premiership and Champions League coverage and do a whole lot of useful things for young people within the region.

The four-piece band often play with a string quartet live, creating a fantastic wall of sound with a huge dynamic range that really reaches out to audiences.

The band have played some fantastic venues across the UK and US as well as made live acoustic studio sessions at Lovers Lane Studios.

Majestic Dandelion

Majestic Dandelion are a three-piece band consisting of two brothers and a best mate. They are originally from Paisley, but spend most of their time as a band in Glasgow.

Craig, Graeme and Liam all grew up on the same street and went to the same schools, this is where the band started to form.

The first gigs were mainly small battle of the bands, playing covers like Highway to Hell and Blitzkrieg Bop.

On their second gig the band won their first battle of the bands, winning a day in a recording studio to record a couple of tracks. At the time Graeme was 13 years old, Liam 15 and Craig 16.

David said: “They are an addictive band: once you see them live, you want to see them again and again and again.

“Dumfries has been lucky enough to have them play here several times and they are building a deserved army of fans.”

Majestic Dandelion are now planning on recording their debut album with Live Music First (LMF) and will be out at some point in early 2012.

Room 16

Room16 are one of Scotland’s brightest young bands. Having gigged across the country since 2010 in acclaimed venues such as the Barrowlands, Cabaret Voltaire, the Iron Works, 02 Academies and Stereo Box, they are gratefully receiving bigger and better opportunities, including a well-desired festival appearance at CockRock 2011 in July.

Their style of rock is considered as taking a more classic approach: punky, riff-based instrumentation fronted by Bowie-esque vocals and stage presence. Fans of the band however, know that the Room 16 experience can only be fully appreciated when enjoyed first hand: “manic” and “energetic”.

So expect some hard-hitting riffs, lots of prancing about and some bona fide swagger when Room 16 take to a stage.

Hosting the event is Rich Davenport from Salford FM Radio, who hosts a weekly rock show in the Manchester area.

The Magnificent Seven kicks-off at 4.30pm.

Tickets from Barnstorm Records; Davie Kirkwood via Facebook or 07921 164687; or on the door.