Well, over here at Into Creative towers, we are glad to see the back of January. A month when your fabled writers have been struck down by the dreaded lurgy/ man flu or perhaps just a bad cold. Whatever, we’ve been knocked for six (what does that even mean? Cricket reference -Pedantic Ed.) But fear not, during the occasional bout of lucidity, we’ve been listening to great new music and picking up on a slew of potential great gigs later this year. So in time honoured fashion dear reader, grab yourself a cuppa, settle down and read on. Who knows, we might see you at one or more of these gigs!!!!

Concert: Belle & Sebastian Present The Bowlie Weekender
Venues: Glasgow SWG3 
Dates:  2 & 3 August 2024

Despite popping countless paracetamols, cold/flu remedies and hot toddies, all of which made little inroads to the IC lurgy, this gig announcement was the perfect pick-up. Indeed, we love a gig but it’s not often we get overtly giddy with excitement. However, this one ticks all the boxes and then some. 

Twenty five years on from the original Bowlie weekender, Belle & Sebastian are back with a similar concept. Spread over two days at Glasgow’s SWG3, they will play a pair of completely different sets and will be joined by a host of other bands and artists for what is sure to be a great weekend. 

The band have already teased the first few acts who will be joining them and these include Camera Obscura (who also played the original Bowlie) on Friday with Bis and CMAP likely to play on the Saturday. The Joy Hotel will also perform and many more acts will be announced in the coming weeks.  

Weekend tickets are currently on sale with an expectation that day tickets will be available around the end of February. For more, head over to the Belle & Sebastian website here. 

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Concerts: The Bluebells
Venues: London, The Lexington & Paisley, The Bungalow 
Dates:  22 June & 23 August 2024

I’m not sure when The Bluebells last played in the big smoke but as I suspect it might be a few years, this one will be a hot ticket for the cool folk of London. The choice of venue too is a good one, nestled along Pentonville Road, Islington, The Lexington is known for its crisp, clear sound, great acoustics and is sought out by promoters and bands alike. 

This will be an acoustic affair with Bobby, Ken and Dave taking to the stage to run through old classics, a few tracks from their most recent album The Bluebells in the 21st Century and who knows, maybe the odd cover! (Given the venue, I’d hope for a certain Velvet Underground track!)

A couple of months later, with the addition of Campbell Owens, Douglas MacIntyre and Mick Slaven, the full band experience will take place at The Bungalow Bar in Paisley, which should allow those songs to be fleshed out a bit more in the live environment.

Both gigs are likely to sell out so get on to this quick. London briefs can be found here while the ones for Paisley are here.

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Concert: Beans on Toast
Venues: Glasgow, Stereo & Edinburgh, La Belle Angele
Dates:  22 & 23 February 2024

We absolutely adore Jay McAllister aka Beans on Toast over here at Into Creative and frankly, you should too!!!! To get an idea why, check out our live review from a couple of years back here. Quirky? Undoubtedly so. Charming? Without a doubt. Got the songs to back it all up? In spades!!

His first album Standing on a Chair was released on the 1 December 2009 and as regular as clockwork, an album has landed on the same day every year since. With an extensive U.K. tour announced to support the latest release, The Toothpaste and the Tube, it’s great to see two Scottish dates in there. 

Beans on Toast will deliver effortless English folk with tunes from the new album and his extensive back catalogue. An artist absolutely in tune with his art, he has assembled an eclectic and exciting new band which features the wizardry of Scottish guitarist Memphis Gerald, the honky-tonk voodoo of King Killership, Abbi Drums and the poet Bassie Grace.  

Speaking ahead of the tour, Beans said “I’m excited to take my brand new band out on tour this month. This is a collection of fantastic musicians that I assembled at last year’s Glastonbury. We’ll be giving the full band treatment to a bunch of my old tunes as well as some tracks from the new album. I reckon it’s gonna be proper special! Some of the band members are also performers in their own right, so each night, Memphis Gerald, King Killership and Bassie Gracie will also be performing, we’ll be like an old skool travelling show, visiting some of my favourite independent venues around the UK”

For more on Beans on Toast, the new album and the tour, head over to the website here.

 

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Concert: The Lovely Eggs
Venues: Glasgow, St. Lukes & Edinburgh, La Belle Angele
Dates:  23 & 24 May 2024

Hailing from Lancaster, The Lovely Eggs are a wonderful two-piece lo-fi indie band comprising Holly Ross and David Blackwell. It’s actually four years since we’ve heard anything fresh so with a new single dropping imminently, My Mood Wave and the promise of a new long player in the works, it’s great to have them back!

It’s not that they haven’t been busy of course. Duetting with Iggy Pop and making their own EGGS TV show, playing countless gigs and festivals and getting behind a campaign to save the community rehearsal rooms and recording studio that is the Lancaster Music Co-op……and writing that new album which sees Dave Fridmann (who has worked with the likes of Mercury Rev, The Flaming Lips and The Delgados) on production duties. 

Speaking of the upcoming tour, Ross said “It is going to be frigging joyous to reunite with all our Eggheads across the UK and just have a big party at each show. We’ve missed it! People know by now what to expect from us and we plan to bring it back with full force next May. Expect egg-shaped mayhem“.

For more on the The Lovely Eggs new single, upcoming album and tour news, head over to their website here

 

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Concert: Mull Historical Society
Venues: Glasgow, Oran Mor
Dates:  8 February 2024

Any regular visitor to the Into Creative website will know we love culture but in particular we have a huge passion for music and books. It’s what drives us to do what we do, listen to music, go watch it happen, then write about it! And of course the fantastic books we publish (check them out here). Go back to 2007 and the excellent Ballads of the Books an idea spawned by Idlewild’s Roddy Woomble came to fruition, fusing musicians and authors together for the aforementioned album and some live shows at Glasogw’s Celtic Connections and Edinburgh’s International Book Festival. What better than a marriage of the two (music & books) and that is exactly what is happening at Oran Mor on February 8th with Colin McIntyre at the helm. 

McIntyre, aka Mull Historical Society has managed to get on board THIRTEEN (!) acclaimed authors for his album project In My Mind There’s A Room. Not only that but a trio of them, crime writer Val McDermid, poet laureate Liz Lochhead and Booker prize nominated James Robertson will join the band on stage at Oran Mor. 

This will be a stand-out, unique show where two areas of the arts combine. Notwithstanding the show, the album project includes other literary giants such as Ian Rankin, Jacqueline Wilson, Alan Warner and Nick Hornby while the album artwork comes courtesy of ex Beta Band member John MacLean. 

If that’s not enough (and quite frankly my cup is overflowing at the thought) then Mull Historical Society will also revisit their acclaimed third album This Is Hope as it reaches its 20th anniversary.