As we
roll ever closer to the annual Burns an' a' that festival that takes
place in Ayr it has come to my attention about a few issues.
The local
authority have apparently sourced out the booking of the acts that
will be appearing, and Ayrshire artists are in very short supply on
the bill.
Shame on
the suits in their offices.
That's
not to say that there are no Ayrshire artists involved, but right at
this precise moment we are awash with talent, and I would think that
we could have expected more of a presence from those who have been
putting the work in and grabbing our attention.
Brown
Bear and the Bandits for instance were mentioned by the BBC as a band
to watch out for in 2012, and more recently bagged one of the hard to
get t-break slots at Tea in the Park.
Previous
acts to have played this stage have been Biffy Clyro and Snow Patrol
and they didn't do too badly.
Little
Fire is another act who has been making a splash for a number of
years now.
From
appearances on national television to supporting acts as diverse as
JLS to the Secret Sisters.
He even
has a forthcoming show with Joan Armatrading, so I would have expected
to hear that he was playing, but apparently not.
What
about Tragic O'Hara?
He's
supported post punk legends the Fall, Pete Docherty and more.
In fact
he will soon be supporting the Urban Voodoo Machine who Classic Rock
magazine are promoting as the must see band of the year.
Now if he
can impress people involved with all of these acts then I am sure
that he could impress a crowd in Ayr.
Mechanical
Smile of Kilmarnock have just won a competition to appear at some of
the biggest festivals that the UK has to offer through the Rd Bull
Bedroom Jam.
Are they
listed?
Nope. Their not.
Fatherson
are being punted by Radio One just now, and virtually everyone else in the media.
I nearly
forgot about them.
Then
there's Rose Parade, A Band Called Cadence, Colin Hunter, Fole,
Duffy's Gypsy Band, Melisa Kelly and the Harmless Thieves, Alan Frew
and so many more.
Now
before anyone makes the inane and crass comment that the festival
needs outside acts to provide some variety I'll cover that.
No one is
saying it doesn't.
Look at
Kilmarnocks Dirty Weekender bill to see how a festival can be created
that has more of a balance to it.
Two
venues over three days covering every genre that you could think of.
A mini
festival that will showcase plenty of talent from the 'shire, and
bring in other bands, while also managing to avoid dipping into the public
purse to do it.
On a
smaller scale there is also the Third Degrees Burns one day event
that will be held in the Burns Museum that does purely highlight home
grown talent, and does so admirably.
Why the
Burns an' a' that festival has missed out on what is right under
their noses appears to be just another example of those in power
being horrendously out of touch with the communities they represent.
A wee
trip to The Firehouse in Ayr, or Su Casa would have provided them
with a wealth of talent at their disposal at what I reckon would have
been a fraction of the cost.
An email
to the people who organise the Troon Festival wouldn't have gone
amiss either.
In fact I
am sure others could add even more touchstones that they could have
availed themselves off.
For
myself I'll be giving it a miss this year and instead on the Friday I
am going to support the endeavours of the people who are bringing us
the Dirty Weekender, and the Saturday I'll attend the Third Degree
Burns event.
I hope
plenty of others will join me.
If anyone has any other events going on then please feel free to add them to teh comments or list them on Get Gigs Ayrshire on Facebook.
