GoldFlakePaint’s Tom Johnson has become the new ‘go to’ blogger, his authentic style and passionate content has gained fans in all sectors of music including myself.
Having previously resided in Bristol, he moved to Glasgow and his transition has been seamless. He has managed to fill a glaring niche in blogging, artists normally covered by the likes of The Line of Best Fit, The Quietus and more have gained a notable platform in the Scottish press thanks to Johnson.
He has now taken on the brave task of organising a mini 2-day festival in the Southside’s Glad Café. This weekend will see a deluge of wonderful musicians visit Glasgow’s Shawlands for something very special.
Many may think that organising a festival is a fairly easy task on this scale, but it is far from that. Johnson explained why he had to do it, “I guess I hadn’t really stopped to think why I was putting a festival on until Halina asked me why I was putting a festival on. In part it was to celebrate my funny little blog turning five years old, but I think it was more to do with having that opportunity, thanks to Joe and the good folk at The Glad Cafe, of ‘bridging the gap’.
Music blogging is a funny old world; you can spend a week writing a thousand words on some band/album, see that a few hundred people have read it, and still not have it acknowledged by anyone, anywhere. There’s a lot of screaming in to the void. There are lots of worthwhile moments too, of course, but there’s a very distinct separation.
Putting on a festival allows a connect-of-the-dots, so to speak. The chance for a lot of people to come together, to stand shoulder to sweaty shoulder, and watch and listen to these bands I only write about on the internet, *In Real Life*.
I guess I’m doing this for the same reason that you go for walk up a hill even though you can look at pictures of the view, or why you buy a record even though you can hear all the songs online: Because everything’s a little bit better when you invest something in it. Oh and also because The Glad Cafe now have Anchor Steam on-tap. ON TAP!”
Sucker Punch has already grabbed the attention of a number of fellow bloggers such as myself. We relate to his frustration about decent music not being discovered and invested in on a wider scale, but this is now a chance to see music in its best form – live.
Friday 29th:
Tuff Love / Kathryn Joseph / Joe Howe / Olympic Swimmers / Bruising (Leeds) + TYCI DJs
Saturday 30th:
Babe / Supermoon / Apostille / Small Wonder / Wolf / C. Duncan / Rob St. John / ULTRAS + RM Hubbert pop bangers DJ set
This curation really is something to take full advantage of. Lost Map’s Tuff Love have recently supported seminal band Ride and will provide a melodic angsty punch to the stomach. SAY Award-nominated Kathryn Joseph is a complete revelation and for many it will be a far bigger task holding back the tears as she delivers some of the finest songs you are likely to hear this year. Leed’s Bruising are one of my new favourite discoveries of 2015 (thanks to Art Is Hard Records), with their soothing vocals and rip-roaring riffs, it would be rude not to indulge in.
Every single artist on the line-up is worth more than the asking price of the ticket. Please don’t make me go into the mathematics of dividing the ticket cost by the number of artists because it would be embarrassing for you. Furthermore, it is really important to remember that Glasgow is a rich city for musical talent, people such as GoldFlakePaint and Glad Café’s Joe Smillie and more are not only providing a platform to showcase emerging artists, but also a means to see and hear them.
Tickets can be purchased via EventBrite:
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/423922591118584
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