Music
,./ MERCAT MINI-FESTIVAL The Mercat, Edinburgh, 25 Jun—1 Jul.
Underground resistance from Merry May Gill
Much action springs from dissatisfaction, and the inaugural Mercat Festival is a fine example. Promoter Dave Cairns set up the event after detecting a certain inertia in Edinburgh's music scene. ‘We were all getting fed up with nothing happening, and with bands moaning about having nowhere to play,’ he explains. ‘Well, they do have somewhere to play, and rather than wait for stuff to happen we thought we’d make it happen here.’
Almost 50 acts have already been confirmed for the seven-day festival, which features open mic sessions as well as pro-booked acts. Highlights include Edinburgh ska outfit Big Hand, power-pop Mancunians Doc, Fringe Festival favourite Merry May Gill and the swamp-rockin’ Radiotones. Offering a counterpoint to all the noisy stuff, Tuesday 26 and Thursday 28 are manned by Acoustic Underground, a loose coalition best known for soundtracking the wee small hours at venues like Whistlebinkies. Organiser and performer Peter Michael Rowan admits the name is a little misleading. ‘Well, it’s acoustic-y,’ he says, ‘some people might wander in with the odd bass amp and play more contemporary stuff, while some people will be very folky. But they’re all going to be songwriters playing their own stuff.’
Acoustic Underground features hotly-tipped singer-songwriter Scott MacDonald and Glastonbury favourite Andi Neate among others. With such variety across the whole event, there is potential for the festival as a whole to seem a little bitty — and you’re unlikely to find that many people sitting in for the whole event. Still, if you have a ticket for either the evening or afternoon session, you’re free to come and go as you please during that period.
One thing that does unite all the bands playing is that none of them had to pay for the privilege. Many venues in Edinburgh and across the country operate on a policy that if bands don’t get a sufficient number of punters through the door they have to hire the venue, often at an inflated price. ‘I think a lot of promoters are in it for the wrong reasons,’ says Cairns. ‘They seem to be there to make money and screw the bands and they don’t help the bands at all.’ Here’s hoping the Mercat will give a few future stars the opportunity they need to shine. (James Smart)
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