EIGHTY thousand music fans, more than 100 acts and rather a lot of mud, sweat and beers. It can only be T in the Park, now in its 15th year and going stronger than ever. Scotland's biggest music festival kicked off last night, and with tens of thousands of eager revellers rocking Balado all weekend, the biggest, boldest and muddiest celebration of music in Scotland is proof, if proof were needed, that the nation's music scene is thriving.
For such a small country Scotland has always enjoyed a disproportionately rich and diverse music scene, both in terms of the artists it produces and the calibre of artists it attracts. T in the Park is arguably the jewel in the crown of Scotland's ma
instream music scene, and while the recession has proved crippling for more than one UK festival (the Scottish festival Hydro Connect has been postponed until next year), T in the Park is once again sold out.
So is this evidence that everything is business as usual with Scotland's vibrant music scene? Absolutely, say those in the industry. "For ten years there just hasn't been a let-up when it comes to the flow of great music coming out of Scotland," says Radio 1 and BBC Radio Scotland presenter Vic Galloway, who is co-hosting BBC Scotland's coverage of T in the Park. "Right now, it feels like we're inundated – there's almost too many great Scottish artists to choose from."
This year, in addition to the T Break stage, which champions new artists, the BBC is launching its BBC Introducing stage, also for new artists. Of 22 bands who'll be taking to the stage over the weekend, eight are Scottish. "And they could easily all have been Scottish," says Galloway. "The great thing is that the good music coming out of Scotland at the moment isn't just jangly indie guitar bands, but a pretty broad range of genres. We've got people like the electro artist Unicorn Kid, a 17-year-old from Leith who uses stuff like sounds from his Game Boy, or Young Fathers, a hip-hop trio from Edinburgh. It's exceptionally diverse at the moment."
In addition to some of the biggest names in music at the moment (the Killers, Kings of Leon and Razorlight are all playing the main stage) and the usual Scottish suspects (Franz Ferdinand, Idlewild, Snow Patrol et al) are, as always, making waves on the smaller stages, with bands to watch out for including We Were Promised Jetpacks, Cassidy and the Phantom Band.
"When it comes to music, as a nation we've always punched above our weight," says Billy Sloan, of Clyde One. "In music there are always peaks and troughs, but I think that Scottish music is going through a particularly healthy period. There are a lot of good bands around, but at the moment in particular there's a real diversity of musical styles and genres.
"A lot of less well-known bands, like Twin Atlantic and Cassidy, are finding their level, and that's what T in the Park is great for; the bands playing the smaller stages this year might just be on the big stages next year. This year the bill isn't as strong as previous years; it's a bit Groundhog Day in terms of the acts they've got, but then T in the Park is, as it's always been, a great advert for Scottish music and a great advert for Scotland."
"We have 85,000 people on site each day at T in the Park this weekend and acts do comment that this is the best crowd in the world," says Geoff Ellis, the CEO of DF Concerts who organise T in the Park. "There were doubts that Scotland could sustain an outdoor music festival when we started back in 1994 with just 18,000 fans, but over the years the appetite for a fantastic live music experience has grown and T in the Park now sits among the most successful and respected festivals in the world."
The music industry has changed so radically in the past couple of decades that young artists short on cash and contacts but long on talent can, quite literally, make themselves heard. The advent of MySpace in 2003 and the fact that, from recording equipment to CD printing facilities and even album artwork, modern technology has allowed almost anyone to create music relatively cheaply means that up-and-coming artists are less constrained than ever by budget or access to facilities.
In Glasgow in particular, in addition to the bigger venues such as the SECC and the Barrowlands, smaller venues like the 13th Note and Mono allow up-and-coming acts to showcase their wares.
However, while Scottish music is looking particularly diverse at the moment, according to Fiona Shepherd, The Scotsman's pop critic, a number of Scottish artists are choosing to go back to their roots.
"Diversity has always been a hallmark of Scottish music, but one thing we're seeing more of at the moment is quite a traditional, rootsy approach," she said. "Idlewild have ditched their punky roots, and you only need one big band like that to do it for others to follow suit. Artists are less afraid to sing in a Scottish accent now. Once, they were afraid they'd sound like the Proclaimers, so you got that transatlantic sound to their voices, but now bands like the Phantom Band, Broken Record and We Were Promised Jetpacks are all embracing their own accents. Music trends are cyclical, and I think the more rootsy sound we're hearing at the moment is a reaction to the more stylistic approach of bands like Franz Ferdinand."
2009 has been a stellar year for Scottish music. Some of the world's biggest artists – including Oasis, Bruce Springsteen and AC/DC – have brought crowds flocking to our stadiums, and once again T in the Park has attracted some of the biggest artists on the planet, as well as established Scottish acts and the ones who're going to be huge 12 months from now.
Recession or no recession, the Scottish music scene is, it appears, still rocking.
THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
We Were Promised JetpacksThese indie rockers got their first taste of success when they won their Edinburgh school's battle of the bands contest. Their debut album, These Four Walls, was released last month.
The Twilight SadMore indie rock from this quartet from Kilsyth. Their debut album Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters, was released in 2007, enjoying widespread critical acclaim. The band has played with artists including The Smashing Pumpkins, Snow Patrol and Idlewild, and their second album, Forget the Night Ahead will be released in September.
DananananaykroydBased in Glasgow, Dananananaykroyd describe their sound as "fight pop". Their name comes from the Ghostbusters actor Dan Aykroyd and the Batman theme tune. They recently completed a UK tour with the Kaiser Chiefs and their album Hey Everyone! was released in April this year.
Broken RecordsA seven-piece indie folk band from Edinburgh, Broken Records formed in 2006 and released their debut album, Until the Earth Begins to Part last month. Noted for swapping their instruments while performing live, they performed on the T Break stage in 2007 and have been touted by music magazines Q and NME, which described them as "one of the country's most exciting new bands" last year.
T IN THE PARK - LIVE! Writers from The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and scotsman.com will be out and about at T in the Park, and you can follow all our updates on
our live blog throughout the weekend.
