Child-friendly gigs praised by parents

Music-loving parents, fed up leaving gigs early to get home to the children, can now bring them along to live events.

The gigs bring the family together

Broken Records and Bombskare – Scotland’s “ska juggernaut” – are among the bands playing daytime gigs for the first time, at Fringe By the Sea in North Berwick, East Lothian, next month.

Broken Records, from Edinburgh, who released their fourth studio album, What We Might Know, in March, will play on Saturday, 4 August at 2pm, performing for 120 minutes in the Simpson Spiegeltent.

Bombskare play for 90 minutes from 2pm on Saturday 11 August.

Music lover Jordan Laird, from Edinburgh, who founded the Major Minor Music Club last year and who recruits bands, said it was after his son was born that he feared his gig-going days were under threat.

“When our little boy was one, my wife and myself realised we couldn’t go and see bands anymore unless we planned months ahead and got a baby-sitter. Then, when I started checking out what could be done I found out that most places don’t let kids in because of the regulations.

“While a lot of gigs were for the under-14s, accompanied by an adult, this was pop music and not gigs with live bands.”

Mr Laird added: “Some of the musicians told us they had young kids who had never seen them play live and they wanted a chance to let them see what they did.”

Mr Laird added: “The music is played at half the volume and the bands play slightly shorter sets.”

Organisers say parents can bring along ear defenders to protect children’s ear drums.

Fringe by the Sea, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, runs for ten days from 3-12 August and includes more than 160 events ranging from music, comedy and literature to film and children’s sessions.

Mercury Music Prize winner Badly Drawn Boy – the singer-songwriter Damon Gough – who has had five top 20 albums, is the festival’s headline act on 4 August at 9.30pm. The programme also includes comedians Jerry Sadowitz and Mark Steel and discussion and talks with Judy Murray and Lord David Steel, former leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, in conversation with veteran Labour politician Roy Hattersley.