Music Monday, June 17: Sara Rae, Glasgow Jazz Festival, Cammy Barnes, Skerryvore
Also feat: Route changes for this year's Belladrum, opportunities to get involved with TMF and Fresh Ayr Folk Festival, plus brand new music and album from Pale Waves.
The promo note for rising Scottish songwriter Sara Rae raises a smile with its straight to the point description: ‘Think Paramore, but raised on the streets of Glasgow.’
It’s enough to make me not just smile, but press play on the preview of her debut EP, or at least the first single taken from it. It’s been a long day, nonetheless, after just a few seconds it’s already filled me with energy.
Wish You Well is seductive. One minute you are braced for radio friendly pop before thrashing guitars and big sound kick in, and we’re back in the late ‘90s. It’s made for festivals, sweaty clubs and jumping around to.
But listen beyond the catchy notes and you discover lyrics almost delicate, or perhaps heartfelt. Some artists have this gift, so it is no surprise to later discover that P!nk is among her inspirations, serving up emotion with a kick.
A dive back to see what else she has in her locker throw up a surprise. Both previous singles from last year, October and Catriohna, are more folk than pop punk. Deep and meaningful, telling stories of their own.
Her story, meanwhile, involves growing up in a small flat with a single mum and four other siblings, and a family who listened to a lot of country music - Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers and Don Williams to name a few. So the influences were clear.
“Oh those two singles are incredibly different from the EP,” admits Sara. “I had this massive idea in my head that I had to go out and find myself and what I wanted to represent with my music ... .but recently I’ve come to terms that I shouldn’t have to identify with a certain genre. Those two songs were written from the depths of my soul and are all about my wonderful wife. And now I have stability in that department, I think I have the emotional freedom to explore other feelings, and with that other genres or styles.”
That freedom comes from something more calm. Describing the influence for Wish You Well, she admits: “It was the main song with which I sat staring at my plants and hoping they'd grow. Then I imagined a seed falling from a tree and a bird picking it up and dropping it off in what seems like uninhabitable ground and finally learning how to grow with what it has.
“So with that in my head mixed with other stories, it all just fell together. I wrote this song originally to be a slow lofi pop song. But when the band got together it brought out the real meaning of the lyrics. It's about coming out the other end of a hard time.”
Throw in other musical discoveries through computer games like Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row when you'd be in the car and get to change the radio station, Secret Santa presents such as Paramore's live version of their Riot! album, and growing up with everything from Katie Melua and Dolly Parton to Avril Lavigne and NWA, its clear Sara Rae has a lot more sound to deliver yet.
Wish You Well is out 28 June. Sara Rae plays Heartlands Festival on 29-30 June and headlines Glasgow's King Tut's Wah Wah Hut on 18 August.
🎷 Glasgow Jazz Festival kicks off on Wednesday through until Sunday with more than 20 events happening across the city.
Scottish jazz duo Norman Willmore & Corrie Dick will play Nice n Sleazy on opening night. The drummer and saxophone duo have swiftly built a reputation for delivering captivating concerts leaving audiences feeling uplifted and inspired.
Vietnamese jazz saxophonist Quyền Thiện Đắc collaborates with three Scottish musicians, Sue McKenzie, Tom Bancroft and Ali Levack, at the Mackintosh Church on Wednesday 19th June as the culmination of a week-long residency in the Highlands.
Spiritual jazz act Mama Terra will recreate songs from the classic album Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock in their own sound at Saint Luke’s on Thursday 20th June. Influenced by a wide array of jazz legends including Nina Simone and Miles Davis, the Scottish jazz and soul ensemble will also play a set of original music from their debut album The Summoned.
A collaboration between nu-jazz duo BIGHEADMODE and multi-instrumentalist bandleader Plumm, BLACKSABBATHMODE is a captivating suite inspired by legendary rock band, Black Sabbath. Playing Nice n Sleazy on Thursday 20th June.
Scottish protest musician, Kapil Seshasayee fuses R&B, Indian classical and jazz fusion with contemporary electronic genres and plays Nice n Sleazy on Friday 21st June.
Bobby Watson, considered one of the top alto-saxophonists in the world, brings his quartet to Saint Luke’s on Saturday 22nd June.
Tickets and more information on where and when each performance will take place are available at the festival website.
⭐️ Congratulation to Cammy Barnes who releases his new single Guiding Light this Friday, the first track from his forthcoming album.
🌊 Pale Waves are following up their new single Perfume out now with a new album Smitten slated for release on September 20.
⚽️ And since Euro24 is on, kudos to Skerryvore for leading the shenanigan over in Germany with a few familiar faces.
🎪 Some quick but important news from our friends at Belladrum who have unveiled new routes to and from the the festival site this year, click on the link below.
⛺️ And still a chance to get involved with two great looking festivals with both TMF and Fresh Ayr Folk Festival offering up opportunities to take part. Details in links.
🎉 Music to share and promote? Drop me a line on goodstuffstudio@pm.me Thanks for reading - tell your friends!