I'm just going to make this a short review because if I wrote about everything that went on over the two days of the festival I would end up writing a novel! I should probably start by mentioning that I was volunteering at the festival which was amazing and meant I got to meet so many people including a lot of the bands that were playing at the showcases.
So, if you've never been to goNORTH before, it's basically a festival which goes on over two days and throughout the two days there are conferences going on which are about music, film, fashion and there's also a pop-up cinema which shows short films during the whole day. There is also Radio goNORTH which has music from all the different artists playing at the festival and also acoustic sets from some of them too which is all live. Going to these conferences is a great way to find out more about the different industries and there's a lot of amazing professionals who guest speak and are definitely worth going along to hear.
I was working in the cinema on Wednesday so I didn't get a chance to go along to any of the conferences but I did end up helping at the Opening Party Fashion Show at night which was really cool and so busy as well! I then went to Deenos and saw Copper Lungs who are from Dundee. We managed to catch the end of their set and from what we did hear, they were really good. Pretty much none of the pubs had bouncers at the door which meant I successfully managed to get in to them without getting chucked out too which was a bonus because last year I ended up missing all the musicians because I couldn't get in! I then went to the Market Bar to see Culann who are from Irvine. I've seen this band before and they're amazing so it was really good to get to see them again and the Market Bar was packed with people which was good to see that they had so many people there supporting them.
I was helping with the registration on Thursday so if you registered as a delegate it is highly likely that I helped you! I got to meet a lot of the bands that were playing which was really good and the registration was right beside the Radio goNORTH which meant I got to hear all of the acoustic sets which was really cool.
The first band I saw on Thursday night was The Broken Ravens who are from Stornoway. It's not the type of music I would normally listen to but I actually really liked them and it was nice to see that there was a big crowd there to see them.
It was then time for a bit of local support starting at the Ironworks with SchnarffSchnarff who are from Inverness and are based in Glasgow. This was the first time I had heard the band but I had heard a lot of really good stuff about them over the last few months so knew they were obviously a good band to go see and I'm glad I did go!
I then managed to catch a little bit of Cryptic Keys set at The Phoenix which was the first time I had seen them but they are another band that I would definitely recommend going to see. The band are from Inverness so if you are local to here definitely make sure you go see them!
It was then over to the Ironworks to see Lionel who are from Inverness. I was really looking forward to seeing them and they definitely didn't disappoint, their set was amazing and so many people turned up to see them so it was great to see a lot of local support. They are another band that are definitely worth going to see if you are in Inverness.
We then went to see We Came From Wolves who are from Perth. Thursday was the first time i had ever seen them and I had heard their acoustic set for Radio goNORTH during the day and loved them a lot so there was no way I was going to miss them playing. They were amazing and definitely one of my main highlights from the whole festival.
So this 'short' review has ended up being quite long but there's just so much to write about from the festival that keeping it small ended up being too difficult! I definitely can't wait until next year, although it won't be goNORTH anymore as they're changing their name but I'm sure it will still be just as amazing!
So, if you've never been to goNORTH before, it's basically a festival which goes on over two days and throughout the two days there are conferences going on which are about music, film, fashion and there's also a pop-up cinema which shows short films during the whole day. There is also Radio goNORTH which has music from all the different artists playing at the festival and also acoustic sets from some of them too which is all live. Going to these conferences is a great way to find out more about the different industries and there's a lot of amazing professionals who guest speak and are definitely worth going along to hear.
I was working in the cinema on Wednesday so I didn't get a chance to go along to any of the conferences but I did end up helping at the Opening Party Fashion Show at night which was really cool and so busy as well! I then went to Deenos and saw Copper Lungs who are from Dundee. We managed to catch the end of their set and from what we did hear, they were really good. Pretty much none of the pubs had bouncers at the door which meant I successfully managed to get in to them without getting chucked out too which was a bonus because last year I ended up missing all the musicians because I couldn't get in! I then went to the Market Bar to see Culann who are from Irvine. I've seen this band before and they're amazing so it was really good to get to see them again and the Market Bar was packed with people which was good to see that they had so many people there supporting them.
I was helping with the registration on Thursday so if you registered as a delegate it is highly likely that I helped you! I got to meet a lot of the bands that were playing which was really good and the registration was right beside the Radio goNORTH which meant I got to hear all of the acoustic sets which was really cool.
The first band I saw on Thursday night was The Broken Ravens who are from Stornoway. It's not the type of music I would normally listen to but I actually really liked them and it was nice to see that there was a big crowd there to see them.
It was then time for a bit of local support starting at the Ironworks with SchnarffSchnarff who are from Inverness and are based in Glasgow. This was the first time I had heard the band but I had heard a lot of really good stuff about them over the last few months so knew they were obviously a good band to go see and I'm glad I did go!
I then managed to catch a little bit of Cryptic Keys set at The Phoenix which was the first time I had seen them but they are another band that I would definitely recommend going to see. The band are from Inverness so if you are local to here definitely make sure you go see them!
It was then over to the Ironworks to see Lionel who are from Inverness. I was really looking forward to seeing them and they definitely didn't disappoint, their set was amazing and so many people turned up to see them so it was great to see a lot of local support. They are another band that are definitely worth going to see if you are in Inverness.
We then went to see We Came From Wolves who are from Perth. Thursday was the first time i had ever seen them and I had heard their acoustic set for Radio goNORTH during the day and loved them a lot so there was no way I was going to miss them playing. They were amazing and definitely one of my main highlights from the whole festival.
So this 'short' review has ended up being quite long but there's just so much to write about from the festival that keeping it small ended up being too difficult! I definitely can't wait until next year, although it won't be goNORTH anymore as they're changing their name but I'm sure it will still be just as amazing!