FRETS 2026
TICKETS: https://wegottickets.com/event/685253
FRETS is delighted to welcome Norman Blake and Euros Childs back in their JONNY guise to the Strathaven Hotel on Friday 20th Feb, 6 years after the last appearance. BMX Bandits will be opening the show as special guests
Norman Blake has been releasing albums with Teenage Fanclub since 1990 and has recently released an album with a new project featuring Bernard Butler and James Grant. Teenage Fanclub continue to record and tour internationally.
Euros Childs came to prominence with Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, who released a series of incredible albums. Euros has been releasing acclaimed albums under his own name since 2006.
Norman and Euros joined forces under the Jonny moniker for their 2011 album, which eventually led to Euros joining Teenage Fanclub in 2019.
FRETS is looking forward to welcoming messers Blake & Childs back to the Strathaven Hotel on Friday 20th Feb, their set will take in favourites from their collective back catalogues.
FRETS presents C86 stalwarts and avant-funk noiseniks, MACKENZIES, at the Glad Cafe on Saturday 28th Feb. LAND SURVEYOR will be appearing as special guests.
TICKETS: SOLD OUT
BIO
Mackenzies are from Glasgow and formed in 1985, inspired by the power-lifter Precious McKenzie.
Paul Turnbull (drums) and Iain Beveridge (guitar) were at the same school but got together musically when Paul was released from his previous group after being in a car accident which totalled his drum set and so was no longer required by the band.
Gary Weir (vocals and guitar) and Peter Gilmour (bass) formed another group, however, the two factions came together over their shared love of Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, James Brown, Prince, Funkadelic and Parliament. Emboldened by witnessing live performances closer to home from Josef K, Fire Engines and Orange Juice, the group began to rehearse regularly in Paul’s bedroom as they worked on their sound, crafting sonic punk funk fusion.
The recruitment of saxophonist Peter Ellen with his love of Ornette Coleman and Archie Shepp made him the ideal candidate to join the others. The final piece in the jigsaw was the crucial element of the second guitarist that is David Allen.
In November, 1985, a demo recorded in Paul’s bedroom made its way to Radio 1 and the office of John Peel who invited Mackenzies down for a session at legendary Maida Vale studios. Peel was a big supporter of the band inviting them for a second session only months after their first visit.
By the time of the first Peel session in February 1986, the band had signed to Nottingham-based record label, Ron Johnson (home to bands Stump, Big Flame and Dutch band, The Ex) with owner Dave Parsons also impressed by the demo. Shortly afterwards, the debut single, ‘New Breed’ was recorded and released in July 1986.
The NME thought well of it, anointing ‘New Breed’ as their Single of the Week. And then came the invite from the paper to contribute to the C86 cassette – a collection of twenty-two independently signed guitar-based bands that featured leading lights of the 1986 independent scene. The cassette featured tracks by Scottish groups The Pastels, Shop Assistants, Mackenzies, (among others). C86 quickly became synonymous with a new wave of independent groups and gave its name to the resultant scene.
Mackenzies revelled in their live shows which were a fast, full-on mutant funk attack to the senses, sometimes a dozen songs in twenty minutes, no introductions, no respite. This was evident from shows in Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol and London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) through to Glasgow’s legendary Splash One Club
Although the band received a lot of attention from their two Peel sessions, C86 and live shows, ‘New Breed’ was the only record Mackenzies put out in 1986. The follow-up to their debut single, the ‘A Sensual Assault’ ep didn’t see the light of day until the following year.
The release in 2022 of the book ‘Whatever Happened To The C86 Kids – an indie odyssey’ by Nige Tassell brought fresh attention to the band.
The invite to play at the 30th anniversary of the Creeping Bent Organisation event Creeping Bent 30 / C81 – C86 – GO!! as part of the 2025 Celtic Connections festival reinvigorated the band who are now set on finally releasing their debut album in 2026.
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LAND SURVEYOR sees Paul Haig and Malcolm Ross, who formed half of Josef K in the 1980s, composing and performing together for the first time this century. They are augmented by Daniel Hill on drums and Norman Villeroux on bass and synthesisers. Land Surveyor will be live in session on BBC 6Music for Marc Riley and Gideon Coe in January, and will release an album of new material in 2026.
TICKETS: https://wegottickets.com/event/690752
JAMES GRANT returns to the Strathaven Hotel on Friday 6th March, where he’s performed several memorable FRETS concerts. James will be joined on stage by special guest and hamonica guru, Fraser Spiers.
James is a well regarded singer/songwriter/guitarist who burst onto the scene in the early 1980 with Friends Again before forming Love & Money. During this period he worked with many music industry producer legends (including Tom Verlaine, Tom Dowd, Gary Katz). James has been releasing excellent solo albums for a number of years and most recently teamed up with Bernard Butler (Suede) and Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub) to release albums and tour as Butler, Blake & Grant.
THRUM / Friday 13th March, the Glad Cafe (SOLD OUT)
THRUM / Saturday 14th March, the Glad Cafe (SOLD OUT)
THRUM were formed in Lanarkshire by vocalist Monica Queen and guitarist Johnny Smillie. Both musicians shared a love of Neil Young & Crazy Horse and Patsy Cline, influences that provided a bedrock for the sound of Thrum.
Thrum signed to Fire Records and recorded their debut album, Rifferama, in San Francisco (releasing the album in 1994).
Rifferama captured Thrum’s blend of soaring melody, raw guitar energy, and Queen’s unmistakable voice — a sound that cemented them as one of Scotland’s great lost treasures of the indie era.
Thrum recently reformed to perform Rifferama at a sold-out Airdrie Town Hall as part of the Everything Flows exhibition showcasing the vibrant musical history of North Lanarkshire.
“The Airdrie show was meant to be a one-off,” says Monica Queen. “But the energy in the room — the love for those songs — made it impossible not to do it again. Glasgow deserves its own night.”
Now, thirty years on, Queen and Smillie are bringing those songs back to life with a full band, reminding audiences why Rifferama still resonates so deeply. FRETS Concerts will be presenting Thrum live in concert in Glasgow on Friday 13th March (SOLD OUT) and a second night at the Glad Cafe on Saturday 14th March.
TICKETS: https://wegottickets.com/event/689284
THE COUNTESS OF FIFE will be in concert at the Glad Cafe, Glasgow, on Saturday 23rd May. Here’s some bio information.
It’s as if punk never died – just grew up! Rocking Magpie
THE COUNTESS OF FIFE is the solo project of FAY FIFE (best known from The Rezillos). The Countess of Fife is an eclectic alt-country project based around FAY FIFE’S gritty lyrics and soulful melodies and has grown into a touring and recording outfit playing shows including The Edinburgh Fringe, Celtic Connections, Rebellion Festival and beyond….
Debut album STAR OF THE SEA was loved by critics and hit the UK album charts at # 21 and the Scottish album charts at # 7. THE COUNTESS OF FIFE’S 2nd album NEW PHONE * NEW CAR * NEW MAN will be released 1st of May ’26 on Last Night From Glasgow.
Fay’s rich and resonant voice is backed by some of Scotland’s finest musicians. The flexible line-up includes; Brian McFie, guitar (Marianne Faithfull) Al Gare, double bass (Imelda May) Willy Molleson, drums (Rezillos/Eliza Carthy) and Kirsten Adamson , acc. guitar and backing vox.
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AVOID SCAMMERS TRYING TO SELL TICKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA – THEY ARE TRYING TO CON YOU OUT OF YOUR MONEY.
FRETS CONCERTS was established by Strathaven musician Douglas MacIntyre. The first concert took place in the Strathaven Hotel on 4th October, 2019, with Lloyd Cole performing an acoustic set accompanied by Commotions guitarist Neil Clark. The ethos at FRETS is very much geared towards a seated and listening audience, with the onus on live performance and songwriting. The artists really appreciate performing to an attentive audience, magic is invariably in the air. Our dream concert would be Neil Young with an acoustic guitar and harmonica performing his On The Beach album, or Bill Callahan performing any of his albums. We look forward to welcoming you to the Strathaven Hotel for an evening at FRETS.
FRETS is a seated venue within the Strathaven Hotel, doors usually open at 7pm with seats taken on a ‘first-come-first-seated’ basis. We usually have two support artists, with live performances commencing shortly after doors open. All tickets are paperless and sold via the Concert Tickets section of this website, you do not need to print your tickets, simply show us your tickets on your phone.
The concerts usually finish by 10.30pm, though the bar in the hotel is open late if you want to have a drink and a chat. Lots of FRETS attendees stay over at the hotel and have a meal in the resturant prior to the concert, more details about the Strathaven Hotel here. https://www.strathavenhotel.com/
If you re not already on the mailing list, go to the Blog section of this website and submit your email address to keep up to date. We have a couple of big announcement forthcoming and will be emailing to our mailing list soon.
In line with other live music promoters and entertainment events we operate a no refunds policy.
https://twitter.com/FRETSCONCERTS / https://www.facebook.com/fretsconcerts
FRETS is supportive of car-sharing as an option to travel to the Strathaven Hotel. If this isn’t possible, Climate Action Strathaven are now operating buses to and from Strathaven. The last bus to run from Glasgow to Strathaven is 9.15pm from North Hanover St (George Square). For more information about Climate Action Strathaven please visit their website: https://castrathaven.org/
Please note there are no direct buses running from Strathaven to coincide with FRETS concerts finishing around 10.30pm. There are trains from Hamilton to Glasgow, however a taxi would be required to be booked from the hotel to Hamilton. There are two taxi firms in Strathaven, here are their details:
Stevie’s Taxis / 01357 – 528888
Strathaven Taxis / 01357 – 522522
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