They may be busy touring album One Million Suns. But that hasn’t stopped Irish rockers, and adopted Glaswegians, Snow Patrol hatching plans for a one day music spectacular in Glasgow this summer.
Last year’s T In The Park headliners are no strangers to the festival circuit. But this year the band, who formed at Dundee Uni, have decided to take the bull by the horns and not only headline but organise their own event in Scotland with tickets on sale tomorrow.
And where better, or more appropriate than Glasgow where they’ve been based for most of their meteoric rise to success. It’s even hoped the festival, set to take place at Bellahouston Park on June 12 could become an annual event. .
Keyboard player Tom Simpson told reporters: “We did a similar one-day thing a few years ago in Ward Park over in northern Ireland- it was one stage and four bands.
“Everyone really enjoyed it so we put always wanted to do it again and put ona real big day over in Scotland. Now it’s going ahead at Bellahouston park and we’re very excited.”
Bellahouston Park famously played host to the Pope John Paul’s visit to Scotland in 1982, where the appearance of the pontiff drew a crowd of 300,000.
Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody admits he isn’t expecting quite those numbers when Frightened Rabbit, America’s Band of Horses and another band still to be confirmed join them for the event.
He quipped: “I’m not religious but I doubt we’ll elecit the same devotion from the crowd.
“Although I bet they didn’t sing Chasing Cars as loud in 1982 as they hopefully will in 2010.”
The lads will play Ward Park the weekend prior to a week prior to the Scottish gig and Gary explained why they chose Bellahouston in the first place.
“We wanted to do it somewhere in or near Glasgow that had the same sense of occasion, “ he said. “Bangor is my home but Glasgow felt and still feels like a second home.
“We’ve done the festival circuit very year of the last ten so it’s time to take a wee break and do our own thing. We’re hand son with everything we do and decided on the other bands.
And being organisers we had to be a little bit selfish and take the headline slot- we’re doing all the work after all! As long as people want it we’ll keep doing it next year and afterwards.”
Glasgow has a rich music festival tradition. T In The Park originally started life at Strathclyde Park in 1994 before switching to Balado in Kinross thre years later and the city’s roots music Celtic Connections Festival is now a firmly established favourite on the cultural calendar.
Tickets for the event priced £40 or £45 go on sale tomorrow at 9am. Tel: 08444 999 990 or vist www.gigsinscotland.com or www.ticketmaster.com
