MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2016: Dundee Acoustic Music Club

Congratulations to Dundee Acoustic Music Club who have been nominated in Club of the Year sponsored by Trac Scotland in the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2016. Vote now!

We asked Barry Nisbet of Dundee Acoustic Music Club the following questions.

Tell us about yourself
We felt the need to have more of our favourite Scottish and touring bands play in Dundee, so we started the Dundee Acoustic Music Club in December 2014 with a committee of five. We hosted our first Sunday afternoon concert in May 2015 and, in September that year, feeling that wasn't quite enough hard work, added a second monthly gig on a weeknight evening.

We operate on a not-for-profit basis, and aim to provide a welcoming, family-friendly venue where we can promote live music in Dundee and where appropriate provide a platform for local acoustic acts.

We book acts through national promoters, by targeting artists, through our own personal musical connections, and through being contacted by the artists themselves.

Recently we have added a slow session for beginner and progressing musicians, that follows on after the Sunday concerts. These sessions are in their third month now, and have proved popular.

To date we have sold over 1,500 tickets for 26 concerts, and have a membership of 110.

Why are you involved in Scottish music?
Because we love it!

Our committee all have their own backgrounds in Scottish and folk music – Barry is a fiddler from Shetland, Ruth is a Dundonian lover of Americana and bluegrass, Gus is a guitarist and mandolin player who has played in ceilidh bands and blues combos. We have grown up with Scottish music, and there are few things any of us love more than going to hear a really good gig – except possibly to see an audience go home happy having enjoyed a really good gig that we helped make happen.

Any particular career highlights?
We are proud of the fact that every gig we have hosted since starting out has without exception been superb, even if audience numbers have fluctuated. Our first ever concert in May last year, featuring the Woody Pines from the US with local band Two Thieves playing support, was a highlight as the 65-strong crowd proved that our format would work.

Hosting Dallahan in October 2015 was a definite high – both for their exceptional music and the fact that they attracted a big crowd on the back of four disappointing turnouts that had left our funds and our club in a precarious condition!

To have been able to bring artists such as Dallahan, Karine Polwart, Bruce Molsky and Andy Irvine to Dundee and to our club has been extremely rewarding – and to feel that we have placed ourselves 'on the circuit' and have proved ourselves more than capable of hosting acts of this standing.

What are your plans for the future?
We have some exciting concerts lined up for the remainder of 2016, with Sheesham, Lotus and Son, and The Jaywalkers both performing in Npvember; Blue Rose Code will finish our year's programme on December 18th.

We are booking for 2017 now, and will soon be announcing these gigs; we plan to keep our format of an afternoon concert on the third Sunday of every month, with a midweek evening concert in between.

We would like to grow our audiences and our reputation, and to keep bringing top quality acts to Dundee. We also have ideas for the future should we succeed in increasing audience numbers and interest – more sessions, workshops, possibly a festival – if we can just find the time to organise it all!

If you would like to come along to the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards in Dundee’s Caird Hall call the Caird Hall box office on (01382) 434940 or buy online.