West End Fiesta returns in June for a weekend of crowd-pleasing artists
The Glasgow music festival sees headline slots from Nile Rodgers and Chic and Kool & the Gang
The continuing development of the frankly lovely Kelvingrove Bandstand as the epicentre of summer live music in Glasgow continues apace. Regular Music's Summer Nights is now well-established in August, although their game has been upped several levels this year with a fortnight-long programme featuring everyone from Brian Wilson to Arab Strap and Pixies to Texas. The live action has also moved to June, with the West End Fiesta offering a weekend of crowd-pleasing classic artists.
There's a smart curation behind the West End Fiesta, with a nostalgic disco focus fusing to a wisely chosen group of artists who best exemplify today's sound, alongside contemporary names carrying on the party tradition of New York's 1970s Paradise Garage and Studio 54 scene.
The big draw is Nile Rodgers and Chic, who are afforded two headline slots on Saturday and Sunday, and play music so epochal they're probably worth seeing twice. Rodgers, no shrinking violet and an expert self-mythologist, is admittedly one of the most influential producers and songwriters of the 20th century. As a fulcrum of Chic, Rodgers recorded classics 'Le Freak' and 'Good Times' before moving into production on albums like Bowie's Let's Dance and Madonna's Like a Virgin, more recently playing his distinctive guitar lines on Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky'.
Headlining on Friday will be longstanding New Jersey R&B group Kool & the Gang, whose peak years came around the disco era. Jocelyn Brown and Odyssey will also be making live appearances alongside Studio 54 resident DJ Nicky Siano and locals Andrew Divine, Dixon Avenue Basement Jams and Al Kent.
Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow, Fri 9–Sun 11 Jun