Glasgow’s leftfield music and arts festival The Great Western returns for its fourth outing in November with a clutch of headline acts offering everything from lo-fi hip-hop and confrontational Queer Pop to high-octane punk and ambient soundscapes.
Held in venues across the city’s West End, including Maryhill Community Central Halls, The Hug And Pint, Mackintosh Queen’s Cross church and the National Piping Centre, The Great Western runs over the course of a single day on Saturday November 4.
Headline acts include London-based post-punk five-piece Warmduscher, costumed performer LYNKS – a Leigh bowery-inspired purveyor of what’s known as Queer Pop – and Wu-Lu, who blends hip-hop, grime and dubstep and is signed to prestigious Sheffield-based label Warp Records. Also topping the bill is Ninja Tune artist Forest Swords, aka producer, composer and artist Matthew Barnes, who creates glitchy soundscapes and has worked with Bjork and Anohni among others.
READ MORE: GLASGOW'S THE GREAT WESTERN RETURNS
“We are delighted to bring The Great Western back to the West End in November and have worked really hard to pack the 2023 edition with what we feel are some of the most dynamic and exciting artists on the live circuit at the moment,” said festival organiser Daniel Mutch. “We can’t wait to see Great Western Road packed once more with music-hungry fans looking to discover their new favourite artists.”
Other acts to feature include ear-splitting post-rock guitar outfit Butch Kassidy, singer-songwriters Aine Deane and Becky Sikasa, and scratchy post-punk French fourpiece Unschooling.
The festival will also showcase up-and-coming local talent – highlights include hotly-tipped songstress Ruby Gaines, rising Glasgow band Water Machine and Former Champ, which feature singer-songwriter Martha Ffion alongside members of Savage Mansion, Catholic Action and Secret Motorbikes – while quirky Scottish indie label Lost Map Records will host a specially-curated line-up at the National Piping Centre. Among the acts and artists to feature are Firestations, Sulka, Kinbote, Victoria Hume and the label’s so-called ‘supergroup’ Weird Wave.
Founded in 2019 and intended as a single day of exploration and discovery in specially curated spaces in Glasgow’s West End, The Great Western has previously hosted artists such as Pussy Riot, Arab Strap, Mercury Prize nominees Yard Act and Scottish composer Anna Meredith. Guest curators in the festival’s short existence have included Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite and Glasgow indie legends The Pastels.
Buoyed by the success of the Glasgow event, The Great Eastern was launched in Edinburgh in 2021.
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