Festival to aid Tibetan Appeal

Oct 14 2008 by Andrew Welsh, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

BANDS will line up next week aiming to emulate the success of an earlier Perth charity concert.

A host of Big County talents will join forces at the Ice Factory on Friday, October 24, in a show of support for Indigo Fundraising, which provides aid to oppressed Tibetan citizens.

The independent initiative was founded by Perth resident Grant McCormic after he met exiled Tibetans during an inspirational journey through northern India.

Indigo has subsequently hosted and organised musical events in aid of various charities worldwide.

This year’s Tibetan Appeal Music Festival will be headlined by the Connect Festival smash Saor Patrol, whose Celtic rock-meets-rockabilly fusion on drums, bagpipes and electric guitar has seen them dubbed ‘the Motorhead of folk’.

Others to feature will include the likes of dj Dean Scott, pop / soulsters The Curtains, electro rockers Air Raider and post-punk goths The Number.

Also on the bill are electronica guru Uncle Reg and hip-hop pop exponents Yoshi, who have gained recent exposure on XFM Scotland.

Two years ago, Indigo masterminded an outdoor festival in Spain in aid of the UK-based Tibet Foundation that raised 2000 Euros.

Alabama 3 headlined, with a few Scottish bands also taking part alongside local Spanish artists.

The concert was such a success that Indigo decided to host a Tibetan appeal music day in Perth last year, raising over £1500 for the Tibet Foundation.

Part of the proceeds went towards paying for five yaks through Indigo’s ‘Yak for Life’ scheme, which provides indigenous nomadic farmers with the female livestock they need to help preserve their traditional way of life.

The organisation is proposing to do the same again with funds raised at next week’s concert, so each band playing on the night will be asked to give an adopted yak a name, in return for future correspondence on their ‘pet’.

All proceeds from the event will go to the Tibet Foundation and another leading charity in the region, Free Tibet.

Next Friday’s Ice Factory event will run from 8.30pm until 2.30am. Buses to the Shore Road venue will depart every 15 mins from That Bar on South Street.

Tickets at the door cost £8, including a courtyard barbecue.

Meanwhile, there’s more on the bands who’ll be playing at the websites:

www.myspace.com/ournameislegionscotland, www.myspace.com/airraiders1, www.saorpatrol.com, www.myspace.com/yoshimusic www.myspace.com/thecurtainsrock