The Week in Light & Sound
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Border Crossing - Eurovision's stage will use a design that demonstrates "how music can transcend borders and bring people together", the BBC has said. The song contest will take place at Liverpool Arena in May, with the city hosting the event on behalf of Ukraine. The BBC said the stage was inspired by "a wide hug" to give the impression of "opening its arms to Ukraine". It will be created by design firm Yellow Studio, which previously worked on the 2022 Grammy Awards ceremony.
Edinburgh Rocks - Work has begun to clear the site for Edinburgh's first purpose-built music venue in more than 100 years. The £75m Dunard Centre will be located behind Dundas House off St Andrew Square and host classical, pop, rock, jazz and electronica concerts. The 1,000-seat venue, set to open by 2026, will be the biggest built in the capital since the Usher Hall in 1914. It will be home to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and play a key role in the Edinburgh International Festival.
Gavin Reid, head of the SCO, said the city has "needed a modern, acoustically brilliant, mid-sized concert hall for a long time, and that is what we are getting". He added, "Great acoustics brings great musicians and great experiences to life," he said. "You experience music in technicolour glory. It is not simply classical music though. There will all genres to suit all styles and tastes; it is going to be somewhere for everyone."
Closing Time - Calvin Harris, Primal Scream, Biffy Clyro and Babyshambles are among the names to have graced its stage, but this weekend - after 15 years in business - Inverness' Ironworks put on its final shows. "We're viewing it as the death of a venue," said Sam McTrusty, frontman of Twin Atlantic, who headlined a celebration of the Ironworks on Friday night. "It's been a beacon of live music for a lot of the youth of the Highlands. I am gutted for everyone up there."
Ironworks is the only purpose-built entertainment venue of its kind in Inverness, with stage lights and sound systems, a production office, dressing rooms and capacity for 1,000 people standing. But the site's owners have planning permission to redevelop the Academy Street plot. Ironworks is to be demolished to make way for a £30m hotel.
Bradford Bound - A renowned music school which launched Adele and Amy Winehouse is looking to expand to Bradford. The Brit School in Croydon, south London, opened its doors in 1991, and has since nurtured a host of actors and international music stars. Music industry bosses said they were looking to emulate that success in West Yorkshire. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has submitted plans to the Department for Education (DfE). The BPI said the new specialist college for 16 to 19-year-olds, would "level-up creative opportunity for underserved young people".
Line in the Sand - Mick Fleetwood has said it is currently "unthinkable" for Fleetwood Mac to continue as a band following the death of Christine McVie. The drummer told reporters on the Grammy Awards red carpet that he thinks the legendary band is probably "done". "I think right now, I truly think the line in the sand has been drawn with the loss of Chris," Fleetwood said. "I'd say we're done, but then we've all said that before. It's sort of unthinkable right now."
Fleetwood said the remaining band members were currently focusing on other musical projects, adding: "They all get out and play, so I'm gonna be doing the same thing, finding people to play with." During the In Memoriam segment of Sunday's Grammys, Fleetwood performed the McVie-written Fleetwood Mac single Songbird with Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt.
(Jim Evans)
7 February 2023
