Spectrum Festival 2007, The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, 1 Apr
If you're a young artist or band on the make, come armed with business cards, demos and a swag bag of chat.
Spectrum Festival is all things to all musos. It is a meet and greet, where industry types rub shoulders with the general public to a diverse soundtrack of music that represents the best that Scotland's acoustic, rock and electronic scenes have to offer. Highlights this year include an audiovisual set from Creeping Bent / Benbecula artist Colditz, who has provided visual material for Sun Ra Arkestra, and Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid. Bands confirmed so far are XFM favourites Sixpeopleaway, rising stars Kiddo, who have been favourably compared with The Strokes, post-rock / ambient supremo Keser, and Ten Storeys High, who will be launching their debut EP. Acoustic Edinburgh will be hosting a showcase in the upstairs bar, and in the main atrium, you will find a who's who of the Scottish music industry, from hip-hop support organisation Urbanscot, to online music distributors like Safe Sell and Scotloads. The last Spectrum event had stalls selling t-shirts, vinyl, and stickers, and giveaways of a party-bag nature including CDs and postcards. If you're a young artist or band on the make, come armed with business cards, demos and a swag bag of chat. If you're a punter, get gussied up and roll along for an afternoon of boundary-pushing music and interactive fun. A festival without the festival toilets, the mud, or the Scottish weather. Bonus. [Bram Gieben]