Frightened Rabbit announce first performance since Scott Hutchison’s death

The Scottish music community is still reeling from the death of Scott Hutchison, the much-loved frontman of Frightened Rabbit, who died back in May. Fans will get a chance to celebrate Hutchison’s life at a special gig paying tribute to him at Glasgow’s leg of this year's Sleep in the Park. Billed as ‘Songs of Frightened Rabbit’, the event will take place at the Kelvingrove Bandstand on 8 December and will see the band perform for the first time since Hutchison’s death, with guest vocalists joining the band on stage, including James Graham of The Twilight Sad, with others being announced over the coming weeks.

“It's an honour to play for such a special event again and we felt it would be the perfect time for us to play together again and share this special night with some of our favourite artists,” says Frightened Rabbit’s Grant Hutchison. “We had agreed to play Sleep in the Park before Scott passed and we felt that since it was something for such a great cause that we should stick to our decision and honour Scott in the best way we know – to play the songs he wrote and continue spreading his message of kindness whilst supporting Social Bite and the amazing work they do.”

Sleep in the Park is an annual event organised by social enterprise group Social Bite, and seeks to raise awareness of homelessness in Scotland and raise money to help those sleeping rough. The event hopes to see 12,000 people sleep-out in four cities around Scotland (Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen and Edinburgh) on the evening of Saturday 8 December and aims to raise £6 million from the event to continue Social Bite’s fight to combat homelessness.

Other performers confirmed to play include Amy Macdonald and KT Tunstall, who’ll play in all four cities, starting the night in Aberdeen’s Duthie Park before heading to Slessor Gardens in Dundee, then Glasgow's Kelvingrove Bandstand before finishing their journey in Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens. Joining Frightened Rabbit in Glasgow will be Honeyblood’s Stina Tweeddale. In Dundee you’ll find Kyle Falconer (of The View) and Withered Hand, while in Aberdeen it’s Eddi Reader and Kris Drever, with Siobhan Wilson in Edinburgh alongside Lulu.

“By joining the movement, participants can take part in an incredible night, enjoy some of Scotland’s best bands and know that they’re doing something that will really make a difference,” says Josh Littlejohn MBE, Social Bite’s co-founder. “I would like to thank all of the amazing music acts who are supporting the event, in particular Grant Hutchison and the other members of Frightened Rabbit, whose performance will be incredibly special and poignant.”

Members of the public can join Sleep in the Park 2018 by committing to raise £100. Businesses can sponsor the event by signing up a team of five with a minimum fundraising commitment of £3,000.

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To find out more about taking part visit www.sleepinthepark.co.uk

Read our tribute to Scott Hutchison