2024 Acts In Pubs
Siamese Cat Twin
Orkney's (self-professed) Heaviest Metal Band, Siamese Cat Twin are a scuzzy nu-metal/alternative metal band featuring Marty Nooseneck (Kevin Johnston), E.D. Le Premiere (Edie Wootton), Bruises (Erik Bews) and 1337 (Lee Taylor). Think Korn, System Of A Down, Slipknot, Coal Chamber. Siamese Cat Twin play mostly original songs from their mini album 'Extended Cuts' and their new album ':(' which will be out on the 6th September, the same day they're playing at the Torvhaug for the Rock Festival! Be sure to check out their music videos for Blight and Dross Draws Near on Youtube too!
Orkwind
Orkwind are a recently formed, premier Hawkwind tribute act, but from Orkney! They'll take you on an interstellar journey through the psychedelic soundscapes of the legendary space rock pioneers. The band consists of Hawkwind superfans Chris Woolham, Jon Humphrys, Peter McAndrew and Stuart Allison. With a tantalizing setlist including Quark Strangeness And Charm and Who's Gonna Win The War, Orkwind are sure to please!
Rising Nort
Shetland's newest music festival, Rising North, is a celebration of their live rock scene, started by a dedicated committee featuring Anthony Peart, David Bisset, Taylor Pirie, Arthur Nicholson, Joe Robertson, Arron Peart & Jack Jamieson. Having held their first festival in September some of those committee members (Anthony Peart, Taylor Pirie, Aaron Peart and Joe Robertson) are using the Orkney Rock Festival, often described as their second home, as a way to wind down after and have put together a committee band especially to play at the 9th Orkney Rock festival as Rising Nort! All of the guys have played before for us in different guises in Hybrid Constellation, Shipyard Riot, Dirty Lemons, Throat Locust, The Fiction, Delorean and more! We are looking forward to loads of laughs, mishaps and fantastic covers from these guys!
Pleepsin Joe
With years of experience and willingness to please, Pleepsin' Joe is back again and sure to deliver. Playing everything from Deep Purple to Stray Cats, there's sure to be something for everyone! With powerful, dynamic vocals provided by lead singer Sarah Hague, her husband Martin providing the strong, punchy rhythms from behind the kit, Kieran Whitten grinding out the melody on guitar and Pete Thomas grooving along with the bass, Pleepsin' Joe are sure to provide energy with the classics we all know and love.
Burray Blues Club
What do you get when you put the finest Blues players in Orkney together? Why, you get the Burray Blues Club! Keep your eyes peeled for this group of celebrities. Formed as a jam session the line up changes as regularly as a set of strings on a fiddle. It's not known for sure who exactly will be there, what is known is they are sure to leave you wanting more!
Rocker
If you like AC/DC, you'll definitely like Rocker! Mostly because they're an AC/DC cover band, but also because of the talents behind it. With Andy Taylor shredding like Angus Young, Will Scott smashing up the drums, Colin Drever tearing it up on bass, Douglas Montgomery rocking along on fiddle and guitar and Laura Montgomery being both Bon and Brian, it doesn't matter if you're a fan of the Bon era or the Brian era, they do both and you certainly won't be disappointed and hopefully you'll be Back (in Black) for more.
Dead Right
Giving us covers from the artists we all know and love from the Rolling Stones to Electric Six, Dead Right know where it's at! Thanks to Barry Gruber's rhythm guitar and vocals, Bill Eunson's bass, Kieran Whitten' lead guitar work as well as some beats from Adrian Holmes, Dead Right have made these classics feel like their own these last two years. However, this Rock Festival is set to see Erik Bews of Siamese Cat Twin take over from behind the kit. Having seen his work, I'm sure he'll do a grand job!
Saltfishfilthy
It's like Saltfishforty, but filthy. Take Brian Cromarty and Douglas Montgomery, but replace their traditional folky sound with one of a heavier calibre, one with more distortion and noise and you get Saltfishfilthy! When these two got together in 2002, the aim was to "make as much noise as two people possible could", and with a perfect blend of traditional folk influence and heavy metal madness, they will certainly live up to their promise! Having played everywhere from Canada to Cambridge, they've been around and they'll be around here very soon!
Dirty Røtters
Old enough to know better but they don't care, the Dirty Røtters bring classic punk songs back to life with occasional excursions into complementary material from later years. Formed in 2015 for a charity gig they are still rocking by popular demand with a line up of Walter Gorman on vocals, Dave Stevenson on drums, Tom O'Brien on bass and Steven Heddle and Ray O'Neill on guitars. Rock Festival regulars, this year they have given up headlining Bootstock in Inverness to appear. If you like the Pistols, Undertones, Damned, or Stooges then raucous good times are in store. 'Orkney's premium punk band... their musicianship peerless... (Walter was) the best entertainer of the night'-The Orcadian, 2022. Pogo now!
Mockingbird
Formed last year, Mockingbird already looked like an Orkney supergroup with the established talents of 'Poplar' Jake Milway and Andy Taylor on guitar, Colin Drever on bass, Will Scott on drums, Douglas Montgomery on fiddle and guitar and El Kevano adding an extra dimension through his keyboards. And it's got even better with Leah Seator joining earlier this year as lead vocalist in a band that already has four others who sing. Expect vocal harmonies, guitar interplay, thrilling keyboard solos and a dynamic rhythm section. From the Allman Brothers to the Blues Brothers and all points beyond, the only things that can hold them back are their diaries, as they are all in so many other bands.
Bigsy Whalps
If Mitch and Rog, the Robson brothers, are in a band then go and see them. If Roger's son James (drums), Camron Dowell (vocals), and Jamie Anderson (guitar) are in that band, and this is that band, then don't think twice even when you see the crowd you'll have to fight through. In the Whalps, Roger is on guitar and vocals and Mitch on bass, and their decades of experience with The Tribe coupled with the swagger of the young boys means they have a set that rocks and that you can dance to as well. Great stuff for young eens and old rockers, and not just covers, their own excellent songs as well. What's not to like?
Silver Penguins
Brian Cromarty, Douglas and Marie Montgomery and Robbie Thomson return with an eclectic set, as they can play anything. Rocking out yet with traditional influences from Douglas' lead fiddle, they always get the party started and joint jumping, reputedly causing a local bar to reinforce its floor with steel beams after a particularly boisterous night. Stalwarts of the local music scene for longer than their youthful enthusiasm would suggest, they play with a smile on their faces, and the enthusiasm is contagious. They don't perform that often, so make the most of this chance!
Stoatfinger
Like the stoat, this band is popping up everywhere around Orkney, defying attempts to trap it by genre or style. This year, they’ve performed at the Folk Festival, are lined up for the Blues Festival and have also led frequent and popular bar-room music sessions in Kirkwall and Stromness. Mixing offbeat covers with a generous dollop of quirky and sometimes rather dark original material, Dan Rhodes (guitar and bass) and James Groat (mandolin and banjo) are familiar faces from numerous local bands, joined by Antony Hodgson (guitar and fiddle) carefully craft an acoustic blend that shamelessly borrows from Americana, Blues, Folk and even the Velvet Underground.
First Offenders
Like raking through your CD case found in an old schoolbag from 2000. Formed to play some tunes at a friend’s wedding during the great reset of ‘21, when mid 30s people got to enjoy partying on the wrong side of the law like they were 15 again, the 1st Offenders bring back the pop-punk, fun-to-play stuff they used to have playing on their Sky boxes back in the days before iPhones, the music that inspired them to pick up their instruments. No noodling or screaming, just catchy riffs and lines from simpler times! Comprising 4 well known suspects from the local scene: Will Scott (drums/vocals), Kieran Whitten (guitar/vocals), Fraser Retson (guitar/vocals) and Marcus Cordock (bass/vocals).
Bryttania
7 years on, the mighty Bryttania still continue to return to the stage to satisfy your heavy metal needs. Now a fan favourite, the guys made their first Orkney Rock Festival appearance in 2019, and since then it’s been one of the highlights of their gigging year. The band was formed in summer 2017 by then-13-year-olds drummer Ewan Howe and lead guitarist Tom Kennaugh, and over time they recruited bassist Keaghan Barnett, singer Conal Caithness, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Julian Beale, and co-lead guitarist Charlie Kennaugh, who is currently on a short hiatus from the band. In February, Bryttania released their 'Dr. Metal' EP, and are continuing to work towards their debut full length album. Stay updated metalheads!
Razormouth
Local festival regulars Razormouth formed in early 2018, and played their first Orkney Rock Festival that same year. The band have returned to perform at every festival since including at the main event and closing the Sunday night in the Mo Ho. in March 2019 Razormouth released their debut EP 'Cutting Teeth'. Fast forward 5 years on from then, and their debut album 'Into The Inferno' is now just about to drop, delivering new and original hard hitting tunes from ‘the boyz’ so grab a copy while you can! The band consists of Ryan Silver on bass and vocals, Nicky Booth on rhythm guitar, Jarvis Walls on lead guitar, and Ryan Taylor on drums. We look forward to hearing some of the guys’ new tunes at this coming festival!
The Drones
The Drones are one of Orkney’s few two-piece acts. They began playing together in 2017 and make rare appearances on the Orkney music scene, typically once a year at the Orkney Rock Festival, which they first appeared at in 2018. The Drones are usually found covering indie rock songs, but have been found to write their own, so make sure to spot them scattered throughout their set! Guitarist and singer Edie Wootton and drummer Joe Cole make up the two members of the band. Catch them this year at the Orkney Rock Festival.
Dogspawn
Formed back in summer 2022, Kirkwall’s premier psych/prog rock outfit Dogspawn return to the Orkney Rock Festival with an all new line-up and a fresh set of all-original compositions, inspired by the likes of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, etc. Featuring Keaghan Barnett on guitar, bass and vocals, Lee Taylor on bass, guitar and vocals, and Alex Rushbrook on drums, Dogspawn’s music details tales of ancient blood deities, chaos cultists, and deadly mushrooms. Expect heavy psychedelic jams, prog freakouts, and searing Drop-D riffs.
Ray O'Neill
They say you can't get too much of a good thing and when it comes to Ray, they're probably right. This one man outfit will have your feet tapping and hands clapping as he takes on all genres of music with just his guitar and powerful voice, his easy going stage presence and between song banter makes him a firm favourite with festival goers...and he even does requests! If you’ve not heard his rendition of ‘whars me giro?!’ you’ve never lived!
Retson & Ray
They said it couldn't be done, but it looks like these two didn't listen.
Ray O'Neill and Fraser Retson are getting together to wow the festival with a set that has been 60 mins in the making! What are we gonna be hearing, well, even they don't know, but these two seasoned musicians and rock festival stalwarts will no doubt please any crowd that's lucky enough to see them!
Absinthe
Four-piece rock band Absinthe can boast of themselves as Orkney’s newest upcoming band, formed in early 2024 after the split of two previous bands, whose most experienced members came together to form this new project. The lineup consists of Amelie Gee on lead vocals, Cayden Campbell on guitar and backing vocals, Martin Gee on drums, and kindly standing in on bass temporarily is Bryttania’s own Keaghan Barnett. Absinthe admit they don’t want to be bound to any specific sub-genre, and as a result will play an array of different rocky tunes from grunge to heavy metal.
Noise N' Confusion
Noise N’ Confusion formed back in late 2021, as four mates just jamming together, which led to them deciding to take things further as a serious band, and so what is now Noise N’ Confusion was born. The boys still needed a singer after deciding that none of them wanted to fill the role, and they finally came across one earlier this year . They made their debut performance playing popular classic rock covers at the Finstown Gala this year, and are excited to be performing at this year’s Orkney Rock Festival. On lead vocals you have Brooklyn Sandison, then Finlay Drever and Bruce Swanson on guitars, Alex Thompson on bass, and finally Danny Moar on drums. Noise n’ Confusion are inspired by Thin Lizzy, Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters and Oasis, and their setlist consists of covers from their idols.
The Tribe
We are fortunate to have an all too rare outing from The Tribe this festival, one of the most popular bands in Orkney for decades now. Roger Robson (guitar and vocals), Mitch Robson (drums), Iain Tait (bass) and Allan Reid (lead guitar) always deliver a powerful set of songs from a huge repertoire to get people on the floor and dancing. Classic rock and classic pop from living legends of the local band scene means that satisfaction is guaranteed. If you like seeing a band enjoying what they are doing, and playing with smiles on their faces, then get along and see them!
