The annual Dumfries Music Conference is poised for a three-day, mul9-venue town centre takeover on 14-16 October. Returning for its ninth year, the conference will feature a mixtureof live music, workshops, panel discussions, community jams, film, radio and an exhibition, with opportunities to attend in person or follow online.
Dumfries Music Conference kicks off on the evening of Thursday 14 October with live music
showcase The Plaza at The Press (Midsteeple Quarter), 117 High Street. Featuring GRAVELLE,WomenSaid and Euan PaYe, the line-up represents local and national breakthrough talent in an event format designed to uncover alterna9ve live music spaces. The backdrop will be formed by the multimedia exhibition ‘Where Music Lives’, which will run at The Press throughout the conference.
Day two – Friday 15 October – begins at 2pm with ‘Let’s Talk About Mental Health’, a panel
about coping with the unique pressures of the music industry. The insight continues with
Soundlab workshop Household Electronica – an interac9ve crash course in sampling and
beat-making using almost anything you have to hand. Afterwards, the Oasis Youth Centre
will host Youth Jam! an open studio community jam for 12-25-year olds, before an evening
showing of film Sisters With Transistors and The Plaza: A Documentary at the Robert Burns
Film Theatre.
Saturday 16 October is National Album Day, so naturally day three of Dumfries Music
Conference starts at 10:30am with a vinyl listening party, curated by ONR’s Robert Shields
and held at Circa 16. The Stove welcomes Radio DMC and a second drop-in community jam, as the panels continue with ‘Local to Global’, a discussion about mobilising rural music
communities in the digital age. SAY Award longlisted rapper Bemz takes us into the world of hip-hop lyrics with a prac9cal workshop, before legendary Tour Manager Kim Hawes, who
has worked with major acts like Motörhead and Black Sabbath, joins Sid Ambrose for a Q&A.
The day culminates and the conference concludes with the 2021 Live Showcase – held in the prestigious surrounds of the Theatre Royal – featuring Enola Gay, Bemz, Jen Mac and Ra.
DMC General Manager Dave Miller comments: “After last year’s fully digital conference,
we’re very much looking forward to carefully welcoming audiences in real life – albeit with
limited capaci9es. Dumfries Music Conference 2021 will be a celebration of music and
diversity that’s accessible for all – whether it’s musicians or just music lovers, everyone can
get involved and will be warmly welcomed. We’re proud to welcome so many young people
from D&G onto the bill to showcase their own creative work.”
To view the full Dumfries Music Conference programme and to book, go to wearedmc.co.uk.
