The fifth Dumfries Music Conference will take place at The Stove, 100 High Street on 19-21 October. DMC’s programme, which is almost all free-to-attend, includes workshops, live music, radio shows, panel discussions and a special film evening.
Since it was launched in 2012, the event, which is predominantly aimed at 14-30 year olds, has welcomed a huge range of people from across the music industry. That includes organisations and companies like Born To Be Wide, Chemikal Underground, the BBC, Soma Records, Ministry of Sound, Funktion-One, Cryptic and Mircodot.
For 2017, the organisers will mark DMC’s fifth birthday with an extra special programme. Co-founder, Michael Nicholson, said: “We’re very excited about the line-up for DMC2017. It’s our fifth anniversary and it’s a year since we became a community interest company, so we’ve pulled out all of the stops. None of what we do would be possible without the support of The Holywood Trust. We hope that local people will come out to enjoy and support the event. There are sure to be plenty of memorable moments.”
DMC2017 kicks off on Thursday 19 October, with a special session about Scottish music video director, Drew John Barnes. Born and raised in Greenock, Drew now lives in New York and has worked with artists and clients such as Grammy award winner Fatmanscoop, Ty Dollar $ign, Enter Shikari, Texas, VEVO and MTV TRAX. There is an opportunity to ask Drew a question via DMC’s social media channels.
Friday sees the first Radio DMC shows being aired live from The Stove Café. Broadcasting between midday and 4pm on Friday and Saturday, the station will showcase live music and interviews, all under the guidance of presenters Jim Gellatly, Melissa Gunn and Emily Cooper.
Attendees can then watch a special music industry expert panel, featuring representatives of Creative Scotland, Musicians’ Union, Performing Rights Society (PRS), Help Musicians UK and XpoNorth. The panel will offer guidance about how musicians can make money through writing, recording and playing their music.
Emerging artist group, Blueprint100, will host a special gig, dubbed ‘Johnny’s Got An Empty’ on Friday evening from 7pm.
Saturday daytime will be filled with more live performances and useful insight on Radio DMC between midday and 4pm. Two workshops will also be held. The first, ‘Getting Press and Media’ will take place between 1pm – 2.30pm, and will feature Jim Gellatly (Amazing Radio), Derick Mackinnon (The Scotsman) and Amy Ferguson (The Janice Forsyth Show on BBC Radio Scotland). The second Saturday workshop will provide useful tips about ‘How to Organise Your Own Gigs’.
DMC2017 will be capped by a special evening of live music from Scottish indie-pop sensations, Be Charlotte and hotly-tipped local band, Franky’s Evil Party. It all starts at 7.30pm. Tickets for the gig can be bought via Dumfries Music Conference’s website and Facebook page.
All other DMC2017 sessions are free to attend but it’s important for attendees to secure their places by registering beforehand. Head to www.dumfriesmusic.co.uk or www.facebook.com/dumfriesmusicconference for more information, including how to book.
