Stage Craft Seminar - 7th March 2013

Bruce Craigie (manager)

Bruce Craigie started out working for several record and publishing companies including Stiff, Chrysalis and Go! Discs, and for the past 14 years has managed Idlewild. He has extensive experience developing acts and now also manages rising stars, Fatherson as well as lecturing at Edinburgh College.

Graeme Steel (sound engineer)

Graeme has carved out an international reputation working with a hugely diverse selection of artists including Kanye West, Nas, Nelly, Busta Rhymes, leading international orchestras Graeme and numerous Scottish acts. Graeme is a familiar face to Scotland's top venues and festivals, and is often consulted to design and spec PAs. In addition he also lectures the MA in Sound Production at Edinburgh Napier University.

John-Paul Mason (booker)

John Paul Mason started out writing for Is This Music? before going on to book shows for the award-winning Tigerfest. For three years he hosted a show on Leith FM dedicated to the best in emerging Scottish talent. John Paul is now the live music booker for Electric Circus and last year worked as Artist Liaison for the T Break stage at T in the Park.

Music Journalist Seminar - Thursday 8th March

Claire Sawers www.thelist.co.uk

Claire Sawers worked as a freelance journalist (The Sunday Times, Metro, The Herald, The Scotsman, Spin, Amelia's Magazine etc) for seven years, interviewing bands, writing features and also spending time working in the States, before taking a desk-job at the List, where she is now deputy editor. She is in charge of the music section of the magazine, which aims to showcase local talent alongside international acts. Last year she was asked to be a judge for the T in the Park T-Break Stage, and this year she is on the jury for the Bafta in Scotland New Talent Awards for Original Music.

Sue Wilson

Sue Wilson is an award-winning arts writer of over 20 years’ experience. Her reviews and features have appeared in the Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday, the Sunday Herald, the Guardian, the Independent, Metro, the List, Songlines and Northings, among other publications, and she is co-author of The Rough Guide to Irish Music (2001). Alongside her journalism, Sue works as a freelance copywriter, and since 2007 has written all the main website/brochure programme content for the Celtic Connections festival. She has also created promotional material for artists including Admiral Fallow, Salsa Celtica, Eddi Reader, Treacherous Orchestra, John McCusker, DJ Dolphin Boy, Aidan O’Rourke, Dean Owens, Babelfish and The Bevvy Sisters, as well as running media skills training workshops for musicians.

Festival Seminar - Thursday 2nd February 2012

Dave Corbet www.dfconcertsandevents.com

Dave started out his career as a student Entertainments Manager and then independent promoter before joining DF Concerts as booker in 1998. Throughout his 13 years at DF Concerts, Dave has been a champion of a diverse range of acts from Eminem to Dolly Parton, Pendulum to Kings of Leon along with home grown talent such as Snow Patrol, Idlewild and Belle & Sebastian promoting over 300 shows a year.

Dave was responsible for the original T on the Fringe festival in 1999 which later went on to become The Edge Festival. Now in its 13th year, the event has seen the likes of Foo Fighters, Dizzee Rascal and Muse grace the stages in Edinburgh during the prestigious International Fringe Festival.

Gordon Reilly www.insiderfestival.com

Gordon is one of four directors of Backwoods Productions, the team who are responsible for putting on relative newcomer to the festival circuit, The Insider, which takes place at Inshriach House, near Aviemore. His major responsibility is for booking and programming the bill which last year played out across four diverse stages, featuring a wide range of acts from across the musical spectrum and focussing predominantly on Scottish talent. Now gearing up for it's fourth year, The Insider offers a platform for artists that is as appealing to play as it is for the paying guests to enjoy.

Gordon is also co-director of The Old Bridge Inn, Aviemore,  responsible for booking, promotion and production of the live music programme.

Jim Mawdsley www.evolutionfestival.co.uk

Jim has operated as an independent music promoter in the North East of England since the mid eighties. He has promoted indoor events that range from 50 capacity pub gigs to 10,000 capacity dance events in arenas. In addition to taking on a role that has built Generator into the UKs leading Music Development Agency, he continues to develop Evolution, the Newcastle Gateshead based music festival which boasts attendances of 30,000 a day at the May Bank Holiday Weekend Event. His role includes overseeing The Evolution Emerging night ,which attracts over 400 entrants for 26 slots.

Katch Holmes www.knockengorroch.org.uk

Katch Holmes is one of the organisers of the Knockengorroch ‘World Ceilidh’ Festival which has taken place in Dumfries and Galloway every May since 1998. The four day festival is one of the longest running outdoor Scottish music festivals, featuring music from all genres with an emphasis on 'roots'. Katch Holmes programmes, markets and manages the event within a small family team. She has programmed and stage managed for other festivals including Kelburn Garden Party and The Edinburgh Mela Festival. Katch also works with Arts & Business Scotland as Projects Manager, with responsibility for projects funded by the Scottish Government New Arts Sponsorship Grants scheme, and leads on the company’s press campaigns.

Shaun Arnold www.gonorth.biz

Shaun Arnold is the founder and current director of the goNORTH Festival; under his stewardship, the event has grown to become Scotland's premier showcase festival for emerging artists. In a career spanning over thirty years, Arnold has developed and managed an extensive list of showcasing platforms throughout the UK, Mainland Europe and the USA, working with a wide ranging client list including Guinness, The BBC, PRS and Music Week.

Last year saw the introduction of the inaugural goNORTH Festival Tour, which sees goNORTH programming new music across a selection of independent festivals, including Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Wickerman Festival, Summer In The City, Wizard Festival and Loopallu. 

Studio Seminar Panel Guests - Thursday 1st December

Dave Hook

Dave Hook lectures in recording studio theory and practice, MIDI applications, mastering techniques and Pro Tools at undergraduate and at masters level at Edinburgh Napier University. He is an Avid Certified Instructor and a certified Pro Tools Expert in music. A freelance engineer and producer, he has engineering, mixing and production credits for recording artists across a wide range of genres from jazz, to rock and pop, to hip-hop and electronica. As a performer with hip hop band, Stanley Odd, he has several releases on Circular Records and has played extensively throughout the UK, including performances at T in the Park and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party.

Francis Macdonald

Francis Macdonald wears lots of hats. He drums with Teenage Fanclub. He manages Camera Obscura, Attic Lights and The Vaselines. As boss of Shoeshine Records/Spit & Polish he was worked with artists such as Laura Cantrell, Julie Fowlis, Karine Polwart, Ben Vaughn, Jason Ringenberg and Kim Fowley. He was a member of BMX Bandits for many years and has also recorded and/or performed with, among others, Alex Chilton, Chip Taylor, Robert Forster, Kate Rusby, Belle & Sebastian, Dan Penn and Ian McCulloch.

Garry Boyle

Garry is a first call engineer to some of the largest and most established recording facilities in Scotland, including ‘Castlesound Studios’ in Pencaitland, the brand new ‘Gorbals Sound’ in Glasgow and his own facility, ‘The Depot Recording Studio’ in Edinburgh. Garry has worked on a wide variety of recording projects including orchestral and location recordings. A varied and exciting 2011 has seen Garry record, mix and produce records for some of Scotland’s top upcoming artists including The Banana Sessions, Stanley Odd, Michael MacLennan, Horndog Brass Band, Neil Primrose (of Travis). Garry recently studied with A-List Grammy Award winning Mix Engineer Michael H Brauer.

Keren McKean

Keren is currently MD of We Make Music Work, a market leading agency specialising in the implementation of music and brand partnerships, the agency also runs a small feeder label. Keren has been working in the music industry her whole life, covering areas including; Artist Management, A&R, Publishing, Festival Management, Marketing, Press and PR.  Keren has been responsible for managing the successful careers of many artists throughout the years, her personal highlight managing and signing Snow Patrol. A highly sought after consultant,  industry speaker, Keren has devised National award winning music campaigns for many well known brands, including Miller Genuine Draft, Guinness and O2 and regularly books emerging bands for these projects.