The Trials and Tribulations of organising an Independent Festival

Glasgow’s beloved end of summer all dayer event returns for another year with headliners The Cribs set to leave quite the raucous imprint amid the chaos of Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street.

Celebrating it's seventh year, with two exciting new venues added to the trail, it doesn't matter if you miss the headline as there is plenty more to be discovered on your way. Co-creator Nadine Walker says: “It’s bigger, better, louder than ever before. The core of Tenement TV is all about discovery, for us to be able to bring in bigger bands into the equation now and grow into headliners like The Cribs but we’ll always keep a great diversity of touring and local talent as well as bringing in the big headliners.”

The festival gives way to celebrate both the undiscovered and well-loved of the Scottish music scene in equal measure, serving as a real milestone at the start of gig season. This will also be the third year TTV have opened up the final slot for the new artist competition, sending a call out for submissions in return for the chance to open the festival: “If you look at the power this competition has, with our first winners Rascalton, and in the past three years first band to win and they’ve gone on to do amazing things. They’ve got their EP out, working with really strong management, booked a UK tour, involved with the Great Escape last year.” With a judging panel listening to every single track, direct entry to industry acknowledgment is almost guaranteed giving a platform to performers they wouldn’t ordinarily have.


A new addition to the event this year was the For Love of Glasgow exhibition located in long-running trail venue, Broadcast. Shining a light on the photography and creative talent of both Alice Hadden and Cameron Brisbane, who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make the festival, visually, the spectacle it is"It's just a lovely way to showcase the guy and girl that are the heroes behind the scenes, celebrating trails of the past while also incorporating the glory of Glasgow’s music."

This annual event has been an integral date on the calendar for creators and musicians alike for years, 2018 performers and long time punters SWAY say: “It puts you out there to people who wouldn’t otherwise give you the time of day. When it comes to Tenement Trail, you’ll have a look at your list, see you’ve got some space so see someone you’re on the fence about and next thing you know you’ve got your new favourite band. It’s just nice to be part of, these grassroots festivals are good for towns like this.”

As the festival takes a steady incline year on year and looking ahead to 2019, breaking away from the usual confines of Sauchiehall Street looks promising as a city-wide takeover could be possible: ”I would love to add more and more venues, why can’t we talk about going outdoors, the sky’s the limit, why can’t we be as big as The Great Escape, the trail could be taken all over Glasgow not just Sauchiehall Street, we’re thinking big for 2019!”

Tenement Trail returns on 29th September. To hear more from one of this year's performers, SWAY listen to their interview below: