The next event in the FRETS calendar is:
Tickets are on sale at this ticket link: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/608968
Martin McAloon was the bass player and a founding member of Prefab Sprout.
Martin will be performing a 2-hour show featuring a large selection of Prefab Sprout songs from their 40 years in the music industry, stripped back to the bare necessities, the raw elements of how they were first performed when originally written by his brother Paddy – before the bells, whistles and budget were added.
Expect all the hits; Cars and Girls, When Love Breaks Down & The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and much, much more!
Following a fall during the pandemic that broke one wrist and a car accident that damaged the other arm, Martin used the guitar and the songs as a form of rehabilitation.
Martin has been involved in the music industry since he was a teenager releasing the early Sprout records on his own label Candle Records, he’s lectured on music and art at colleges and universities and was instrumental in setting up the UKs leading music development agency, Generator Northeast.
He is also a visual artist who exhibits under the pseudonym Feliks Culpa whose work is in collections worldwide and has exhibited at the Royal Academy and ICA London, Liverpool Museum of Popular Music, and Manchester Contemporary.
“These songs are the DNA that runs through me – the writing is pristine and it’s an honour to be able to play them in a live environment once again.” Martin McAloon
TICKETS: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/614909
We are delighted to announce that The Pearlfishers will be performing a special FRETS:ALBUM CONCERT at the Strathaven Hotel on Friday 7th June. David Scott will be leading the group through a live concert launch of the new Pearlfishers album (released on the wonderful Marina record label). The album is called Making Tapes For Girls, and it’s up there with the best of Scott’s work – literate pop at its finest. The Pearlfishers will perform the album in its entirety before playing some of their best loved songs.
FRETS CONCERTS was established by Strathaven musician Douglas MacIntyre. The first concert took place in the Strathaven Hotel on 4th October, 2019, with Lloyd Cole performing an acoustic set accompanied by Commotions guitarist Neil Clark. The ethos at FRETS is very much geared towards a seated and listening audience, with the onus on live performance and songwriting. The artists really appreciate performing to an attentive audience, magic is invariably in the air. Our dream concert would be Neil Young with an acoustic guitar and harmonica performing his On The Beach album, or Bill Callahan performing any of his albums. We look forward to welcoming you to the Strathaven Hotel for an evening at FRETS.
FRETS is a seated venue within the Strathaven Hotel, doors usually open at 7pm with seats taken on a ‘first-come-first-seated’ basis. We usually have two support artists, with live performances commencing shortly after doors open. All tickets are paperless and sold via the Concert Tickets section of this website, you do not need to print your tickets, simply show us your tickets on your phone.
The concerts usually finish by 10.30pm, though the bar in the hotel is open late if you want to have a drink and a chat. Lots of FRETS attendees stay over at the hotel and have a meal in the resturant prior to the concert, more details about the Strathaven Hotel here. https://www.strathavenhotel.com/
If you re not already on the mailing list, go to the Blog section of this website and submit your email address to keep up to date. We have a couple of big announcement forthcoming and will be emailing to our mailing list soon.
In line with other live music promoters and entertainment events we operate a no refunds policy.
https://twitter.com/FRETSCONCERTS / https://www.facebook.com/fretsconcerts
FRETS is supportive of car-sharing as an option to travel to the Strathaven Hotel. If this isn’t possible, Climate Action Strathaven are now operating buses to and from Strathaven. The last bus to run from Glasgow to Strathaven is 9.15pm from North Hanover St (George Square). For more information about Climate Action Strathaven please visit their website: https://castrathaven.org/
Please note there are no direct buses running from Strathaven to coincide with FRETS concerts finishing around 10.30pm. There are trains from Hamilton to Glasgow, however a taxi would be required to be booked from the hotel to Hamilton. There are two taxi firms in Strathaven, here are their details:
Stevie’s Taxis / 01357 – 528888
Strathaven Taxis / 01357 – 522522
PLEASE BE CAREFUL – THERE ARE SCAMMERS OUT THERE WHO WILL OFFER TO SELL YOU TICKETS ONLINE VIA TWITTER OR FACEBOOK. THIS IS A RIP OFF. PLEASE ONLY BUY TICKETS FROM THE WEGOTTICKETS LINKS, IF THE CONCERT SELLS OUT JOIN THE WAITING LIST AT THE WEGOTTICKETS LINK.
Fretsconcerts.com 