Street Symphony: The First Govanhill Street Music Festival
If you took a walk through the streets of Govanhill on Sunday 30th October, you may have stumbled across a Somali group playing music in Govanhill Park, a violin and harp duo on Langside Road, or a Kurdish band outside the Bees Knees cafe. The inaugural Govanhill Street Music Festival was a resounding success, and an example of how we can still enjoy live music in socially distanced times. In this article, Katherine Midgley, from the Govanhill Baths Community Trust, explains how it came about.
by Katherine Midgley, Govanhill Baths Community Trust
The idea for the festival came from Fête de la Musique, an annual and nationwide festival in France where musicians are invited to play into the street from their houses, or from cafes, restaurants, shops, schools.
In France it is a voluntary event, with some programmed stages and many others simply joining in on the day. There is a wonderfully anarchic spirit to the event, which lasts all night and sees visitors filling the roads, blocking traffic, and dancing until the morning!
I thought the idea would work very well in Govanhill because of the amazing range of cultures and communities who make their homes here. The quality of the music was outstanding, and ranged from incredibly complex Roma folk to free-flowing jazz saxophone, contemporary Iranian santoor, traditional Kurdish songs, Celtic harp, and experimental guitar!
It also seemed a powerful way to combat some of the prejudice that has been levelled at Govanhill since lockdown began (for example, the anti-Roma sentiment which we saw at the beginning of lockdown, or the recent defacing of a BLM mural at our Youth Base). The success of the event shows that in our community there is a strong sense of togetherness, and a willingness to fight hate in all its forms.
At the baths we were also very keen to offer a paid opportunity to musicians, who have seen most or all of their gigs cancelled or postponed in 2020. We were delighted that Thriving Places granted us funding to host the event, which meant we could offer a meaningful amount of money to 28 musicians and 9 stewards.
We partnered with Ando Glaso, Music Broth, and Big Noise to put on the event, and their expertise at putting on large-scale music events was invaluable. One challenge we all faced was making the event safe during the pandemic, but another reason why the festival worked was that by its very nature it was an outdoor event without any seated audience; people were invited to walk through Govanhill, discovering more music. We want to thank everyone who attended for staying socially distanced whilst they enjoyed the music - the event would not have been possible without their cooperation.
The event was such a success, both in terms of the number of people who attended, and the feedback we received. People were so happy to be able to hear live music again, and several people asked whether this was to be a monthly event! Musicians also enjoyed the experience, which was for many their first chance to play a live gig this year. We want to deliver something bigger and better at GIFC 2021, so watch this space!
“It was a pleasure to work closely with Govanhill Baths Community Trust, Music Broth and Big Noise to develop and deliver the Govanhill Street Music Festival. The idea came from Katherine Midgley at Govanhill Baths, to showcase the colourful cultural heritage of this exciting part of town, give a helping hand to local artists who lost income due to the pandemic and most importantly bring some much needed joy for the residents of Govanhill during these difficult times. It was a privilege to work on the programming of such a diverse line up, with an exciting selection of artists including some of our amazing Roma musicians, showcasing their culture and talent.”
Photo Gallery by Michal Lausch
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Photo Gallery by James Bajgar
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