“Thanks again for the gig. It was great to be back at the Traverse” – Graeme Stephen
“Thank you so much for having us and supporting us” – Aileen Reid, Kinnaris
“We had a great time and I hope we can do it again sometime soon” – Dorian Cloudsley, Fat-Suit
“Thank you for all yourself and Douglas did to facilitate the gig. The boys loved Edinburgh and the event was fun; I hope we get to work together again in the future” – Dave Byrne, Manager Midnight Run
“We had a great night, crowd were on brilliant form and the room was spot on” – Graham Rorie, Gnoss
“Thanks so much for having us, this was definitely the best gig of the tour, you and Douglas sure know how to put on a gig!” – Helena Kay
“Thanks so much for all your support and help and for having us back at Soundhouse. What a fun night :)” – Aaron Jones, Old Blind Dogs
“Thank you for having us! A perfect way to bow out. And more generally, thank you from the whole band for all the support over the years. Gigs with you guys have been a massive part of our Bagel life, and we are truly privileged to have been involved in so many different ways with Soundhouse for such a long time” – Phil Alexander, Moishe’s Bagel
These are some lovely quotes from the bands who lit up Traverse One during our recent ‘Spring Season’ at the Traverse which actually lasted right through until June, but who’s counting?!
We’ll never forget the opening gig with Old Blind Dogs when the school kids of Boise, Idaho burst on to the stage with an exuberance that made us glad to be back to ‘normal’ gigs again. And another memorable night was Moishe’s Bagel‘s last ever theatre gig, complete with grand piano – thank you Stuart Duncan for the special deal! The place was buzzing with the Traverse’s first capacity night in more than two years.
There were some lovely visitors – Calan from Wales, Rheingans Sisters from England and Seth Mulder & Midnight Run from the USA – sharing their expert playing and heartfelt songwriting, and some amazing Soundhouse debut performances from Eryn Rae, Roo & Neil, and Hailey Beavis.
We had wonderful jazz from Helena Kay and Fat-Suit, kick-ass trad from Gnoss and Kinnaris Quintet, and a final show featuring the first academy award winning film Sunrise, with a tenth anniversary performance of the score from Graeme Stephen.
The audience signalled their approval by continuing to turn up and figures were a good 50% above our conservative estimates for post-covid restriction gigs. All but one respondents to our survey rated the programme at 7/10 or above and everyone noted the quality of production as 7/10 or above (most responses were in the 9/10 category).
We can’t wait to return to the Traverse Bar in the autumn, and judging from one audience response we think Edinburgh music lovers are ready for it: “The performances in the theatre had better lighting, sound, seating, and sightlines to see the performers. But perhaps it lost the connection, immediacy, and atmosphere of the performances in the bar.”
See you in September!
