The Whisky River Band

THE WHISKY RIVER BAND also shouldn’t be under-valued. The good-time sounding songs at the core of that party atmosphere and The Waterboysish feel that comes with Iain Duncan’s fiddle make them natural headliners. And with timeless, intriguing songs like No Regrets and one man’s tale of insomnia, Take You There, the only thing missing from their Thursday-topping set was their summer showcase Jungle Book’s King Of The Swingers – and the big monkey who rampaged in to enjoy it. - Highland News

It may come as no surprise to regular readers of this website, that we stayed in the Seedlings Stage for The Whisky River Band, and we were particularly please to see that Fraser McLean had righted a previous wrong and had returned his invernessGiGs badge to his hat. The off key warm up apparently was an intentional ploy by the band.

It was,however, no surprise that the band had garnered quite a crowd prior to the set, but it was impressive was the amount of passing punters that had decided they liked what they heard and stayed on. The whole set appeared to have a much rockier edge that gave the songs a much fuller feeling. Stand out of the set was the particularly poignant theme tune for the band, No Regrets.. The set ended with the now obligatory King of the Swingers. It is hard not to be full of positives about the set, every single one of them are deserved. Watch these guys very very carefully and if you have not seen them yet get to the Ironworks on the 11th of August. - Inverness Gigs

The tempo of the evening was taken up a good few bars by the taking of the stage of the ever reliable Whisky River Band. We had thought that everything that need to be said had been said of the band (see here) but the introduction of some new material is changing the dynamic a little given another level that tunes such ‘Dark Cloud’ always allude to.

A slight murmur of dissatisfaction was heard from the crowd when band anthem ‘No Regret’ was announced as the last song, a nod from the timekeeper allowed the set to be finished in traditional Whisky style with ‘Jungle Wook’.

It is a shame that the band were overlooked for the council run Hogmanay celebrations, an opportunity for the wider public to see the band would have been invaluable. However there will be plenty opportunity to see them over the festive period both at the Ironworks and The Market Bar.

Catching a few words with the band, it was clear that there are big plans afoot for the new year.So maybe,hopefully, deservedly, 2012 will be the year of the Whiskys. - Inverness Gigs

The last act of the night, was none other than The Whisky River Band,. It would have taken something special to have energised a now well weary reviewer. However the EP was our soundtrack for the summer and indeed most of the year, so really they could not disappoint. Indeed the front row could have been a who’s who of the Inverness music scene. More than apt finish for the showcase. - Inverness Gigs

Review of Dog is Dead supported by Whisky River Band and Kyla La Grange at the Ironworks,Inverness on the 1st of March 2012

A very reasonable £6.50 bought a ticket for tonight’s triple bill. The Whisky faithful took a little time to come out this evening but by the time they were called to arms at just after 8pm there was a healthy crowd of willing listeners. With a casual entrance, the Whiskys blasted through the driving “Dark Cloud” – their sheer power continues to impress.

Kris Douglas’ songs are propelled ever forwards by Chris Ronaldson’s bass and Andy Davidson’s drums. Featuring some well known WRB songs as well as a new song they raced through their set finishing with the sing-along of “No Regrets”. With a quick happy birthday to Christine, they were gone. The imminent (well May) release of their first CD will no doubt herald a wonderful summer festival season. Book my spot at Belladrum! - Inverness Gigs

Now arguably what Ceol-Mor have done is simply go out and get the best local talent available in The Whisky River Band, The Little Mill of Happiness, Sara Bills & the Hasbeens, James Mackenzie & the Aquascene, Iain McLaughlin and Carpe Diem. It’s not just the quantity of music involved, but the sheer quality of the line up has stunned us at invernessGiGs. - October 18 2010 Inverness Gigs

Music fans are to get a late Christmas present and a taste of the sounds of 2011 when NETSOUNDS UNSIGNED stage their end of year showcase at Hootananny and Mad Hatters in Inverness on 28 December.

A total of 8 acts will take over the 2 floors of Hootananny and Mad Hatters to celebrate a year of great new music whilst also providing a brilliant introduction to some of the acts of 2011 to keep an eye on. The event is also a double celebration as it marks the 3rd anniversary of Inverness based new music podcast, NETSOUNDS UNSIGNED.

This is the second year NETSOUNDS UNSIGNED and Hootananny have got together to stage the end of year showcase Hootananny music programmer Steve Robertson said “We are delighted to run this event again with Netsounds, last year’s event was a real launching pad in the Highlands for some of the acts that took part which saw them go on to appearances at many of the Festivals, Gonorth and Ironworks and we very much hope that this year’s event will spawn some similar success stories”.

As with each Netsounds Unsigned gig it will be largely made up of acts from the Inverness and Highland area but will also include acts from out with. On the home side this year is Inverness collective, THE LITTLE MILL OF HAPPINESS featuring members of Shutter, Lush Rollers and former members of Lowtide Revelry. They are joined by Inverness 5 piece THE WHISKY RIVER BAND who are all set to release their debut EP in the New Year.

NITEWORKS Originating from the Isle of Skye bring their fusion of electro and traditional Gaelic roots to the bill, whilst Belladrum Festival goers will be delighted to know that pop-punk act ALWAYS THE SIXTH from Wick and electro duo THE LED appear in the line up following a successful summer for both acts. Representing the away side are Aberdeen based folk rock duo THE BROTHERS REID who’s debut single was released on iTunes earlier this year and the folk/indie/blues sound of Aberdeen collective SHY JAMES.

Following the success of last year’s event Netsounds and Hootananny have decided that donations will be collected to go to the Inverness Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre.

Jamie Macdonald from Netsounds Unsigned said, “The event is free but we are asking people to make a donation to the Inverness MS Centre. The MS Centre provides much needed support and therapies to approximately 100 people per week and we hope that what we raise can help in their ongoing fundraising to keep the centre open.”

The weekly Netsounds Unsigned show from presenter Jamie Macdonald and executive producer Murray Cameron reaches over 500 subscribers every week and promotes new and emerging talent from The Highlands and Islands and beyond. As well as a loyal following from the Highlands Scotland the podcast has picked up listeners from as far afield as the Americas, New Zealand and Russia. Previous podcasts have featured interviews and music from the likes of Stornoway and Mumford and Sons before they signed to major record labels.

- 17 Dec 2010 in Highland, Music