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The Backline Newsletter - Issue 43

The Backline Newsletter - Issue 43

Issue 43

Allan Watson
March 26, 2026

The Backline Newsletter
Issue 43 - Thursday, 26th March 2026

Editorial

There is something powerful about a band that has grown with its audience rather than chasing it. This week feels like that. Bands who have done the miles, put the work in outside the algorithm, and who still believe that the live show is where everything makes sense.

We talk a lot about momentum in this scene, but real momentum is not viral. It is built in rooms. It is built by selling out venues one step at a time. It is built by turning casual listeners into people who know every word.

VIDA have been doing exactly that for over a decade now. From early gigs in Alloa to selling out rooms like Liquid Rooms, they have stayed consistent, melodic and ambitious. This issue feels like a reminder that longevity in Scottish music is not accidental. It is earned.

If you are building something, keep going. The rooms still matter.

Let’s get loud.

Spotlight Q&A

This Week’s Feature Band: Vida

Who’s in the band, and what do they play?
Jamie Pollock on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Nathan Evans on lead guitar, Jamie Piggott on drums, Evan Cameron on bass and Bradley Kennedy on keyboards.
Describe your sound in 5 words or less.
Big choruses and timeless melodies.
What was your first gig as a band?
The Oakwood Bar in Alloa in early 2013.
Biggest show so far and how did it feel?
We sold out the 1,000 capacity Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh in February 2019. It was a magical night that will live with us forever. Watch the music video for our song Take It Easy on YouTube if you want a taste of what the night was like.
Which Scottish venue feels like home?
King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow. It is our most played venue. We are there again on Friday 3rd April, so get yourself along if tickets have not sold out by the time you read this.
If someone’s never heard of you what song should they start with?
Either our newest single Different Storm or our classic Fade Away. Different Storm is our latest offering and gives you a feel for where we are right now, whereas Fade Away is the song that catapulted us into the scene back in 2016 and has now amassed nearly 2 million streams on Spotify alone.
One band or artist you’d love to open for?
Now that they are back, it has to be Oasis.
What’s your least favourite part of gig day?
Loading out at the end of the night. It is the last thing you want to do when you are on a high after the gig.
What’s your biggest insecurity as a band?
Social media has become a bit of a hurdle for bands nowadays. It has shifted the focus a fair bit. You are not just writing songs anymore. You are thinking about posting, engagement and what might or might not work online. That can get in the way of what you enjoy most, which is making music. It ends up feeling less like just making music and more like managing how things look online, which is where that insecurity creeps in.
What’s a Scottish stereotype you wish bands would drop?
There is a feeling that if you are not from one of Scotland’s big cities, you have to prove yourself more. Just be yourself, be proud of where you are from and let your music do the talking.

Connect with Vida
Facebook

Essential Gear

Essential Gear – MXR Phase 90

Short Description
A compact, single knob phaser that delivers warm, swirling modulation without overcomplicating your pedalboard. One control, endless character. Subtle at low settings, psychedelic when pushed.

Why We Love It
Indie guitar is often obsessed with distortion, but movement is what separates decent bands from memorable ones. The Phase 90 adds motion without stealing attention. It thickens clean tones, gives overdriven parts a pulsing undercurrent, and makes simple chords feel cinematic.
It is also brilliantly simple. No menu diving. No tweaking paralysis. Turn it until it feels right and play.

What It Does
The single Speed knob controls the rate of the phase sweep. Slow settings create a gentle shimmer that sits underneath your playing. Mid settings give that classic 90s alternative swirl. Faster settings drift into full psychedelic territory.
Because it is analogue and warm, it blends into your tone rather than sitting on top of it.

Best For
Indie and alternative bands who want dimension without clutter. Clean arpeggios in verses. Expansive choruses that need lift. Guitarists who want their parts to breathe rather than just hit harder.

Bonus Tip
Try it before your main overdrive rather than after. The movement will feel more organic and less obvious. Use it sparingly. If the crowd notices the effect more than the song, you have gone too far.

Gig of the Week

VIDA, 3rd April, King Tuts, Glasgow and 4th April, The Tunnels, Aberdeen

There is something fitting about VIDA returning to King Tut’s. It is the kind of room where choruses hit differently. Close enough to feel the sweat, loud enough to feel the lift. If you have followed their journey from early singles through to Different Storm, this will feel like a celebration rather than just another date on the poster.

The Aberdeen show at The Tunnels brings the same energy north. A slightly rawer edge, a proper live room, and a crowd that does not stand politely. If you want to see a band who have built their following the hard way and are still pushing forward, these are the gigs.

Best of the Rest

Pastel, 27th March, Glasgow Art School and 28th March, Dundee Music Hall

Pastel continue to gather serious momentum. Their Glasgow Art School date will be packed with early adopters and diehards who have been watching the rise in real time. Dundee Music Hall the following night gives fans outside the central belt spotlight a chance to catch them in a proper headline environment. Expect sharp guitars, confidence and a crowd that knows the words.

Richard Ashcroft, 31st March, Hydro, Glasgow

A songwriter who has delivered some of the most enduring British anthems of the last three decades stepping onto a stage the size of the Hydro always feels significant. These are the shows where you remember why big choruses matter. If you grew up on stadium sized emotion, this is your night.

Rianne Downey, 1st April, King Tuts, Glasgow

Rianne Downey brings heart and soul back into the centre of the room. Honest songwriting, strong melodies and a vocal that carries weight without forcing it. King Tut’s suits artists like this. Intimate enough to connect. Loud enough to lift.

Friends of The Backline - The TV Casualties

Do you remember The TV Casualties who featured in issue 33 of The Backline. They have a new track out this Friday 27th March titled Idols.

Idols is a song with much history in other bands of the past that now form The TV Casualties, with the relevant people accredited to songwriting and recording. Different versions exist but this one is the final product of years of work. The band feel the track has potential to be huge. It touches on various themes, though many interpretations remain ambiguous. Some hear anti religion, hope, love, uncertainty, sadness, nostalgia and time.

The track divides fans who are used to their theatrical Alice Cooper meets Misfits angle, but the band embrace their inner influences of Ghost and King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard here, showing real versatility in their sound. When people listen to Teach Them Boys To Kill and then jump to Idols, there are bound to be a few surprised faces in the room.

The track was recorded at Hurricane Records based in Sonar Studios in Airdrie by label owner Thom Glasgow. It is a taste of the diversity they plan to bring over the coming year, with more tracks recorded and ready for mixing as they gear up for their debut album.

The TV Casualties - Live dates

2nd May at Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh supporting Space Van with The Rise and Percepti0n
23rd May at Home Bar, Edinburgh headlining with support from Hotel Motel and The Skinny Imps
29th May at Ivory Blacks, Glasgow opening Bloodbath Burlesque
28th June at Bannerman’s Bar, Edinburgh
20th August at Nice N Sleazys, Glasgow supporting The Order Of The Fly
11th September at The Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh
12th September at The Kings Theatre, Kirkcaldy

Friends of The Backline - Kissing The Flint

Some of you may remember Kissing The Flint from issue 26. They have a new single out on Monday 30th March titled “Crazy Mixed Up Girl.”

Channelling Bonnie Raitt and Little Feat influences, this country rock firecracker is for anyone who has ever been told they are too much. Too loud, too emotional, too complicated. Built on grit, groove and a little outlaw swagger, the song leans into chaos instead of running from it. It encourages listeners to own their contradictions, love hard and stand tall in their scars. Equal parts grit and grace, Crazy Mixed Up Girl does not ask for permission. It kicks the door in and dares you to feel something real.

Wrap Up

Another week. More rooms. More releases. More bands quietly building something real.

If you are heading to a gig this week, get there early. Watch the support. Buy some merch. Tell someone about the band the next day.

That is how things grow.

See you down the front.

Get Involved

Got a story from the rehearsal room, a feature you would like to see, a gig pick, or a gear review you want to share, or just want to plug some great Scottish music, suggest a band or get featured? Have you attended our gig pick - write a review we may feature it a future issue.

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