Indie rockers end their national tour with a pilgrimage to the Borders

Capital band wrest play MacArts next Friday, their first Borders gig.

It’s the band’s final headline show of 2019, the culmination of a UK-wide tour in support of their acclaimed debut album ‘Coward of Us All’, released in May.

The self-launched album was quickly picked up by BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal (Rapal ‘Album of the Week’), BBC Radio Scotland (Roddy Hart Show), The Scottish Sun, The National and other press, following a strong word-of-mouth reaction, both at home and overseas.

The result was a national tour that has seen sold out shows in Glasgow, Edinburgh and even Shetland, alongside packed crowds in Inverness, Bathgate, Perth, Manchester, and London, with festival slots in Dumfries, Bute, and Troon.

wrest are one of the country’s most exciting new live bands.

However, it was important for vocalist/guitarist Stewart Douglas to play in the Borders.

He told us: “We were really keen to secure a date in the Borders as part of our nationwide tour of Coward of Us All.

“We’d heard about MacArts and seen the venue on social media – it’s an incredible space – so when the opportunity to play there presented itself we grabbed it with both hands.

“Frightened Rabbit have probably been the single most influential band for our music, so the chance to play in their neck of the woods and in such an amazing venue was a no brainer for us – a great way to round off the year of gigging for us with our last headline show of 2019.”

The band has also been nominated to perform a headline show at Celtic Connections in early 2020.

Parallels with Frightened Rabbit, The Twilight Sad, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Snow Patrol and The National have led to a passionate and rapidly-growing fan-base in the months since the launch.

The show at Mac Arts will be an excellent chance for Borderers to experience one of Scotland’s most exciting emerging live acts in a uniquely stunning venue.

In wrest, Stewart is joined by Stephen Whipp (lead guitar), Craig Robertson (bass) and Jonny Tait (drums).

Support on the night comes from Glasgow’s Dead Electric. More information and tickets at wrest.band/gigs or from Mac Arts.