Feargal Sharkey to speak at goNorth

Organisers of goNORTH 2011 have announced that Music Week will conduct a keynote interview with UK Music CEO Feargal Sharkey at this year’s event.

“The event has a unique and fantastic reputation of supporting Scottish talent and the Scottish music industry,” said Sharkey.

goNorth festival director Shaun Arnold is delighted that Sharkey is following in the footsteps of the likes of Tony Wilson and Alan McGee in conducting a keynote. “Feargal is one of the most respected voices in the industry, and someone who has been at the top of our wishlist for a number of years,” said Arnold. “Having someone with his depth of experience is a fantastic addition to our 2011 programme.”

goNorth is a festival for contemporary and cutting edge music of all genres. It aims to highlight the best emerging talent from Scotland, the rest of the UK, and a selection of international contenders.

goNorth was launched in 2001 to provide a platform for artists from the north of Scotland to showcase for music industry and media representatives on their own patch. The event also offers a series of seminars, workshops and Q&A sessions aimed at all levels of experience, and covering all aspects of the music industry.

Originally hosted in several venues on Aberdeen’s Belmont Street, it briefly relocated to Dundee, before settling in Scotland’s most northerly city, Inverness. goNorth has grown to become Scotland’s largest music industry event and featured over 60 bands across two nights in 2008. goNorth 2011 will take place in Inverness on the 9^th and 10^th of June.

goNorth features acts across all contemporary music genres, with the line-up split equally between artists from the Highlands and Islands, other parts of Scotland, the UK and the rest of the world. In recent years, the event has brought acts from the USA, Russia, Scandinavia, Australia and the Basque Country to the north of Scotland. The goNorth 2011 compilation featuring a selection of showcasing artists will be released directly to industry via MUSICWEEK.

Selected artists will be compensated with a small payment for their performance. All goNorth showcases, seminars and workshops are free and open to the public, music industry and media are requested to register.

www.gonorth.biz/about

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