U.S. Regional and Local Music Scenes
Local Bangor, UK Music Scene
Bangor University is one of the key places in Wales to learn about music. Its student
run radio station is a stepping stone to careers in the radio industry. The station
is known as Storm 87.7 FM. Notable alumni that have attended Bangor University include
musician Tony Gillam, BBC producer Tim Haines, musician Roger Whittaker and
TV producer Andy Rowley. Whittaker had a memorable epic hit in the mid-seventies
called "The Last Farewell."
Some of the current musical acts moving up in Bangor include Two Door Cinema Club,
Snow Patrol, Kowalski and Rend Collective Experiment. Artists who are on the way
up include folk singer Brian Houston, pop singer Ruth Trimble, singer/songwriter Chris
Keys and rock band Million Dollar Reload. Some of the more unique alternative acts
include Mojo Fury, Foy Vance, reggae band Aggressors BC and experimental project Trebornoemac.
Bangor has wide variety of venues that cater to different music scenes. Jenny
Watts is a pub with a beer garden that features traditional Irish folk music.
The Ormeau Arms also serves the traditional Irish crowd. Wolsey's is an all
ages club that gets busy on weekends. Cafe Ceol offers live entertainment Monday
through Sunday nights. The Windsor is open throughout the week and caters to a
young crowd. The Jamaica Inn is on th ecoast and is popular in the summertime.
One of the more well known local musicians in Bangor is Gary Lightbody, who is
also the lead singer of Snow Patrol. Lightbody grew up in the area and attended
Rockport School and Campbell College. An artist who formerly wrote songs for
Snow Patrol but is now doing solo work is Iain Denis Archer. Snow Patrol was
originally formed in Dundee, Scotland, but became associated with Bangor due to
Lightbody's connection. The band had a worldwide hit in 2006 called "Chasing Cars."
Out of all the big cities in the UK, Bangor is one of the most overlooked in
terms of developing its music scene. There have not been a lot of big names
from the region, so the door is wide open for someone to claim to be the
city's most successful musical act. One of the core music stores in Bangor is
Dawson's. The store first opened in 1898, making it the region's longest running
musical instrument store.
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