AS gig rehearsals go it was all a bit off the rails. Tram travellers on the 11.35am to MediaCityUK were treated to a promotional musical serenade from Badly Drawn Boy – ahead of his upcoming slot at the eagerly awaited Whisky Sessions on November 22. Exchange Quay is the nearest stop to the venue, the Victoria Warehouse.
Amazingly, it was the first time the 45-year-old singer.songwriter had travelled on the Metrolink. After an acoustic rendition of Once Around The Block, from his Mercury Prize winning album The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast, he joked that he might have to get out of his car and join his teenage children on the tram more often.
“I was a bit nervous before getting on about playing without a PA because my voice isn’t very loud,’’ said BDB, real name Damon Gough, Bolton-born Chorlton resident.
"But I think The Whisky Sessions asked me to do this because I’ve done weird gigs, like I did a pub tour, a tour of chippies for the Born In The UK album. This is just up there with the daft gigs!”
The Whisky Sessions is a brand new music and whisky festival, taking place on Friday, Nov 21 and Saturday Nov 22 at the Victoria Warehouse http://www.victoriawarehouse.comhotel and events space.
With 24 bands performing across two stages, The Whisky Sessions is a ground-breaking indoor winter music festival with a whisky twist. Featuring I Am Kloot and Gomez as headline acts on November 21 and 22 respectively, the two day festival will also see performances from British Sea Power, Turin Brakes, Tim Burgess, Dodgy, Little Comets and many more.
Meanwhile whisky experts, mixologists and bartenders will be on hand to introduce festival-goers to whiskies from around the world.
Tickets for the festival, priced from £35, are available at www.thewhiskysessions.com. or phone Ticketline on 0161 832 1111. Limited VIP tickets also available at £55 (booking fees apply for both). No booking fees apply if you purchase in person at The Whiskey Jar, 14 Tariff Street, Northern Quarter. Each ticket includes a limited number of whisky tastings in the Whisky Hotel on site. 10 per cent discount applies to group bookings of 10 or more people by calling that Ticketline number