Festival Review: Substance 2027

Two venues. Sixteen Scottish acts. One very loud Saturday in Dundee.

 Substance Festival brought together some of the country’s emerging alternative talent for a day of discovery, dancing and seriously varied live music.

Taking place on Saturday 12 September, Substance has grown from its earlier multi-night showcase events into a full-day, multi-venue festival. Created by independent promoters Under The Surface and Staged Live, the festival is rooted in supporting grassroots venues, music obsessives and the artists helping Scotland’s independent music scene thrive.

With sets split between Hidden Dundee and Music Hall Dundee, the day became something of a musical treasure hunt – constantly moving between venues, catching the end of one 9set before heading off to discover what was waiting on the next stage.


Oonagh

Opening the day for me was Oonagh at Hidden, delivering a stripped-back acoustic set with a suitably melancholic, rainy-afternoon atmosphere. A last-minute addition to the bill, her final song was a particular highlight, although some of the vocals were difficult to make out.

Martha May & the Mondays

Martha May & the Mondays changed the mood completely, claiming the stage with a bang. Their six-piece lineup brought punk-rock energy, harder-edged guitars, and a powerhouse frontwoman who seemed to feel every lyric she delivered.

Making their first Dundee appearance, they quickly had the crowd moving forward and getting involved. Their new single Lucky, recently named BBC Track of the Week, went down particularly well, while their cover of Electric Six’s Gay Bar had the room fully engaged. High-energy, passionate and impossible to ignore, they were one of my highlights of the day.

Arienas & Circin

Arienas brought a more melodic indie-rock sound to Music Hall Dundee, with Holy Grail proving a crowd favourite and getting people on their feet.

Over at Hidden, Circin showed impressive determination despite some early technical issues. Even a lyrical slip-up during Paid Actors couldn’t derail them; they simply carried on. For a band only a gig or two into their journey, that resilience was encouraging to see.

The Marx

Dundee’s own The Marx brought funk, punk and ska together with a hefty dose of theatricality. Performing in boilersuits, the four-piece were impossible to ignore. Funky basslines and driving drums made their songs instantly danceable, while their frontman bounced across the stage, swinging and waving the microphone with seemingly limitless energy.

Beneath the fun was something more serious, with political lyrics tackling subjects including police brutality. A sudden metal breakdown and shifting time signatures showed there was considerably more going on beneath those infectious grooves.

Ruvellas & DD Dragon

Ruvellas brought a slick, 2000s-inspired indie-rock sound to Hidden, with funky basslines and a particularly memorable breakdown in Bruce Forsyth. Meanwhile, DD Dragon provided a complete change of pace, combining rap verses and sung choruses with a playful, feel-good energy. A Beyblade battle wasn’t something I expected to see during the day, but it certainly made the set memorable.

San Jose

San Jose were another highlight. The six-piece brought psychedelic rock and post-punk together with saxophone, while their frontman seemed determined to use every available inch of the stage; climbing onto the bar, performing to the cameras and even going barefoot.

The whole band matched that wild energy, with the saxophone and lead guitar working particularly well together. Their frontman had a larger-than-life, almost Mick Jagger-esque stage presence, and the crowd fed straight back into it.

Chancer & Bikini Body

Chancer delivered melodic, commercial indie with a little more grit underneath, driven by punchy drums and bass and offering a glimpse of their upcoming EP.

Bikini Body shifted the mood again with funky, 80s-leaning alternative sounds, bringing flashes of new-wave and quirky post-punk character to Hidden.

Faeda

Faeda were another standout for me, bringing a heavier take on alternative rock. Their sound had plenty of weight without becoming overly aggressive, balancing big guitars and melodic hooks with enough bounce to keep the crowd moving.

Bottle Rockets & Man of Moon

Bottle Rockets brought their four-piece sound to Hidden for their first Dundee appearance, before Man of Moon took over Music Hall Dundee as a two-piece powerhouse.

There’s something impressive about watching two people create such a full sound, and Man of Moon certainly delivered. With guitar, drums and a pedalboard that looked capable of controlling the weather, they filled the stage with considerably more noise than two people had any right to.

Declan Welsh and the Decadent West

By the time Declan Welsh and the Decadent West took to the stage, the day had built towards its finale. Their danceable indie sound immediately raised the energy, with their charismatic frontman throwing himself around the stage, hip-shaking and dancing with his guitar like a Scottish Elvis. It was exactly the kind of finale a festival needs: energetic, charismatic and impossible to stand still through.

Substance Festival feels like more than a collection of gigs. By bringing independent artists, music obsessives and grassroots venues together across one day, Under The Surface and Staged Live have created a space where artists at very different stages of their journeys can share a bill, and where a wander between venues can lead to your next favourite band.

For a festival built around supporting Scotland’s independent music community, Substance feels like it’s doing exactly what it set out to do – giving emerging artists a stage, giving audiences something new to discover, and giving Dundee another reason to turn the volume up.