The Spree: A History of Diversity

THE SPREE: A HISTORY OF DIVERSITY

Where some of music’s biggest events have been criticised for remaining as disproportionate as ever, The Spree has always had its doors open to performers from across the spectrum.

Since its inaugural edition in October 2012, The Spree has placed an emphasis on bringing eclecticism to Renfrewshire. At a time when many festivals have come under fire for focusing on one market to the detriment of others, its history is as richly woven as those brocades that made its host town famous the world over. With one foot in the traditional and the other embedded in the contemporary, performers have come from all genders, creeds and colours.

Whether it was the poignant folk stylings of Rachel Sermanni & Capercaillie’s Karen Matheson or the Mercury Prize award-winning Young Fathers’ entrancing hybrid of hip-hop, gospel and electronic dissonance, organisers have always placed inclusiveness high on the agenda. Capable of playing host to The Delgado’s Emma Pollock and the Afrobeat-indebted Francoise and The Atlas Mountains right alongside a show that celebrated their partnership with the Rajasthan International Folk Festival, this onus on incorporating a range of unique voices isn’t consigned to the music.

Kicked off by the proudly gay and eternally kilted Craig Hill in 2012 (pictured), the comedy bill has featured everyone from Des Clarke and Susie McCabe to Glaswegian firebrand Janey Godley among others.

Speaking in 2016, then-Paisley 2021 Bid Director Jean Cameron epitomised exactly what the festival is and always will be about when she declared it to be “outward-looking and internationally-flavoured, yet also unmistakably Paisley.” A permanent fixture on the cultural calendar, The Spree shows no signs of deviating from that ethos anytime soon.