In the movies, there are two places where the action happens. All the good stuff goes on in either the attic or the basement. Well, at the Woodside Fountain Centre there’s not much happening in the attic (unless you count the leaky roof), but the basement is a different story. For here you will find Woodside’s famous Music Room.

The basement began as the Centre’s garage, and a dismal space it was. Bare concrete walls dominated by pipes and decades of detritus. And then STV’s Kilt Walk offered the Centre £25,000 if we could come up with a suitable project. And so, the Music Room was born, becoming a favourite hang-out for the area’s musicians. However, the Music Room did not have an auspicious start.

The grant opening was held in 2020, and the next day lockdown began. But when things got back to normal local young people realised, they had a great resource on their hands. The Music Room has been a big hit ever since. Project Co-ordinator Mark Lovie summed it up: ‘You can play loud and no one will complain. We want to give young people their first experience of musical instruments, encourage them to take up a positive interest, to learn with their peers and progress through music grades, help kids that are taking music at school to achieve better results.’

Local bands love the place too. Citizens of Garageland include Peter Third and the Bridges, Northern Flights, Kaleidoscope and the ever-popular Ukranian folksters, Uband. Bryan from Northern Flight is enthusiastic: ‘My experience of the Music Room has been great. A big plus is that it affordable and close to my home. The room is very well equipped and the sound proofing and acoustic quality are excellent. Staff have been extremely supportive and approachable, and have involved users of the room in some decision making. I know Mark is looking into storage, as more groups use the room it can become difficult to know what belongs to who and thins can get mislaid or broken. I feel very lucky to have this available in the community.’

The Music Room is well equipped with electric and regular drum kits, keyboards and selection of guitars, amps and microphones. And all this can be hired for a bargain price of a tenner an hour.

If you are interested in using the Music Room, it is available to book (especially during the day, although evening slots are available). The price includes a variety of musical instruments.

So, if you are a garage band in the making, we have the garage for you. Contact the Community Project if interested.

You can hear some local music here:

 https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/bryangingeduncan/first-time