Cornish Underground’s 16th Birthday
Wow, what a whirl…we’ve been so busy, we nearly passed by a whole number of celebrations! Including Cornish Underground’s 16th birthday, my involvement at the Old Bakery’s 8th birthday, the new studio’s 1st birthday and my very own (shh!! getting old!). Here’s a chance to catch up on those birthday’s and to hear what’s been keeping us busy.
This whirl has included some classy gigs at the Old Bakery Studios, such as Wendy James (Transvision Vamp), Hayseed Dixie, Jah Wobble, Kris Drever & the Bluetones (no less!). I’m starting to mix childhood heroes, who have actually turned out to be some of the nicest people I’ve met! Alongside the Old Bakery gigs, I had the wonderful opportunity to do sound for two Hall for Cornwall gigs with Will Keating, his band and a selection of choirs behind him. These shows were a great experience and really rewarding to mix in a 1,300 capacity venue, with the evening concert being completely sold out! That’s a lot of attentive ears! Around the same time I also enjoyed the re-launch of the amazing Flats & Sharps at the newly renovated Ritz in Penzance, which again was at capacity and a wonderful job they’ve done to the venue, making it one of the most exciting new venues in Cornwall.
So to backtrack… Cornish Underground reached its 16th birthday on the 31st October, another year round and picking up some great artists. This year in the studio we’ve produced bands like Kernow Vibration (roots, rock, reggae), Delicious Patricia (Cornwall’s premier surf rock band), Blackthorn Springs, Longtide, The Cornwall Youth Choir, The Celtic Male Ensemble, The Oggymen, Rhinestone Rats, Mothen, An Gof Band, projects for Screen Cornwall and a handful of voice actors. Alongside these, we’ve recorded a project for Rhys; the nightchurch pianist, our first signing as Cornish Underground record label. Involving other professionals like Trevow Music Management, Gigsketch Art, Kim Worden Sounds and Rhys himself, working together to produce Rhys’ debut EP. This will hopefully serve him well as he navigates the world of B-list celebrities which he now associates with.
The Old Bakery Studios shines like a beacon for music lovers, with an array of fantastic bands this year, some of which were stated above, but also artists like Jon Boden & the Remnant Kings, Dub legend Don Letts, Mad Dog McRea, Angeline Morrison and many others. Something for everybody there. Also, a new contender is the Redruth Wesley, also where I have my recording studio, with fantastic concerts by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Matthew Thomason’s ‘Lady of Shalotte’, Cornwall Symphony Choir, the Celtic Male Ensemble, Four Lanes Male Voice Choir, Holmans Climax & many more. Even taking in psych rockers Hanterhir & post-punks Night Motor for a louder audience!
Another birthday recently was for my new recording studio, Cornish Underground at the Redruth Wesley, celebrating its first year of recording bands there with me. This has been a rather exciting year for us there at the studio, so much so I’ve made four videos and a blog post just for the studio’s 1st birthday. See here:
Festivals this year have included Scilly Folk Festival, Fire in the Mountain, Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival, Tropical Pressure, the Cornish Bank Summer Camp, Goldsithney Fair and Boardmasters. We missed two festivals this year due to them having a fallow year, but will welcome back Lafrowda Festival and hopefully Medicine Festival again in 2026.
Beyond this, thanks to other venues like the Eco Park, Cornish Bank, the Redruth Buttermarket, Old Chapel Helston, Camborne Rec with Will Keating and the lovely Trevone beach cafe gig with Kernow Vibration.
All in all a fantastic year with both the live element and the recording studio working well together. The hard work put in showing itself in dividends, with a wide selection of high quality artists coming to us for our expertise and experience. Many thanks to those who’ve booked us and trusted us with their projects, bringing us to bigger and better shows and venues. We’re very much looking forward to working with you all again over the next year/s and building some very long term relationships with artists. Keep doing what you do best and we’ll be there to facilitate your projects with the highest possible quality.
Oll an Gwella!
Brendan McGreal
Cornish Underground
25/11/25
