Dumfries is famous for Robert Burns and latterly Calvin Harris, both of whom took the literary and popular music world by storm. Nowadays you can watch many “tribute” bands playing in the town’s venues, such as “The Venue”. If there is a band you like from the 70s, 80s, or 90s (or the noughties), you may find a good copycat act to listen to whilst out on the town.
For original entertainment, the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival brings a wide range of artists and performers to the town, usually in the last week of May for 10 days.
There is also the nearby Comlongon Rocks event which features original bands from the area and beyond, as well as DJ’s and family entertainment.
The Stove, a “creative collective” is also starting to do some interesting things in and around the town.
If you like skateboarding there are some good paved areas with some railings in the town centre, which is usually quiet and traffic-free after 6pm, although there may be apprentice junkies and jakies later in the evening, although more advanced ranks of these revellers usually congregate or disperse along by the paths on the River Nith, from the car parks, along by the public toilets, and on under the Buccleuch Street bridge to the Rowing Club building.
The recently renovated Mid-Steeple building has a raised performing area in front of it which can be good for some skateboarding tricks. Continual Council wisdom in it’s management of Arts bodies, appointments and budget control, has seen the demise of a centralised arts body for the region after successive regimes paid no heed to the “little people” clamouring about the reckless overspending that was allowed to take place.
Fortunately all the employees who saw it coming are now free (since DG Arts went into administration) to find work in other areas after making sure the directors got paid off for doing a marvellous job during their tenure.
Luckily it means the expensively restored Mid-Steeple building is now more available for jamming, busking, skating, sitting around and smoking and other communal activities.