Harris Fest: Frightened Rabbit guitarist Billy Kennedy opens up on his song-writing ahead of Selkirk homecoming gig
'I see music in that I visualise it, and it's always a bright ending in a song'
Last updated 21st Jun 2024
He's performed on stage at some of the country's biggest music festivals, including Glastonbury, Latitude and T in the Park.
But Frightened Rabbit guitarist Billy Kennedy reveals he's "buzzing" ahead of a homecoming gig with new band Haiver at Selkirk Rugby Club on Saturday (June 22nd).
He's headlining Harris Fest, which is being staged in memory of former player Harris Macdonell, to raise money for a charity set up in the 19-year-old's name, which raises awareness of young people's mental health.
"I love coming back to Selkirk," Billy, who now lives in Glasgow, told us. "One of my favourite shows was the Victoria Halls with Frightened Rabbit.
"Obviously, I took a bit of a hiatus from playing music (following the loss of frontman Scott Hutchison to suicide), but to be able to put on a festival for the Harris Trust, and raise awareness of the work they're doing, is an honour.
"You know, I struggled in school so to come back and be part of that, it's a buzz, it's really cool."
The former Selkirk High School pupil is opening up on his song-writing skills ahead of this weekend's performance in the Scottish Borders. And revealed he's been inspired by his former bandmates.
"Scott was always a big champion of the way I would write," Billy said. "It wasn't quite suited for Frightened Rabbit, he would always say: 'Your songs are too pretty.' Or: 'You write pop songs.' And Frightened Rabbit weren't like a mainstream pop band.
"But he was always very encouraging and supportive of what I would do, and he was a great song-writer, so I take that as a compliment.
"Musically, it's quite similar because I was in Frightened Rabbit for 16 years; I still listen to Frightened Rabbit. I take inspiration from Scott every day when I write songs; I take inspiration from all the boys in the band instrumentally.
'I'm inspired by Frightened Rabbit, it's where I learned to do most of my writing'
"It's quite morbid, to be honest. It tackles a lot of real, I guess, extreme subjects. I dealt with a lot of grief, depression and mental health issues myself, but I think there's a nice picture... I see music in that I visualise it, and it's always a bright ending in a song."
And he added: "I don't mind the comparison (with Frightened Rabbit). At first, I thought: 'That's quite a lazy comparison'. But it's going to be similar. I wouldn't say the lyrics are half as good as Scott's, but I like the music, and I like to think there's enough energy there as well; the same kind of energy as Frightened Rabbit on stage."
Musicians from the Harris Trust's SPaRKs (Songwriting, performance and recording Kickstarter) project will also be performing on the day, alongside Borders punk rock band 3 out of 4, Hawick’s up-and-coming singer-songwriter Devin Casson, and electronic rock band Leatherette from north-east England.
The festival gets underway at 1.30pm, and runs until 10pm. And Harris's mum, Jane Macdonell, says everyone's invited.
She said: "He (Harris) loved performing, so I'm hoping that he's here somewhere, playing his accordion. Because everything that's here is stuff that he would have enjoyed.
"It might be quite an emotional day, but it 's going to be a lot of fun. And he loved music, so it's going to be good."
Tickets are available at the gate on the day or in advance here.
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