Heather on the Hill festival 2026

John, Stevie, Alan, Nathan and Mhairi

WOW!

Last weekend my family and I were fortunate to attend the inaugural Heather on the Hill festival in the Royal Highland Showgrounds, just outside Edinburgh. The sun shone through the day and created a glorious mix of colours as it set later in the evening.

Outdoor shows, especially when the weather is kind, are incredible. There is an extra sense of occasion to them. And we have a range of magnificent venues and locations throughout the country in which to host them. 

However, the vast majority of outdoor summer shows (not including festivals like Belladrum) in Scotland are 16+. Nathan Evans and the Saint PHNX Band were determined to change that.

This is an ambition that Stevie and Alan from Saint PHNX have held for a while. A few years ago they put on an all ages show (with Nathan as 'secret' special guest) at Hamilton Town Hall. And it worked. People took note. Family values are extremely important to Nathan, Stevie and Alan.

Quite a lot has happened since then! Hit singles, viral videos, two albums, a World Cup anthem and shows all over the world. It has been a beautiful whirlwind for Nathan, Stevie and Alan.

Stevie and Alan

Sunset at Heather on the Hill

Those of you that have followed this blog over a period of time will recognise the names of Stevie and Alan from their old band Vigo Thieves who I helped manage for a while. I've seen them play to 30 people and now 30,000 people! I love the sunset photo of the two of them above. I'm so pleased for them.

DF Concerts, Scotland's largest promoter, contains people who have known and worked with Stevie and Alan for around 15-years (how time flies!) in various sizes, shapes and forms. From playing the basement of Maggie Mays to 30 people, to selling out 2-nights at King Tuts, the ABC, Arches and the Barrowland Ballroom. They absolutely get their humour, creative energy and ambition. 

When Nathan Evans and the Saint PHNX band played the Hyrdo last year, it was all ages. It sold out quickly and it was a phenomenal show that I was fortunate to attend. DF listened to Nathan, Stevie and Alan's idea for a family friendly festival and presented solutions. The Heather on the Hill Festival was born and the DF team worked on it for over a year ... and they nailed it. It will be back in 2027! Tickets are on sale NOW. The early bird sold out quickly!

What a success! The sun shone, which always helps! The festival site layout at the Royal Highland Centre was perfect - there was space to chill, plenty of food options, large bars, kids playparks and activities, soft play and a wide variety of music. 

My wife and kids (aged 15 and 11) arrived on site around 2.30pm and were immediately taken by the layout. One of the key strengths (at least for me) about the site is the fact that it has actual buildings that can be utilised - including toilet blocks. The cleanest festival toilets ever! But aside from that, there was immediate green space, tents were set up for art, storytelling and face painting (huge queue of course - I am so glad the face painting days are behind us!), the dance stage was on, there were plenty of trees for shade and clear pathways that were kept clear to aid movement about the site. The sun meant that people could stretch out on the grass (or on picnic rugs) and enjoy the music.

Cammy Barnes was on the main stage and all of use could see and hear why he is a Scottish artist on the rise. Barnes sold out two nights at King Tuts earlier this year and has two sold out dates at the Barrowland coming up. He also announced that a huge Hydro show will be going on sale! Barnes has a rich and soulful voice, cheeky charm and a huge sound. He went down a storm.

Towards the end of his set, Lynn and the girls left to go back to the dance stage for GBX Anthems (Rosie later regretted this decision!). This meant that I had some 'me time' to grab a Corona zero, wander round a little and get ready for Brooke Combe on the main stage. Sadly, about 85% of the festival decided to go to GBX anthems, meaning the front pit only had a few hundred people in it and there was also plenty of space behind. 

Combe and her band still played a blinder. Her recent run of singles that commenced with How Can I Tell You? last Autumn, took in Tears Won't Lie in April and now Love Was Made of Stone have been phenomenal. Working with James Skelly of The Coral on production duties is really helping her Motown/Northern Soul influences to shine. Combe danced around the stage looking super cool in flared jeans, Adidas t-shirt and shades, waving to her nieces and generally looking like she was having a great time. Her next album will be her breakthrough and I confidently predict she will be selling out the Barrowland as a result. 

It took a while for the crowds to disperse from GBX and once we caught up we decided it was time for food. I had a lovely cheese burger! Rosie and I caught Skerrymore, not normally my thing, but they were excellent, creating a huge celtic soul sound complete with 2 bagpipes. They were perfect for that early evening slot in the sunshine.

We decided to chill afterwards. Rosie and I found ourselves at the Rest and Be Thankful area which was super green and chilled. On a small hill with trees, a nice large pond, picnic tables, chill out tents and also a larger tent with fairy lights offering massages and yoga. As we walked up, there was a sign saying that they did kids massages as well as adults. We were in!

The massage was absolutely tremendous. We both felt relaxed and energised. Lynn and Zoe were a little jealous when we hooked back up.

Our strategy for Nathan and Saint PHNX was the old Strike It Lucky choices - top, middle, bottom. We started off quite far down the side, near the barrier for the front pit. As a result we had a good view of the stage and screens. Darkness was falling, adding to the palpable sense of anticipation around the crowd of all ages. 

Nathan and Saint PHNX wasted no time in getting fans onside, opening with the insanely catchy Arabella, swiftly followed by Milarrochy Bay, one of my personal highlights of the night. People were dancing, singing, up on shoulders, smiling and laughing. Wellerman was next, the sea shanty that kicked everything off for Nathan, and it went down a storm.

 

Angels' Share was introduced by Stevie, a song for people who couldn't be there, but they were there and always will be. This is a side of Nathan and Saint PHNX that can get lost and under appreciated.  among their fun songs and easy going nature. Nathan and Stevie as main songwriters have been hurt, they have lost loved ones and gone through extremely tough times, and they do portray that in their songs. 

What a view!

We then had a section of the show that called for immense audience participation. Stevie and Alan took charge as Nathan left the stage, splitting the crowd into two sections. Stevie's side were the woah, oh, oh's and he got them warmed up before handing over to Alan ... who, before warming his own team up, got 30,000 people to shout Stevie's a big jobby! 

Alan's team were on yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah's and soon Stevie was singing the Saint PHNX song Mountains, leading to the woah, oh oh's and yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah's. Great fun. This was all backed by phenomenal guitar playing by John Cargill who was playing cool, chilled and funky riffs that could easily have been for Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Meanwhile, Nathan had somehow got to a small b-stage behind the sound-desk where he delivered a slow and aching version of Caledonia followed by his own Paper Planes. The recorded version of this begins with a voice note by Evans at his lowest point in his mental health struggles. I find it incredibly moving. 

My mind is like a wrecking ball, destruction in its wake

I've been working 14-hours, for just as many days

My brother sees me crying, but it's not that kind of pain

So I write my dreams on paper plans and let them fly away

Nathan Evans - Heather on the Hill

We moved back a little to find some space and it was quite amazing to walk through the crowd. Kids were on parents shoulders, people were dancing to Cotton Eye Joe, EVERYONE was smiling and I mean BEAMING with joy. Driving To Nowhere is one of my favourite Nathan and Saint PHNX Band songs. It flows with ease and the melody for the chorus is instantly memorable. It sounds even better live.

We moved back a little further to allow for toilet breaks before the final stretch and to try and get Rosie's long awaited Churros. The Churros stalls had been rammed all day. They must have made a small fortune. We were VERY lucky as Rosie got the last churros of the day. And the Belgian chocolate sauce was absolutely delicious!

With a wee sugar rush we wandered past the Big Wheel (should definitely get a bigger one for next year) to an area with picnic benches where a small crowd had gathered with plenty of space. We could see why, we grabbed a table and before long Rosie and I were up on top if it singing to Highland Girl. Around us kids were twirling each other around ceilidh style and we could see the crowd bouncing down the front. It looked incredible from the back - like a film scene.

Happy Place is a song that means a lot to so many people. Notably Stevie and Alan on stage. I don't mind admitting to having a wee tear in my eyes when they played it. Footage from the stage showed phone in the air with torches on and it looked sensational. 

Nathan, Stevie, Alan, John and Mairi (violin) took a deserved bow and departed the stage to a tremendous ovation. But of course, they were coming back on.

What an encore. Home, with its tumbling, flowing verses and rousing chorus, complete with bagpipes was an absolute anthem. And of course, Heather on the Hill was the closing song for the festival of the same name. 

Fireworks explode overhead, wives, kids and family were welcomed onstage for hugs and photos, memories that will last a lifetime. 

Well done to all involved. 

The story of Saint PHNX

Long term readers of my blog will know that I used to help manage a band from Wishaw called Vigo Thieves. I had so many good times with the band; as a manager, friend and fan.

Stevie Jukes, the singer, songwriter, frontman and driving force behind the band pushed and pulled the band as far as he could take them. Then he regrouped to write more songs.

The new songs had a new sound and feel to them and so Stevie formed Saint PHNX with his brother Alan.

Stevie and Alan aimed high from the very start, contacting all the major management companies in the world, cheekily following up on their email to The Killers management team and getting a reply.

That reply was the start of a rollercoaster ride of highs, loops and lows. Saint PHNX got close to a record deal, they got closer, they had offers, then all of a sudden they were miles away ... then they were up, playing to 25,000 people in America, record label showcases, before hitting as low as they could go, ready to give up...

I've not even told half of their story.

But a new podcast/vlog from Glasgow called GlasGo caught up with the band to get their story. I watched part 1 last night and I was enthralled. What a journey! I laughed at the two brothers bouncing off each other, marvelled at their cheek, hard work and ambition and gasped at how low they got. I wasn't aware of how bad things got.

If you're a music fan, if you're in a band, then you should watch this. Ambition, dreams, parties, huge shows, cheap flights, no money for food, sharing beds, things going horribly wrong and then a lifeline...

This is just part 1! Roll on part 2! CLICK HERE if you don't see the video embedded below.

Happy Place

One of the great things about being a music fan is that you get to meet some incredible people; fellow music fans, songwriters, musicians, promoters, bloggers, journalists, presenters ... in the social media age we live in, if you have similar interests and tastes, then it is easy to connect with others who share your passions. 

Stevie and Alan Jukes are brothers that I got to know through their former band Vigo Thieves. I had some fantastic nights with them and co-managed the band with Stevie for a while. As I got to know them I learned how important their family was to them and how much of a hero their Dad Bert was. He'd come from very little and with hard work, exceptional people skills, the gift of the gab, an entrepreneurial flair and the odd slice of luck, Bert Jukes had done pretty well for himself.

All his qualities had rubbed off on his sons. I still fondly remember Stevie hand delivering the Vigo's Heart & Soul Part 1 EP to my house and my name being on the back sleeve among people he wanted to thank. He didn't need to do either of these things, it was just in his nature. Customer service, care, time for a chat, the personal touch.

And I still remember Stevie's intense ambition to breakout of Wishaw, out of Glasgow and out of Scotland. Buying glowsticks to turn the basement of Sleazys into something brighter and more memorable to fit the anthems he was writing, to bring a smile to peoples faces, to make something happen.

Stevie and Al broke from Vigo Thieves to form Saint PHNX and then they really did go for it, bagging proper management, a booking agent, some incredible support shows across Europe and America with the likes of Lewis Capadi and Yungblud, airplay during the superbowl and going on all kinds of crazy adventures.

Bert was along for the ride, happy to man the merch stall across the world in support of his boys. The Saint PHNX social media updates always made me smile. Their family values were on air for the whole world, for their fans ... it was a sense of honesty and openness that I guess you rarely see from some artists. 

Saint PHNX, the Jukes brothers ... they have always been and always will be up for a laugh, unafraid to rip the piss out of themselves ... but they are real. 2 brothers from Wishaw with big dreams, 2 young lads with an incredible desire to push themselves and their songs as far as they could possibly go. But always with family and friends at the heart of everything.

Earlier on this year I was shocked and saddened to learn of the death of their Dad, their hero, Bert Jukes. His larger than life personality kind of made him seem pretty invincible. The news hit anyone that knew Stevie and Alan hard, particularly as there couldn't be the kind of send off that the family and Bert's many, many friends would have liked. I half joked to Stevie that they would maybe have needed to book the Hydro in normal times!

Stevie, Bert & Alan

Shortly after Bert's death the brothers announced that they had signed a record deal with Atlantic Records. Thankfully, Bert knew this was happening. I know how happy the news would have made him, how proud he would be. I know how hard his boys have worked for it, for years, a decade! 

Stevie and Al have posted some very personal and emotional video messages on the Saint PHNX social media channels since Bert passed away. They have been grieving privately and in that very modern way, where they've just needed to talk, they have gone live online to do so.

And, that emotion has come out in a song. Happy Place, written about Bert - the house he built for his family in the countryside, about the hills in lower Lanarkshire, the advice he gave his sons ... about the way they are feeling now. 

If I could wish upon a star

I'd wish that I could heal the scars

The chorus is classic Stevie Jukes - personal, but something that anyone with dreams can sing and feel like it has been written for them. I guess we're all looking for a better day, we've felt trapped and maybe gone to our happy place over the last 16-months.  And we've all wanted to turn back time, for various reasons, many through grief. The words come pouring out in a simple melody that I've found myself singing without even knowing I'm singing it.

Over the hills and far away

Looking out for a better day

When it seems like there's no escape

Take me away to my happy place

Somewhere, their Dad is smiling down at them for coming out fighting, for creating something positive and bright out of very dark times. And as always, Bert is at the heart of everything. This time it's under cruel circumstances, but as he always did when he walked into a room, the world is a little brighter.

Happy Place is a big song, written when Saint PHNX hearts were broken, it could be the one that breaks them as a band - in a good way.

R.I.P. Bert Jukes

Happy Place on iTunes

Happy Place on Spotify

Happy Place video on YouTube

Introducing - Saint PHNX

On Sunday night Saint PHNX released their first music and video. The powerful video with images of war, politics and propaganda is interspersed with silhouettes of the two piece band - Stevie and Alan Jukes. Two brothers, Stevie on vocals and guitar, Alan on drums.

Familiar names?

Well they will be if you are a long time reader of this blog. Stevie and Alan were in Vigo Thieves.

Vigo Thieves disappeared; Stevie wrote a whole bunch of new songs, they recorded them at the excellent Rocket Science Studio in Glasgow, sent them around and people sat up and took notice.

Power, soul, emotion, big choruses and no messing about has been Stevie Jukes calling card for some time. Songs like Heartbeats, Believe, Steal Your Heart and This Love took them far....packing tents at T in the Park, selling out The Arches and the ABC in Glasgow.....

However they cut their teeth with the Vigo's. Saint PHNX are leaner, meaner and ready for business from the off. As I mentioned before - no messing.

Saint PHNX - Al and Stevie

Reload is the first song released. There is a sense of urgency from the off; the pounding drums, menacing synth, raw guitars and soulful vocals pleading

I only wanna open your eyes

You make me wanna touch the sky

Saint PHNX definitely want to touch the sky and kiss the sun. They play their debut show at the legendary Nice n Sleazys on Thursday 21st July. TICKETS HERE

As someone who has heard over an albums worth of tracks that the duo have recorded - Sleazys better bolt on the roof. Saint PHNX are armed with sky scraping anthems.

The Jukes brothers took aim before with Vigo Thieves, they have reloaded and they will not miss.