STV Player to stream five free concerts per month one year on from last live events in Scotland

It’s been 373 days since The 1975 played one of the last shows at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro before the Covid-19 pandemic forced music and arts venues across Scotland to close their doors indefinitely.

A performance by The 1975 is one of the concerts available on the streaming service this month (Photo by Mackenzie Sweetnam/Getty Images)

More than a year later, it remains to be seen when the country’s live music sector will be given the go-ahead to start reopening, but with the Scottish Government recently announcing that the nationwide stay-at-home order is to remain in place until at least April 5, the welcome return of packed concert halls and theatres unfortunately seems some way off.

In response to the continued shutdown of live events, STV Player has announced plans to drop five new concerts from the world’s biggest acts every month, for viewers to stream in full for free from the comfort of their own sofas.

The video-on-demand platform has partnered with Qello Concerts by Stingray to offer the live sets, which will each be available for 30 days from the start of every month, before being replaced by a fresh set of concerts the following month.

The five shows for March, which are now live on STV Player, are The 1975 at Musiques en Stock in 2013 , Amy Winehouse at Les Eurockéennes de Belfort in 2007, Coldplay at La Cigala in 2012, The Cure at Les Eurockéennes de Belfort also in 2012 and Ellie Goulding at Main Square Festival in 2016.

Amy Winehouse’s performance at French festival Les Eurockéennes in 2007 came just months after the release of her acclaimed sophomore album Back to Black and includes all of the LP’s best-loved hits, while the intimacy of Paris theatre La Cigale – which has a capacity of just 1,000 people – offers viewers a more personal side to regular stadium-fillers Coldplay.

Richard Williams, STV’s managing director of digital, said: “It’s been such a long time since most of us had the opportunity to enjoy a live music concert, and while nothing can beat the real thing, we hope the launch of five huge concerts every month on STV Player will be a welcome alternative.

“These free live sets will show some of the biggest names in music at the pinnacle of their careers, and it goes without saying that STV Player viewers will have the best seats in the house.”

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