About
A festival of immense heart, courage and invention. A programme that taps the ultra local and the global with equal respect. I love its sense of community, its sense of artistic inquisitiveness and dialogue between artists and audiences. Every year my ears and mind are blown open by what Counterflows brings to my doorstep – this, surely, is what experimental music is all about. Kate Molleson, writer and broadcaster.
Counterflows is an internationally acclaimed Glasgow-based music festival that celebrates challenging and thought provoking work in the context of what might be called experimental music; supporting marginal music practice within a wide array of different genres and approaches to music and sound. Taking place annually, the festival features artists from Scotland, UK and around the world, and celebrates and explores culture on a local and international scale.
We aim to keep our activities as open, inclusive, accessible and fun as possible, confronting the often exclusionary and market-driven nature of the music industry. We look to build a non-hierarchal social space to engage with artists’ work, as well as explore their connections to culture, politics, community and activism.
After 15 years, we feel proud to continue working on the festival, and deeply appreciate the support our funders, our artists and our ever-growing audience has given us over this time.
Alongside the festival, we produce special projects, one-off events, workshops and more. Further information on these can be found on our website.
If you have any questions about the festival please contact: counterflows@gmail.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Music Space
In 2022 AC Projects/Counterflows launched a new project called Music Space, offering an alternative learning programme for young people aged 16–25 who are based in Glasgow and interested in exploring sound and music. Now in its fourth year, Music Space is continuing to build on a community of young people and partner organisations to create new opportunities and access to skills, knowledge and unique experiences in music making, with an emphasis on experimentation. The programme includes bursaries, workshops, projects and collaborations with a focus on youth-led activity.
Music Space is free and for anyone to take part in regardless of experience, and particularly for young people who are marginalised by societal barriers, behaviours, and systems in which we live. Funded by Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative (YMI). More information about the programme can be found here.
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