Back Page For One Night Only!: Amy Macdonald curates her dream gig

I went with Bruce Springsteen! For decades now, he’s been proving why he’s a headliner… he just puts on such a great show. He’s got so many incredible records and so many amazing songs to choose from - and he’d also be real value for money, because he plays for hours and hours and hours on end! I’ve seen him a few times, thankfully, and just absolutely loved it. There’s a reason why he’s been at the top of his game for so long now, and I think when you see him live, it becomes very clear. ‘Thunder Road’ is one of my favourite songs; I absolutely love it, and it’s one of those that you always think ‘Oh, I wish I’d come up with that!’.

I’ve gone for Dolly Parton, because she’s an absolute legend. I remember seeing her slot at Glastonbury and it was just the best thing ever! It seems like she was the one who really cemented the ‘Legends’ slot and made it into a big thing. She’s iconic, and seems like a great person as well. Who doesn’t love a bit of Dolly Parton?

I would be holding it in Montreux, in Switzerland. There’s an amazing festival there called Montreux Jazz Festival, and I’ve been lucky enough to play there a few times. They put the stage right on the side of the lake, and a lot of the time it has no backdrop, so your view is just the lake and mountains; it’s such an incredible place. Interestingly, Deep Purple’s song ‘Smoke on the Water’ was written about Montreux when there was a fire and there was actual smoke on the water there - clearly, it’s a great musical place!

I’m taking my two best friends, Kelly and Laura. We’ve spent our entire lives going to gigs together and we have so many crazy memories! When we were growing up we all loved the same music, and our perfect evening was going to indie nights at clubs, so we connected that way. They’ve been in my life since I was about 11 years old, and we’ve been inseparable since then; the three of us kind of come as a package, and so it would have to be us there in the crowd having the time of our lives together.

My friends and I have a terrible habit of sneaking alcohol into places so we don’t have to queue and pay extortionate prices! The best hack is these little slimline drinks containers - they’re for people who go mountaineering, I think they’re called Platypuses - and we’ve perfected the art of filling them with whatever concoction you like and hiding them down our trousers, so even if somebody searches our bag or pockets, they’re never going to find them. They’d be coming in with us - especially because it’s in Switzerland, and it’s quite expensive there!

Me and my friends love taking ages to get ready in a room together while playing the music of whoever we’re going to see. So in this case, it would be Dolly and Bruce tunes, spending ages in front of the mirror, some drinks, some snacks, chatting, and having a brilliant time getting ready for the evening ahead! Getting ready can make the best memories, so just spending hours doing that would be the perfect warm up for us!

My dream after party would just be a bunch of us with a guitar! That’s how our nights always used to end - in somebody’s house with a guitar, singing all the songs that we’d just heard live together, putting our heart into it. I’ve written so many songs in my life that have been inspired by nights like that and it’s always the best fun, so I think that’s the perfect ending for it. Yeah… we’re those annoying people that play guitar at a party! I don’t think I’ve ever done ‘Wonderwall’ [the ultimate musical sin - Ed], but then we are going to see Oasis soon, so we might have to!

I love a confetti cannon! As a performer, I love them because the crowd never knows that it’s coming, so you’re waiting to see them all get a fright. I’d have loads of confetti cannons, loads of streamers, loads of sparks - just to make it a really kind of fancy affair. 

Amy Macdonald’s new album, Is This What You’ve Been Waiting For?’, is out now via Infectious. 

Tags: Features, Amy Macdonald, From The Magazine, July / August 2025