“I just want to see people dancing on tables”: A new direction for live music in St Andrews

When I start our conversation by asking Ashvin Gupta what his title within Signpost is, he replies, “Signpost doesn’t really do titles.” We eventually settle on ‘co-founder’, but not until after he’s gone to great pains to stress that his and fellow co-founder Sage Purdon’s magazine/live music events brainchild is, first and foremost, a project led by a group of friends. It becomes increasingly clear as we chat that this easy-going ethos bedrocks everything that Signpost does.

We talk a few days after FS’ Skin show, for which a ticket would have set you back the dearer end of £100. On the flipside, this new venture, currently most notable for its organising of live music events (at Aikman’s and the Rule on Mondays and Fridays, respectively), offers a rather different proposition. The success of any of its gigs might be judged by how many tabletops metamorphosed into dancefloors, and the overall aim is to, wherever possible, benefit all parties involved with the concerts.

This means that all the gigs are free to get into. Ashvin (a third-year IR and History student) recalls feeling priced out of some social events during his first year in St Andrews. He tells me that Signpost is about eliminating the barriers to entertainment in a town where the options for whiling away an evening typically run expensive. “Every single time we do an event, it’s [a feeling of], how badly will the account be hurt if we don’t charge?” But it’s not just about the audiences: when I quiz Ashvin on whether he thinks they should share in bar takings (since it’s their acts that are bringing more people through the door), he says no. “We’re just helping them out.” Signpost are also championing a bevy of new bands, using their relationships with local businesses to help these groups secure gigs they otherwise wouldn’t.

This scrupulousness is being rewarded: venues have reached out asking to be considered as hosts for upcoming gigs; and music management companies have been in touch offering the services of their clients. Indeed, this is how Signpost’s biggest coup came about, when, back in November, they were awarded the rights to market Welly (who played at Reading festival in 2024)’s performance at the Union’s 601. Ashvin describes this gig — by far the biggest they have been involved with — as having been an instructive glimpse into the mechanics behind organising and running a larger-scale concert.

Signpost’s first six months has not been without snags, however. Ashvin relates a memory of being politely hollered at, whilst he was speaking to a venue owner, by a band member who judged the PA system to be wanting. There was also the question of a not-insignificant fine in response to some more guerilla marketing tactics. But it’s a proposition that seems to be gaining traction. On the horizon is the ‘Battle Of The Bands’ event which will see groups from hosting Dundee, St Andrews, Strathclyde, and Stirling riffing it out for glory on 21 March. Early April will mark a first for Signpost in the shape of an ‘end of the world’-themed print magazine available for purchase.

It's hard not to draw a comparison between what Haus has done for the clubbing scene in St Andrews and what Signpost is doing for live music. Ultimately, the project is about bringing people together and having good times in an accessible way.

Ashvin says there’s a certain feel he’s going for with these events. He recalls being at a May Ball afterparty and seeing, amidst the carousing, one especially exuberant group: they were boogieing atop a dining table and decanting refreshments directly into onlooker’s gullets. “I thought, if I can have an event that influences people to do that, I would walk away very happy.”

Illustration by Isabella Abbott