TWENTY-five thousand people are expected to squeeze into George Square tonight and, looking at this year's line-up, you might have to have a word with yourself if you ain't one of them. A resolutely Scottish affair, the list of acts is a swaggering reflection of the past 12 months in pop music.
The Fratellis fire the starting gun for a night of partying Glasgow-style at 8pm.
Out of the rash of new Scottish bands who appeared this time last year, the Fratellis achieved the most mainstream success, with their debut album Costello Music only kept off the No1 slot by everyone's favourite show stealers, Scissor Sisters.
In the eight months since their debut EP, Jon, Barry and Mince have perfected a mix of laddish rock and sing-a-long factor in the singles 'Henrietta', 'Chelsea Dagger' and 'Whistle For The Choir'. Not only that, but when asked recently to tally exactly how many gigs they had performed in the past year the band concluded that they must have played a gig and a half every day.
Maybe we can put the bad arithmetic down to exhaustion, but there will be no time for mopping brows tonight as the Fratellis are also playing Edinburgh's Royal Bank of Scotland Street Party later on. Two gigs in one night. On Hogmanay.
In gale force weather. You don't have to be mad to be in the Fratellis, but..
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On stage at 9.30pm will be the girl who found success in 2006 by encouraging her audiences to stay at home during her gigs.
Tonight, however, Sandi Thom will be venturing out of her internet domain and hoping her 'Wish I Was A Punk Rocker' and 'Lonely Girl' singles go down well with a crowd baying for some guitar-driven bedlam. Thom was launched upon the unsuspecting public as an overnight internet sensation, but has yet to match the hype. Perhaps a charm offensive on Glasgow's gig-goers will up her chances of following in the footsteps of KT Tunstall.
Or maybe not.
So, what about that guitar-driven bedlam? Step forward our cover stars, The View, who will be taking to the stage at 11pm.
Expect frenetic, mop-topped chaos from the Dundee boys du jour. The 'midnight moment' will not belong to the young 'uns on stage, however, but rather to ex-Runrig frontman Donnie Munro.
If you haven't got a ticket for George Square, fear not as the city is hosting fantastic events elsewhere, including a concert at the ABC featuring yet more Scottish rock acts including Sons Daughters, 1990s and the hotly tipped Union of Knives, as well as a chance to see Hot Chip at Optimo's night at the Old Fruitmarket, if you're more inclined to shake your groove thing come the midnight hour.
Essential information: Gates open for the Square at 7pm. Buses will run until 9pm, and then from midnight until 4am tomorrow. Tickets must be bought in advance as they will not be available from drivers.
Drinks are only allowed in plastic containers.
WHILE Ricky Ross may not look like he could get Oscar nominated for impersonating Johnny Cash at Folsom, Deacon Blue pulled out all the stops for the launch of their recent tour by kicking off with a performance in Kilmarnock prison.
Not to be scoffed at, in 2006 the band managed to sell out a 17-gig UK tour 12 years after they had technically split up.
There's no arguing with the working-class values that formed the foundations of the band's success through the 80s and 90s, resulting in 18 Top 40 singles and five Top 5 albums, and this year they also re-released Raintown, a greatest hits album, Singles, and a DVD.
Ross has managed to carve a successful solo career thanks to his songwriting skills, which have also seen him pen songs for acts such as James Blunt, Ronan Keating and Emma Bunton.
Lorraine Mackintosh followed an appearance in Ken Loach's My Name Is Joe with a regular role in River City, but recently her contract there came to an end.
Fellow original band member Dougie Vipond is now a regular sports presenter for BBC Scotland (but will join Ross for this show) and keyboardist Jim Prime is a lecturer at Paisley University.
Put the four original members on the stage together, however, and you get a nugget of Scottish rock history, with singles such as 'Dignity', 'Chocolate Girl' and 'Fergus Sings The Blues'.
The band will be supported by local starlet Lauren Tilly, who has spent most of her life working alongside her mother Elizabeth in the family's Mrs Tilly confectionery firm in Tillicoultry.
In her spare time, Tilly has been teaching at Stirling's Stageworx stage school and plotting her path for international stardom.
She appeared on Stars In Their Eyes a couple of years ago impersonating Christina Aguilera, has appeared as Cinderella in panto, supported Lulu in front of 10,000 people at Stirling Castle and performed at the Big in Falkirk festival and the Urban Music Awards earlier this year. Tilly markets herself as a mix of R B and pop, and has just signed a three-album record deal.
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