Baby Dave

Baby Dave plays King Tut's Wah Wah Hut on Friday 16 October, with doors opening at 19:30. It's the solo project of Isaac Holman, best known as the frontman and drummer of the punk duo SOFT PLAY (formerly Slaves), and the name is a tribute to his father.

If you only know Holman from SOFT PLAY, this is a different beast entirely. The project started during lockdown while he was living with his parents and working as a gardener in the middle of a mental breakdown, and he's described writing for it as deeply therapeutic. Sonically, it's a world away from the punk of his main band: he turns everyday observations into songs through candid, spoken-word storytelling over production that jumps from bedroom rap and piano balladeering to whimsical country and lo-fi acoustics, all held together by his off-kilter humour and vulnerability.

This will be his third album on stage. The first, Monkey Brain (2022), came from a period of cognitive behavioural therapy and takes its name from the Buddhist term 'monkey mind' — a chattering mind that won't keep still. Different Gravy followed in 2023, and his latest, Billy, reflects on mental health, resilience and personal experience with warmth and humour. The set should draw from across those three records, so you'll get the spoken-word storytelling and the genre-hopping production he's built the project around.

It's a solo show, so it's just Holman up front. Doors are at 19:30 at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, 272a St Vincent Street, Glasgow City Centre G2 5RL.