IT may be 30 miles or so over the border down the A75, but for Wrest, tomorrow’s gig at The Brickyard in Carlisle will feel like a hometown show.

Stewart Douglas, the frontman, said: “Three of the band are from Dumfries, so there will definitely be a travelling contingent.”

Stewart, the vocalist, is joined by Stephen Whipp (guitar), Craig Robertson (bass), and Jonny Tait (drums).

“It’ll feel like a homecoming for them, I’m sure.

“It’s the first time we’ve played Carlisle and it’s already looking pretty busy, we’re buzzing for it.”

The Brickyard gig for Falkirk-born Douglas and the three Doonhamers is the latest stop off during an exhaustive tour that began in March which has seen them play across Scotland and Germany to rave reviews.

Now, they’re embarking on a jaunt to all corners of England touring their second album End All The Days, a rousing collection of alt-rock songs that follows the seemingly-Scottish songbook of uplifting melancholy and soaring, heartfelt choruses.

Think Frightened Rabbit, Idlewild and The National – a heady concoction that has seen them build an impressive following, largely through the power of social media and relentless gigging.

“The tour’s going really well so far,” said Stewart, who met his band members during an open mic night in Edinburgh during their university days.

He added: “We kicked off the year back in March, which was the launch for the second album. Since then, it's been pretty much every weekend.

“We’ve played extensively across Scotland from the cities to the islands and from there we got the chance to go over to Germany for the first time.”

Further dates are planned across England until the end of October ahead of their two biggest dates yet, in Glasgow and Edinburgh, before the end of the year.

Stewart laughed: “We call our music the ‘happy sad’.

“There’s melancholy and sad things and whatever, but actually can things get a bit better, is there a bit of optimism, a bit of hope in there too?

“That’s very much a theme that runs through the two albums and the EP.

“We played a show in Germany and this guy came up to me at the end and he said ‘what are you sad about?! ‘Why are all Scottish bands so sad? They write such sad music. Is it sad to be Scottish? When English bands come here they’re all so political. You lot are just sad.’

“I guess he had a point!”

For more information, and to buy tickets for the September 30 gig, visit the Skiddle website.