Last night saw the first main Big Blue Tent event evening of the Hebridean Celtic Festival.
The mainstay of the Western Isles calendar of events got off to a rapturous start with festival goers treated on arrival to a high energy highland fling that set an appropriately buoyant tone for the night.
The accompanying bagpipes proved an apt precursor to the opening act of the night, Dàimh. Their high energy, genre defying sounds ensnared the audience from the start and captured the tone of the event perfectly. Featuring Gaelic singing and traditional Celtic instruments produced a truly rousing and rhythmic sound.
The headline act of the night Seth Lakeman did not fail to meet expectations. His stunning vocals and beautiful lyrics combined with his superb band produced a truly compelling show. As he performed on the fiddle he produced an affect akin to the pied piper, the rhythmic beats of his band too proving truly captivating.
A new addition to this year’s festival was a second performance tent in the form of the Scotland’s Island Stage which proved a great success. Crowds of revellers spilled outside as they could not be contained within the confines of its four walls.
Kitty the Lions set oscillated between rather soft and subdued sounds and upbeat
and lively numbers. Up-
Skye band Niteworks set the crowd on fire. An intriguing fusion of electronica and celtic influences mixed with Gaelic rock had young and old alike singing and dancing the night away.
With an array of weird and wonderful characters in the form of giant butterflies and spiders roaming the grounds, a face painting stall on site, as well as a multitude of refreshments and I’m sure to the relief in more ways than one to many plenty of toilets, the scene was set for a family friendly festival environment.
The music performances were wonderfully enhanced by the unsung heroes of the night producing some beautiful lighting effects.
However, not so welcome were the inevitable swarms of midges that descended upon
those in attendance. Last year had drawn complaints over excessive queuing for facilities,
this year taking even a cursory glance at the bars and various stalls it was evident
that any such problems had been adequately addressed -
The aptly named Stornoway brought the main stage show to an end. With the revellers in fine form they received a suitably rapturous reception. Their unique brand of indie inspired folk proved an amazing end to a terrific night.
Tonight sees the The Peatbog Faeries, Eddi Reader and Mànran in the big marquee while Fullsceilidh Spelemannslag, The Boy Who Trapped the Sun and Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers perform on the Island’s stage.
Festival review 15/7/11
By Annie Ferguson
Members of the Nicolson Institute’s Gaelic choir were thrilled to join Niteworks on stage