Our annual trip to Belladrum – The Tartan Heart Festival as its affectionately known to all who travel up to Beauly, just outside Inverness. This year we had real difficulty securing accommodation within our budget, and so jokingly suggested hiring a camper van. As it turned out, it was the best option and we decided on a Rollerteam 694 which was perfect.
One of the great parts of my working life is that I get the pleasure to work with and meet some very talented young musicians, singer songwriters, performers and people who are keen to be involved in the music industry in some capacity. This year I had the pleasure to invite some of the acts to play at Belladrum. I could imagine being 16 years old and being on the receiving end of that email and being asked to play my first festival. It was great to offer this opportunity to these talented young folks.
We set off from Ayrshire, and took to the road on a beautifully sunny day and as we approached Pitlochry we had a stop with some coffee and switched drivers. I took the spell into the highlands as we headed through Inverness into the site where we picked up our production passes. An evening of cards, and beers as we listened to the end of the set by the Proclaimers.
Over the weekend we managed to catch so many acts, all of the Music Plus acts included Hollie Atkinson, Alice Bentley, Michiel Turner, Jemma Tweedie, Beautiful Expectations, Chainsaw Tea Party, Something Someone, The Elephant Sessions, Josephine Sillars, Aylee and many more. We caught Prides, Fatherson, Man of Moon, KLOË, King Creosote, The Mirror Trap, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, Neon Waltz, Honeyblood, Hector Bizerk, Findlay Napier, and Model Aeroplanes.
Leaving the site on the evening of the Saturday after the mighty show by Fatherson was a wise and calculated decision and allowed us to get all the way down through Aviemore to spend the evening on the banks of Loch Morlich before heading home in the morning to return the motorhome.
Bubblebeach 