Scotland

2008 saw the United Kingdom reach new heights in the number of annual music festivals. The total number of festivals for the year was well in excess of 400 with a great many offering some of the finest acts around at the moment as well as many up and coming acts and acts of the future. While many of the major music festivals put on extremely well known pop acts, bands and singers many of the small events chose to focus upon a very specific music genre. In stark contrast to the majority the Wickerman Music Festival, which is held annually at East Kirkcarswell, near Dundrennan in the heart of Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, had a spectacular and eclectic mix of music acts ranging from KT Tunstall to the incredible Orphan Boy, Birds Vs Planes etc. to Dance DJ’s and world music, all spread across eight stages.

One of the most amazing things about the Wickerman Music Festival is not the fact that it celebrates an old cult movie (The Wickerman), nor the fact that it features the burning of a huge wickerman and a wickerboy,  it is the people who attend that make this music festival something really special. As I sat people watching I began to realize that every sector of society was represented from corporate bankers to well seasoned festival folk, from old age pensioners to babes in arms and plenty of children and family groups.

Another aspect of the festival is that each year more and more emphasis is placed upon “green” matters with various facilities for recycling. Each year an army of “Wickerpickers” roam around the festival site collecting litter and separating the materials ready for recycling. As soon as most festival sites are clear of the revelers there is usually a large area covered in litter and debris but at the Wickerman Music Festival there is little. In fact, within an hour or two of the people leaving the only evidence remaining is the security fencing and little patches of flattened and worn grass where tents once stood and areas of lush green upright grass where it had been protected by parked cars.

It seems strange that a music festival which pumps out loud booming music from various tents until after 5 in the morning should be considered a “family friendly” event. However the camping and parking areas are segregated so that there is a main camping area, a main parking area, a quiet area, a family area and a disabled area. Overall the system worked well excluding one or two exceptions where small groups insisted in playing loud music in the quiet area etc. Each year sees a number of improvements but sometimes they get it slightly wrong.

One plus point about the Wickerman Music Festival is that the toilet facilities are generally pretty clean and for those who prefer more luxurious toilets and showers there is a facility called “Down n Dirty”. Unfortunately this years down and dirty was not up to the same standards as last year and it was places too far from the disabled and family/quiet areas and at £5 a shower it was far too expensive for most. However there are times when you really must pay a sit down visit to the toilet and at £5 for the use of the toilets over the weekend it is a bargain.

Back to the Wicker Folk again and I have to mention that the Wickerman festival features some of the finest costumes. This may be that many choose to dress in animal costumes which feature strongly in the film (the old one NOT the Hollywood remake!). One of my favorites this year was a couple of lads riding one of those seaside dual bicycles but they had a portable sound system on the back and it was covered in a large umbrella. Once when it passed us there was a crowd of people dancing behind it following it around the festival site.

Well I suppose I will have to mention some more of the bands which appeared in 2008 but before I do I would like to mention that this year saw the appearance of only one main stage – the Summerisle Main Stage. While this stage was superb the fact that we lost the 2nd main stage (the Woodward Stage) meant that there was far too long a period between acts. If this is to be repeated at Wickerman 2009 then I hope that there are smaller acts, such as the excellent Kings of Macumba, playing between acts.

Headlining on Friday 25th of July was Gary Numan who rocked so hard that he managed to damage the p.a. system so that those on either side of the stage could not hear the mid-range (vocals, guitars etc) which was very strange but was only for the last few songs. After Gary Numan the Red Hot Chilli Pipers played a lively set to end the night. Supporting were the Alabama 3 who were mind blowing, amazing, and any other superlative you can think of. Other acts appearing on the main stage included Dodgy, The Fall, Max Romeo, Sonic Boom Six, Suzuki Method and Chi Weapon. The Capitol Scooter Tent was headlined by Sham 69 and featured bands such as the superb Orphan Boy, We Are The Physics, Twisted Nerve and more. The Rowan World Music Tent had the Hacienda Tour, Lou Hickey, The Runk Collective and the Kings of Macumba kicked off the day followed by the excellent Birds Vs. Planes (Previously named Stars of Track and Field UK). The Reggae tent pumped out their beats all day as did the three dance tents whereas the Acoustic Village was much more laid back.

On  Saturday 26th July the main stage at the Wickerman Music Festival was headed by KT Tunstall of whose set I missed half of after some clown managed to drench me and my cameras in sticky juice so I had to rush off to clean them! Other acts on the main stage included Dreammachine and the lively Dub Pistols but the real highlight of the show was the hilarious Cuban Brothers who entertained the crowd immensely. Hugh Cornwell played songs from his new solo album together with older songs and some Stranglers classics. Other main stage acts at Wickerman included Damien Dempsey, Sarah Gillespie and King Kayak . The Scooter tent had Neville Staple, Underground Heroes, AKA Ska and more.

Simply put the Wickerman Music Festival has the most amazing mix of music set in the most wonderful countryside of  Dumfries & Galloway with the most incredible crowd of festival goers and truly awesome food, clothes and other stalls. There is also a fairground that this year had a ferris wheel but the dodgems and waltzer are my favorites. Following the festival we took a drive around the local area but we were too exhausted to make the most of it but maybe next year we will save some energy to do a full tour of the area and some of the locations used in the making of the original Wickerman movie.

If you have an interest in music, particularly live music, and you have never been to a music festival Scotland has several which are an excellent introduction to the scene including the Wickerman festival but also the likes of the Tartan Heart Festival at Belladrum.

You can view photographs of Wickerman 2008 at http://www.virtualscotland.co.uk/scottish_gallery/wickerman-08/index.htm