The Garden Party at Kelburn Castle
In a summer where not a few music festivals have been credit-crunched into oblivion, it’s nice to see a new one emerge blinking into the light.
And the Garden Party at Kelburn Castle by Fairlie, near Largs, looks to be something special.
Not only have they managed to secure a decently eclectic line-up for the two-day bash, but the whole thing takes place in the castle’s lush formal gardens, with stages set up in some of the more interesting parts – the dance area, for instance, will be the tennis courts. Ancient trees provide a canopy over much of the site, with floodlit views of the Graffiti Project – which saw Brazilian street artists decorate an exterior wall of the castle back in 2006 - and out to sea over Arran and the Firth of Clyde.
There will be three stages – the Garden Stage for the biggest acts, The Viewpoint for those who want to dance, hosted by Glasgow reggae dancehall collective Mungo’s HiFi, and The Village, a second live stage featuring the smaller, the stranger and the more diverse – from rock to ceilidh music via experimental electronica.
There will also be art installations scattered around the grounds and a selection of stalls which the organisers say have been handpicked for quality and variety, and so should be a bit different from the usual festival tat.
It’s on June 20 and 21, and here’s the line up:
Garden Stage:
Saturday
The Bays, Bonobo, Tom Middleton, James Yorkston, Joe Acheson Quartet, Black Cat, Bevvy Sisters, A Band Called Quinn, Paper Tiger, Gol
Sunday
The Aliens, Bombskare, Samba Ya Bamba, Belleruche, Maeve O’Boyle, The Fontanas, Freaky Family, Astroboy & Mr Zimbabwe
Viewpoint:
Saturday
Martyn, Numbers DJs, Boom Monk Ben & Hint, Volume DJs, Kinky Afro DJs, Beefy & Wolfjazz, Jumble Sale Sounds.
Sunday
Rub-a-Dub Session, Mungo’s HiFi Soundsystem, MC Soom T, Riddim, Tuffa Sound, NoFace, I-Tal Faya, Robigan.
Village Stage:
Saturday
Kazoo Funk Orchestra, Northern XPosure, Gecko 3, Swimmer One, Banana Sessions, Digital Jones, Asthmatic Astronaut, Steg G & The Frestyle Master, William Douglas & The Wheel, Chanty Dyke, Bob Hillary, Weeg.
Sunday
Found, Candythief, Alex Cornish, The Gillyflowers, The Stantons, David Connelly, Freemoore, B-Burg, Desperate Dan.
Weekend tickets are £69 including camping, Saturday tickets are £46 including camping, and Sunday tickets are £32. You can get them here