Mid Argyll’s friendly festival rocks
MAMA Fest blew the socks off Mid Argyll in a funpacked weekend of cracking music, great food and family fun.
The Signal Fires got it all off to a riproaring start with a blistering cover of The Foo Fighters’ Times Like These.
The Oban outfit had Ardrishaig Public Hall jumping on Friday night as they treated the audience to a sneaky peak of some of the tracks from their new acoustic EP.
The Hollow Mountain String Band, Angus Smith and North 56, and The Antics completed a fantastic opening night line-up.
Saturday’s family fun day was blessed by lovely sunshine, bringing people out in droves to enjoy the entertainment. With fantastic musicality and a true west coast sound, Campbeltown brothers Archie and Alex McAllister entertained on the fiddle and accordion while Peppa Pig danced alongside to the delight of kids of all ages.
Home favourites Mid Argyll Pipe Band stirred the blood with some tunes in the sunshine. Rising Kintyre star Matt MacAllister proved why he is such hot property with a selection of selfpenned songs and covers.
Lads and lassies from Mid Argyll’s very own recovery cafe, Grub’s Up, were on hand to dish out hundreds of burgers and hot dogs to the hungry hordes as they listened to Crackin’ Craic and the Dalriada Ceilidh Band - completing the Saturday afternoon line-up.
The everpopular Saturday night MAMA Fest night had a busy Ardrishaig Hall on its feet. Any remaining cobwebs from the previous evening and afternoon were blown away, well and truly, by Campbeltown band Sleeping with the Enemy.
Up next were the Lush Puppies striking a more melodic tone followed by the full-on energy of Jo Smith and Mid Argyll’s own None the Wiser. Glasgow-based The Mawb impressed with their easy confidence, blasting out heavy rock numbers with gusto. For the Sunday survivors, it kicked off in the rain at midday.
A MAMAFeast coffee afternoon showcased Mid Argyll talent, with fantastic music from Vinny Hutton, the Brambelles, the Rusty Mustangs, Danny Carroll, Ceilidh’s Homet and The Democrats.
The grand fundraising raffle, drawn on Sunday, was won by Alison MacAlpine of Ardrishaig, who scooped the £100 cash prize. In just its fourth year, this year’s MAMA Fest in a new venue proved a big success. The festival included Mid Argyll’s most popular acts, bands from as far as Glasgow and some new acts who have never performed in public before.
Andy Bruce, of festival openers The Signal Fires, was delighted with the festival and complimented committee members on their hard work. He added: ‘We’ve played MAMA Fest nearly every year since its inception and have had numerous slots, from headline on the Saturday night to closing act on the Sunday.
‘The sound crew were excellent as always and we were happy with our performance on the evening.’
Organiser Liz Miller said: ‘This year’s festival was fantastic. Our new venue in Ardrishaig proved to be a huge success, and Ardrishaig Community Trust has bent over backwards to help us. I want to thank all the musicians who took part they were all just outstanding and they continue to amaze us year after year. And the family day was a resounding success, helped a wee bit by the weather.’
Liz added: ‘We haven’t thought too much about the plans yet, but we would be very happy to be back in Ardrishaig for MAMA Fest 2018.’