Teenagers hit the right notes with music festival
THE TINY fishing village of Carradale now has its own music festival thanks to two of the youngest festival organisers in the country.
Raymond Gosling and Niall Gemmill, both aged 18 and members of traditional band Rhuvaal, organised the event to bring a taste of west coast music to the east Kintyre village.
Motivated by the success of a ceilidh they organised last year, the boys saw the opportunity for an annual event in the village hall.
The two-day event was headlined by Heron Valley on Saturday night, supported by The Hur, Ceol an Aire and Gunna Sound, with Trail West topping the bill on Sunday after performances by the Lorne MacDougall Trio and Matt McAllister.
Local talents, including Western Sound, Hope Strang, Hannah Black and Under Smoke, were showcased in the afternoons. The favourable weather allowed festival-goers to enjoy the marquee and benches outside the hall and there were CGS4Gambia and Paterson’s Bakery stalls.
Raymond said: ‘Traditional music festivals on the west coast of Scotland are soaring and we decided we could host our own.
‘We choose bands and artists we thought would go down well and who are currently making a big impact on the festival scene.’
Having performed at Gig in the Goil and MOKFest with Rhuvaal, Raymond and Niall, both from east Kintyre, had an idea of what organising a festival would involve, but got in touch with other festival directors for advice on running a larger event.
When plans began to take shape, they formed a small committee to give them help and guidance. Ten volunteers were taken on to help keep the festival weekend running smoothly.
Niall said: ‘Many of them were young locals. We thought they would relish the opportunity to help at the first Carradale Music Festival and maybe one day be part of the organising team.’
Raymond added: ‘Platinum Bar Hire provided a great service for the festivalgoers and Lara’s Gourmet Grill, from Glasgow, supplied a brilliant range of top quality food throughout the weekend.’
Both Raymond and Niall are overwhelmed with all the positive feedback they have received and are extremely happy with the festival’s first year.
They said: ‘The Carradale Music Festival team thanks everyone who attended and supported the festival over the course of the weekend.
‘A massive thank you to our wonderful sponsors – Jewellery Casting Scotland Ltd, D McNair & Son Ltd, P McKerral & Co Ltd, Campbeltown Motor Company, L Black & Co, the Co-op, and the Ashbank Hotel – without whom we would not have managed to organise such a successful weekend.
‘Big thanks also to Sound Acoustics, Willie Durnin for lighting, MC Linsey Cairns, Platinum Bar Hire, Lara’s Gourmet Grill, Carradale Hall Committee, festival designer Randall Robertson, Robert Strang, Jean Campbell and to everyone who supported us over the past year.
‘You have all been brilliant and we cannot wait to start planning for next year.’