Perthshire Amber fest lights up town hall
Blairgowrie welcomed homecoming king Dougie MacLean back once again for another sell-out performance at Blairgowrie Town Hall recently.
The star-studded concert was held on the final night of the Perthshire Amber - The Dougie MacLean Festival and featured performances from former Blairgowrie High School pupil Dougie, Ross Ainslie, Sorren MacLean and Hannah Fisher, Gina Macleod and Alan Jordan, Ewen Sutherland, Gordon Maclean, Tim Edey and Buddy MacDonald.
The award-winning festival, back for a 12th year, took place at venues across Perthshire over four days earlier this month.
As well as the sell-out show in the Town Hall, Blairgowrie also hosted an Amber Cafe event at Cargill’s Restaurant and Bistro – which also sold out.
Hot on the heels of an 11hour music session in Dunkeld the previous day, the Coaltown Daisies and Buddy MacDonald entertained around 40 appreciative guests at Cargill’s with some of their own songs as well as traditional favourites.
Lesley McDonald, of Cargill’s, was pleased with the success of the afternoon event.
She said: “We were delighted to be part of Perthshire Amber again this year, it was a great session in Cargill’s and everyone enjoyed the performances from some of the hugely talented musicians on the line-up this year.
“Live music works really well in the set up we have here at Cargill’s and we are keen to bring more of these sorts of sessions to the venue.
“Thank you so much to Dougie and Jenny and all of team Amber for a fabulous afternoon. And here’s to next year’s Amber!”
Canadian singer-songwriter Buddy MacDonald was making a welcome return to Perthshire Amber.
He said: “It’s been a pretty amazing festival, I love it here, it feels like coming home.
“I was brought up in Cape Breton which is a community full of characters and I think that’s why I like coming to Perthshire so much.
“To Dougie, Jenny and the whole team I would just like to say a huge thank you for an amazing event.”
Other highlights of the festival included the opening concert at Dunkeld House on the banks of the River Tay featuring Siobhan Wilson from Glasgow, the ‘Caledonia Cantata’ and the Dougie MacLean and friends concerts, both at Perth Concert Hall, and the ever-popular decorated wheelbarrow parade and the Amber autumn picnic and free open air concert.
And as well as the concerts and events, there were also acoustic music sessions during the afternoons and evenings in pubs in Dunkeld and other towns in Perthshire.
The festival also donated £1600 for the Cyrenians which supports people excluded from family, home, work or community.
The money was raised from the annual Amber Big Knit which sees guests at the festival knit squares which are made into a blanket that is raffled off.
Dougie said: “It’s been another great festival and we were so pleased to finish it all off with the farewell concert in Blairgowrie. It’s great to see the Town Hall packed out like that.
“All the events were fantastic, the line-up was great with so many wonderful and talented musicians and we were so lucky with the weather again. It was also brilliant to raise so much money for such a worthwhile cause as the Cyrenians, who we have been supporting for 10 years now.”