Scotland’s smallest festival leaves a big impression
GIGHA Music Festival lived up to its claim to be Scotland’s smallest festival, offering revellers an intimate and relaxed weekend filled with masterful music and dynamic dancing.
Everyone in the hall, from the festival organisers and police officers from the mainland, to the bands who had just come off stage, took to the dance floor to show their best moves last weekend. Well-known Scottish folk pop band Tide Lines kick-started the event, playing Friday’s opening set, and had the audience bouncing and singing along to their well-known and catchy selfpenned melodies. Award-winning neo-traditional quintet Elephant Sessions picked up where Tide Lines left off to headline Friday, continuing the traditional feel but adding their own rocking vibes.
The band is currently on tour across Europe, and a French national television film crew was on Gigha to capture some of their fantastic stage presence.
Christophe Obert, from Nice, who works for channel France 3, said: ‘I’m filming scenes for a documentary about Celtic music in Scotland, and in particular, Elephant Sessions. I’m very glad to have experienced Gigha Music Festival.’
Some festival-goers were delighted to see Tide Lines lead singer Robert Robertson swap his guitar for an accordion and return to the stage after Elephant Sessions, as the festival poster had led them to believe it was ‘Robert Robinson’ and his band who would be providing the ceilidh set!
The floor was packed with dancers for Scottish classics including the Dashing White Sergeant, the Gay Gordons and the Orcadian Strip the Willow, a festival favourite which previously helped Gigha Music Festival set a world record for dancing continuously for 65 minutes.
When the time dictated that the music had to come to an end, the remaining revellers and members of both bands made their way into the gazebo outside the hall, where master-chef and festival sponsor, Greig Anderson, cooked mouth-wateringly good, hand-made pizzas, in a wood oven all evening.
Saturday’s offerings were a little calmer, with live music and a craft fair at the Gigha Hotel and more live music at the Boathouse bar and restaurant, giving everyone a bit of time to recover before night two.
At night, festival favourite Fred Morrison returned to Gigha after three years to perform an intimate yet lively set, playing an array of traditional instruments to the seated audience.
The atmosphere in the hall was tangible, where, at times, you could hear a pin drop, and each new note was highly anticipated.
Some other songs were not so quiet. Before picking up the Irish pipes, Mr Morrison commented: ‘It’s a wild instrument this – you’ll see what I mean in a minute!’
Fellow head-liner, Sharon Shannon, who travelled from Ireland for the event, put on a highly-energetic performance, and many people were up out of their seats dancing.
After the headliners had completed their sets and the chairs were cleared, festival faithful, Lorne MacDougall, took to the stage with his band for the festival’s second ceilidh.
Once again, the dance floor was never empty, with plenty of people keen to practise their Scottish country dance, rounding off two nights of merriment in style.
With bruised arms and sore heads, revellers young and old made their way home on Sunday from yet another successful Isle of Gigha Music Festival, which can rightly claim to have one of the most welcoming festival atmospheres about.
Turn over to pages 16 and 17 for more photos from the festival.