Cajun music festival is coming to Perth
Vamos! Festival to run at Perth Racecourse
Lovers of grassroots American music are in for a treat next week as a new festival comes to Perth.
Perth Racecourse is getting ready to host the first Vamos! Festival from Friday, May 12 until Sunday, May 14, as part of a celebration of live American music.
The weekend promises everything from rock ‘n’ roll, country, rockabilly, jazz, soul and blues, with a number of American bands from the likes of Alabama and Kentucky coming to the Fair City to spread their love of Cajun music with more than 700 people. Branch and Dean will be at Vamos! Elvis act Johnny Lee Memphis
Lynda Malia, one of the organisers, said: “This is the first time we have run this music weekend, but it won’t be the last.
“The bands from Western Kentucky and Northern Alabama want to be involved in the Perth bid for UK City of Culture 2021, so they want to keep Vamos! going beyond 2017.
“It is music event, not a ‘festival’, there will be something for everyone. There will be four stages during the day and the main stage will be outdoors between the main stands - we will use most of the racecourse, and there will be lots of seats.”
Vamos! will have a party night on May 12 with music from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, with live bands on the Saturday and Sunday including Marmalade, the first Scottish band to have a hit record in the USA, and Eve Graham, who will be marking the 45th anniversary of her second place finish in Eurovision.
Paul Young will be topping the bill on Sunday night to close the festival with his new Tex-mex band.
Lynda continued: “There will be a singer-songwriter area to showcase upcoming talent, but they will all be doing cover sets.
“Every song over the weekend will be songs we know, so everyone will be singing all day.
“There’s artists coming from the USA, Canada, Sweden, England and Scotland - there are only two bands from Perth, the Chris White Band and Break the Butterfly.”
The American bands coming across want to promote their areas for tourism, as they say Kentucky and North Alabama are often missed by UK tourists. Lynda also hopes this will in turn promote Scotland to American tourists.
She explained: “I am from Perth, so I really wanted Vamos! to be here. The Americans wanted Edinburgh, but I wanted Perth, so I just kept pushing for it.
“The bands are absolutely delighted, most of them have never been to Scotland before. Some of them are stopping for a few days after the event to tour the area, they all can’t wait to visit Scone Palace. It will help both ways, because the bands who come across will