Vamos! to racecourse for US inspired music event
Proposals for a new walking route to celebrate the heritage of Dunkeld and Birnam have been agreed.
The local historical society has moved to install plaques on several buildings in the communities as part of a plan to show off their heritage and boost walking tourism.
Some of the plaques are to replace faded signs which have been around for 40 years.
Bringing together sites from the train station to the cathedral gates, as well as a number of venues and eateries, people will be taken on a tour using a leaflet guide which will be made available at venues and tourist spots in Dunkeld and Birnam.
Perth and Kinross Council has agreed to the plaques being placed on a number of buildings.
A total of 34 sites have been identified in the proposed route.
Members and historians have spent more than a year researching the scheme for the ancient city of Dunkeld and Victorian holiday village Birnam.
Cash has been offered by the Griffin Wind Farm Fund and advice and support has been offered from Dunkeld and Birnam Community Council and the tourist association. Fans of grassroots American music are set to descend on Perthshire from today as a new festival comes to the area.
Perth Racecourse is making final preparations to host the first Vamos! Festival – a celebration of live American music which runs from today until Sunday, May 14.
Everything from rock ‘n’ roll, country, rockabilly, jazz, soul and blues will be blasted out, with a number of American bands from the likes of Alabama and Kentucky expected to play to more than 700 people.
Also on the bill as the curtain comes down is Paul Young who is appearing with Tex Mex band Los Pacaminos.
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 later today 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.
The weekend’s festivities include American food, a prize draw, and ‘bandoeke’, giving people the opportunity to get up on stage and sing with a live band. There will also
Dunkeld Cathedral is one of many top spots in the area Paul Young and Los Pacaminos is one of the acts to watch out for
be a fundraising drive by American band Branch and Dean, who are ambassadors of Cystic Fibrosis in America and are keen to raise awareness of the disease in Scotland.
Tickets can be bought online at www.vamosevents.co.uk.
Those with vouchers can call 01738 506550 for tickets.