The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Fake Festival’s debut in Dundee hailed a resounding success
Tribute acts to Green Day, Kings of Leon and Queen perform at event
The UK’s only touring tribute show was held in Dundee at the weekend for the first time.
Around 1,200 revellers converged on Lochee Park for the city’s first Fake Festival, held on Saturday from 12.30pm until 11pm.
The festival, which began in the Lincolnshire town of Haxey in 2007, now sees 21 tribute acts visit more than 30 locations across the country.
Three tribute bands took to the stage in Dundee, with Kings of Leon act Kings of Lyon opening, followed by Green Date (Green Day) and headliners Flash, who paid tribute to Queen.
Dundee Fake Festival organiser Lee Storey said even more people attended than expected for a first-time event.
He said: “It was a great success and hopefully we will come back for another year as people in Dundee are clearly interested in the event.
“That’s something we will have to sort out later but I’m confident the council will welcome us back.
“We like to think of it as a community event where it’s easy for people to get to the show and get home again without too much hassle.
“Sometimes with other events it can be stressful with parking and traffic but with this being outside the city centre, in Lochee, there wasn’t the same issues.
“Lots of people walked to it which is exactly what we wanted.
“In terms of the noise, we were within the guidelines previously outlined by the council in the licence agreement.
“We believe this kind of thing is what parks are for within cities so we’re keen to make use of them.”
The show also included five Dundee supporting artists, including the Cherry Bombz and the Kashmir Crows.
Mr Storey said the buzz around the city at the moment was one of the main reasons the organisers decided to bring the festival here.
“The music events which have been staged here and that are coming create great excitement,” he said.
“That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to set a festival up here.
“We wanted to do it with a different spin though of course and also something that was more affordable than many of the concerts now.”
The same show in Perth in May was a sell-out, having attracted around 1,000 guests despite the rain, while Dunfermline also played host to the tour last Saturday.