Beach Boys provide perfect finale to Montrose festival

Legendary band thrill 10,000 fans in fitting climax to weekend of music

The Beach Boys brought their feelgood songs to Montrose’s East Links last night.

The band packed their greatest hits into a two-hour set to bring the curtain down on Montrose Music Festival’s 10th anniversary.

They thrilled 10,000 fans with hits such as Good Vibrations, Surfin USA, Sloop John B, and Wouldn’t It Be Nice.

MoFest chairman David Paton said: “MoFest has racked up some of the biggest bands in music over the years and, as one of the most influential rock and pop acts of all-time, the Beach Boys tops the list.”

The band were formed in California in 1961 by the Wilson brothers – Brian, Dennis and Carl – and Mike Love, their cousin, along with schoolfriend Al Jardine.

The Beach Boys, now led by Love and Bruce Johnston, were joined on stage by Hollywood actor and producer John Stamos. He has toured on and off with the band for more than 30 years.

Love said: “The beauty of the Beach Boys’ music, the stuff that we’ve created for going on five decades now, it seems to transcend generations.”

Scottish soul pop legends Deacon Blue got the MoFest party started at East Links on Friday night before more than 100 gigs were performed in 25 venues over the weekend.

LCC Live has worked in conjunction with MoFest since 2013.

Organisers said it provided a great advert not just for Montrose, but for Angus and the North East.

A zero-tolerance anti-alcohol message in certain areas, coupled with the recent tragic events in Manchester, meant there was a much stronger security presence over the weekend with areas of the High Street sectioned off and bag searches.

The festival committee is a non-profit, volunteer run organisation, dedicated to promoting free live music of all styles and genres, and at all levels, in Montrose and surrounding areas.

This year’s festival saw a number of new bands join old favourites as organisers decided to take an ‘editor’s pick’ approach to applications.

Picture: Kim Cessford. Top left: the Beach Boys on stage; top right: Mike Love; above: Steve Wilson, Pauline Mochan, Alan Gilbertson and Alan Gilbertson enjoying the festival.