Pitlochry music festival going from strength to strength

Plans are already in hand for a third March Into Pitlochry music festival.

This year’s festival, featuring bands from across the UK, attracted sponsorship from Belhaven and local businesses, and grants from the Perth 2021 Creative Communities Fund, the Enchanted Forest and Pitlochry Major Events, with input from Heartland and Perthshire Sound and Light.

Stephen Carruthers, one of the seven-strong team of volunteers behind the event, said: “The feedback has been universally positive.

“We were warned by people like Ron Ellon, who started Belladrum, that it could take a few years for any event like this to wash its face.

“But given the support we have received from various quarters and ticket sales up 50% year on year we have already managed to break even and that has encouraged us to look towards a third festival for March 2018.

“It was fantastic that Perth and Kinross Council and the team behind Perth 2021 appreciate what we are trying to do for the music and cultural scene in Highland Perthshire.

“We are wholeheartedly behind the City of Culture bid because there’s no doubt Perth and Kinross as a whole will share in the benefits it would bring to both the city and the wider area.

“We have had great feedback from people across Scotland and others who came from Yorkshire, and even Germany. It’s great to see the event enjoying such widespread appeal and we are keen to build on our success.”

The organisers welcomed input from six senior pupils at Breadalbane Academy who handled social media.