The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Countdown begins for this year’s MoFest
More than 40 live bands will get Montrose rocking as thousands of visitors descend on town
The final preparations are being made ahead of this weekend’s Montrose Music Festival.
The 11th annual MoFest – which will see 100 bands play in 24 venues – gets under way on Friday night.
The Hoosiers will perform a headline set at the town hall before a weekend of free live music on Saturday and Sunday.
MoFest chairwoman Anne Jenkins said: “The Hoosiers do a great live set so it will be a great way to kick off the weekend. xAgain we have a great line up, with over 40 brand new bands for this year, along with the usual returning favourites.
“Our High Street event will have a bit of a different format this year with award-winning comedian Billy Kirkwood taking on the role of our main stage MC.
“We have some really cool vendors coming along this year including local craft beer masters 71 Brewing from Dundee.
“The Horseshoe Bar will be serving up prosecco and Edinburgh Gin are bringing along their tipple trailer.
“We also have loads of great food vendors, including The Muckle Backit Oven, and a dedicated kids area with rides and activities.”
This year’s new bands include Celtic Beast, the Elaine Stewart Band, The Fizzle Chimps, Gus Munro, Joker in the Hole and Lonely Lost Boy.
Comedian Kirkwood regularly performs to packed out venues across the UK, clocking up sell-out one-man shows at the Glasgow, Edinburgh, Brighton and Manchester comedy festivals.
Anne added: “We need to say a huge thank you to our sponsors this year. Thornton’s Solicitors, Digital Scotland, WM Mustard & Sons, Celurca Investments and Montrose Rope and Sail.
“Thornton’s Montrose team have been helping us behind the scenes with a lot of the legal aspects of the weekend and it’s a great example of a local company supporting a local event.
“Digital Scotland are the sponsors of our lanyards this year and they will be at our High Street event over the weekend.
“Also a massive thank you to all the businesses that have supported us. We genuinely couldn’t do it without them.”
Montrose Music Festival was started in 2008 by a small group of locals who weren’t happy with the live music offerings in the town.
Within a matter of years, the festival has become one of the major events in the music calendar and it now draws audiences of over 15,000.
The Hoosiers will join a long list of top artists to have played the festival including Bryan Adams, Madness, Jools Holland and the Beach Boys.
Tickets for their concert are available from MoFest HQ or online via Ticketweb.
The Hoosiers do a great live set so it will be a great way to kick off the weekend. ANNE JENKINS