Oban comes alive as town welcomes two-day music festival to Mossfield
LAST weekend’s Oban Live open-air concert drew 9,000 visitors to Mossfield Stadium, and has been hailed by organisers as a ‘ huge success’.
‘ The weekend has been bigger and better than we ever expected,’ Oban Live Artistic Director Daniel Gillespie said. ‘ We had some of the biggest names in world music, the freshest local produce, the most amazing crowds and, most importantly, an incredible west coast welcome from the community of Oban. The concert may be over, but the buzz and excitement around it will resonate for months to come.’
On Friday there was a delicious surprise for Aly Bain when organisers presented him with a bespoke birthday cake - featuring mini-marzipan versions of him and his long-term musical partner, Phil Cunningham - to celebrate his 70th birthday.
Capercaillie and Julie Fowlis also delighted the crowds with traditional favourites, while energetic performances from We Banjo Three, Skipinnish and Skerryvore, with fringe events around the town, sent the party into the wee hours.
During Saturday’s last show, Scottish singer- songwriter KT Tunstall debuted songs from her finished fifth album. ‘ To have KT Tunstall showcase new songs for the very first time was a very special moment for the first Oban Live,’ Daniel said, adding: ‘ Capercaillie’s set was just amazing also, with so many special guests making it an extra special homecoming performance from them.
‘ The feedback from the artists has been superb, which is very pleasing for us, because we work so hard to make sure they are as comfortable and welcome as pos- sible. KT took time to say thanks before departing late Saturday night, and that was a very nice touch for all the production and artistic team.
‘ We set out to celebrate and show what an incredible town Oban is for live events, so to see people travel from the USA, Germany, Holland and Denmark to Argyll was a fantastic achievement for all involved. We have already had an approach from an American band and American tour company regarding 2017.’
Tiree- born Daniel, accordionist in the band Skerryvore, added: ‘ The fringe was such a key part of this event, and it has been great to hear that the restaurants and pubs have been packed all weekend with some having queues for entry, such was the demand.
‘ We plan to have a team debrief in the coming weeks and also issue a visitor and business survey.
From all this feedback we can then identify the elements that we aim to improve for 2017 and also assess the financial viability of the event.’
Oban Live’s inception came about after the ‘ Skerryvore: Decade’ concert, held in Oban in May 2015, generated £1.1 million for the town and its surrounding areas.
Organisers expect the economic impact of Oban Live will be double this amount.
Daniel added: ‘ What was very pleasing about this year was that some of the aspects highlighted from Decade were improved tremendously, so a huge thanks to all the Oban Live Team for all their efforts. We hope this is the start of an annual event that will bring a huge economic boost to the town and region as a whole.’