Rockness and other Scottish Music Festivals
Scotland is know throughout the world for many things including tartan and bagpipes and when many are asked about Scottish music it is the bagpipes that most bring to mind first. The bagpipes appear all over Scotland and many of the most popular tourist attractions often feature a piper in full traditional dress banging out a few well known tunes. Used heavily in warfare the sound of the bagpipes is very distinctive, and many would describe it as terrifying however there is much, much more to Scottish music than bagpipes and ceilidh bands. In recent years the UK has seen a massive increase in the number of annual music festivals and in Scotland there are a few well worth a mention such as the relatively new Rockness music festival near Inverness.
Music has a vital role to play in the development of any society or nation and this is extremely apparent in Scotland. Through the centuries Scottish music has encompassed many influences and happily embraced new instruments. While interest in the traditional will always remain strong the Scottish music scene is wide and varied. Across Scotland various music events celebrate the various styles of the nation and introduce acts from elsewhere. At Scottish music festivals it is not unusual to see the traditional acts appearing alongside the most modern or acts from Africa or others from around the world.
Scottish music festivals cater for all tastes in music and, whatever style or genre you appreciate most, there is bound to be a festival suitable for you. If you enjoy traditional Celtic sounds and some of the modern fusion bands then a visit to Celtic Connections of the Hebridean Celtic Festival will introduce you to both the well known and the most modern Celtic influenced acts around. On the other hand if you prefer the more modern sounds the likes of Tartan Heart, Wickerman and Rockness present a mix of the most modern and popular acts alongside the up and coming acts of the future.
Rockness, being only it's thrid year, is one of Scotland's youngest music festivals but this year over 35,000 people attended. Taking place at Clune Farm, Dores (not too far from Inverness) the music festival has one of the most astounding locations on the banks of Loch Ness. Staged by Loudsound and Slingshot, Rockness may well be in a rural and remote setting but great care is taken to ensure that the traffic and superb transportation links flow freely and smoothly.
The first festival was held on Saturday 24 June 2006 and was mainly a dance event headlined by the popular DJ Fatboy Slim on the main stage and Daft Punk in the Clash Arena (a big top tent) with an attendance of around 10,000. The following year saw the event extended to two days. Again it was mainly a dance event with the Chemical Brothers headlining the first day and the rock act Manic Street Preachers headlining the second. Daft Punk again appeared in the Clash Arena which held only 10,000 capacity, as it was soon filled the sides of the tent were soon lifted to allow the full, 30,000 strong, crowd to enjoy their performance.
Rockness 3 saw a small increase in the crowd to around 35,000 and Fatboy Slim returned to headline the first day (which was mainly dance orientated). The second day was more rock orientated with Editors supporting the headline act Razorlight. Throughout the two days smaller tents pumped out dance sounds until the early hours with DJ's such as Pete Tong making an appearance.
Imagine a city center crowded with 35,000 revelers and then consider how much trouble and arrests there would be? Well Rockness had such a crowd and there were only about ten arrests. Unfortunately one poor soul died (cause not known) but the whole event was full of happy, friendly and helpful people with no sign of trouble anywhere. I believe there was one fight which was quickly sorted but I personally witnessed a massive number of acts of kindness.
Wickerman and Tartan Heart music festivals are equally, if not more, friendly events and both can be considered family friendly with children and toddlers seen running around playing. While some would consider this irresponsible you really need to visit these festivals to understand how safe they really are. Furthermore children are seen wearing ear defenders when they are in the vicinity of loud music.
Music has a vital role to play in the development of any society or nation and this is extremely apparent in Scotland. Through the centuries Scottish music has encompassed many influences and happily embraced new instruments. While interest in the traditional will always remain strong the Scottish music scene is wide and varied. Across Scotland various music events celebrate the various styles of the nation and introduce acts from elsewhere. At Scottish music festivals it is not unusual to see the traditional acts appearing alongside the most modern or acts from Africa or others from around the world.
Scottish music festivals cater for all tastes in music and, whatever style or genre you appreciate most, there is bound to be a festival suitable for you. If you enjoy traditional Celtic sounds and some of the modern fusion bands then a visit to Celtic Connections of the Hebridean Celtic Festival will introduce you to both the well known and the most modern Celtic influenced acts around. On the other hand if you prefer the more modern sounds the likes of Tartan Heart, Wickerman and Rockness present a mix of the most modern and popular acts alongside the up and coming acts of the future.
Rockness, being only it's thrid year, is one of Scotland's youngest music festivals but this year over 35,000 people attended. Taking place at Clune Farm, Dores (not too far from Inverness) the music festival has one of the most astounding locations on the banks of Loch Ness. Staged by Loudsound and Slingshot, Rockness may well be in a rural and remote setting but great care is taken to ensure that the traffic and superb transportation links flow freely and smoothly.
The first festival was held on Saturday 24 June 2006 and was mainly a dance event headlined by the popular DJ Fatboy Slim on the main stage and Daft Punk in the Clash Arena (a big top tent) with an attendance of around 10,000. The following year saw the event extended to two days. Again it was mainly a dance event with the Chemical Brothers headlining the first day and the rock act Manic Street Preachers headlining the second. Daft Punk again appeared in the Clash Arena which held only 10,000 capacity, as it was soon filled the sides of the tent were soon lifted to allow the full, 30,000 strong, crowd to enjoy their performance.
Rockness 3 saw a small increase in the crowd to around 35,000 and Fatboy Slim returned to headline the first day (which was mainly dance orientated). The second day was more rock orientated with Editors supporting the headline act Razorlight. Throughout the two days smaller tents pumped out dance sounds until the early hours with DJ's such as Pete Tong making an appearance.
Imagine a city center crowded with 35,000 revelers and then consider how much trouble and arrests there would be? Well Rockness had such a crowd and there were only about ten arrests. Unfortunately one poor soul died (cause not known) but the whole event was full of happy, friendly and helpful people with no sign of trouble anywhere. I believe there was one fight which was quickly sorted but I personally witnessed a massive number of acts of kindness.
Wickerman and Tartan Heart music festivals are equally, if not more, friendly events and both can be considered family friendly with children and toddlers seen running around playing. While some would consider this irresponsible you really need to visit these festivals to understand how safe they really are. Furthermore children are seen wearing ear defenders when they are in the vicinity of loud music.
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Rockness is over for another year (see Rockness Photos) but if you are planning to visit Inverness see our listings of hotels in Inverness at http://www.invernesshotelscotland.com/
posted by Marcondes Allen at 9:51 PM
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