History

The Festival started at a public meeting of local musicians, hotel owners, publicans and a mixture of interested music enthusiasts in 1992. Our first festival took place in 1993 and was headlined by Capercaillie. The festival committee were overwhelmed with the response and people in Campbeltown quickly took the festival to their hearts and co-ordinated by the committee, locals set about organising various outdoor events including ‘Harbour Splash Day’, ‘The Grand Parade’ of fancy dress on a theme, ‘The Burnside Bash’ and various other events.

With a strong background of successful ceilidh bands, Gaelic choirs, Pipe Bands, Brass Bands and Modern & Highland dancers the Festival committee complimented this by introducing international folk/traditional acts from all over the world. These include: Altan, Davy Spillane, Four Men and a Dog, the Tannahill Weavers, Jerry Holland & Dave McIsaac, Dougie McLean, the Michael McGoldrick Band, the Full Moon Ensemble, Arty McGlynn & Nollaig Casey and many more.

The Festival is always held on the second last weekend in August (this year the 19^th, 20^th, 21^st and 22^nd) but in recent years it has expanded to include Thursday for the ‘Young Folk Night’ and now this year to Wednesday for a new ‘Gaelic Concert Night’.

The demand to attend and participate in this vibrant festival which is also in an idyllic setting always astounds this hard working voluntary committee but we are determined to make visitors welcome to Campbeltown for the Mull of Kintyre Music Festival.

This years Festival features the return the ‘Full Moon Ensemble’ from Alabama who enchanted the audience two years ago at the 10^th Anniversary concert. Also featuring this year are Shooglenifty, the Anna Massie Band, Filska, Deoch n` Dorus, Ceann Tir and the ‘World Champion Novice Juvenile Pipe Band’ and many others.