Mull of Kintyre Music Festival is officially back to rock Campbeltown from August 21 to 25 with another fantastic line-up of concerts and open-air events.
Some of the best bands and musicians from across Scotland will perform at the seven ticketed concerts with headline acts including Trail West, Dougie Maclean, Katie Macfarlane, Grouse Ceilidh Band, The Canny Band, The Sarachs and Slainte Davaar Allstars.
The Saturday night Glen Scotia West Coast Rocks Concert on August 24 headlines with the Scot Trad Awards Live band of the year for 2023 Trail West. They will be supported by Rhuvaal, performing at the festival for the first time in two years. The Laurettes, making their festival debut, open this concert, which promises to deliver the full-on West Coast festival experience in the Victoria Hall.
Headlining the Traditional Concert on the same night is the legendary singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean, internationally renowned for his song Caledonia. Opening the concert are Dàna, a five-piece, all-female band that is making its debut at the event. This fantastic concert of songs and tunes will be held in Campbeltown Heritage Centre.
On Friday, August 23, the Grouse Ceilidh Band, who got the whole audience on the floor last time they performed at the Festival Ceilidh Night, will make a welcome return and are guaranteed to get everyone dancing once again. Following two fantastic performances at last year’s event, Argyll Ceilidh Trail will make its debut at the Festival Ceilidh Night, playing straight after the Dalriada Connections Band. The award-winning Kintyre Schools Pipe Band will open the concert following a performance at the head of the Old Quay.
This year’s Beinn an Tuirc Gaelic Concert in the Argyll Arms Hotel, Campbeltown on Wednesday, August 21 opens the festival celebrations with one of the top young Gaelic singers, Katie MacFarlane, whom Pablo Lafuente and Michael Biggins will accompany. With many more local and visiting musicians to be confirmed, this will be a night of tunes, stories and songs from a host of outstanding Gaelic performers.
The following night, August 22, the Young Folk Night promises another great selection of young performers from across Kintyre at Campbeltown Heritage Centre. We are also delighted to welcome Spoons Ice Cream Café on board as sponsors of this year’s YFN Concert.
The Dalriada Connections Concert on August 25 has two extraordinary headline acts. The Sarachs, featuring Anne Leith, Les Oman, and Alex Johnson, perform a set full of Kintyre songs before The Canny Band, performing for the first time at the festival. This three-piece band cooks up an effervescent mix of trad-based material with borrowings from classical, jazz, and beyond, and it is not to be missed. A host of other musicians, including Scooter Muse (USA) and Ciaran Mulholland (NI), will also perform. Remember to pick up your Kilkerran Distillery whisky miniature at the door.
Once again, we are delighted to have Kilkerran Distillery as sponsors for the legendary Survivors Night, which brings the festival to an end with a concert which helps showcase the hugely talented bands and musicians from the local area. Campbeltown’s super-group Slainte Davaar Allstars will again close the concert by performing a fantastic set of new tracks. The Kintyre Schools Pipe Band take to the main stage once again, as will the wonderful We.R.Soul with their powerhouse vocals, rhythm sections and dazzling horns. Many more bands are still TBC. Alison M Leith will MC.