wickerman festival, kirkcudbright

Monday 23 July 2012

Ever wanted to visit a Hebridean island to watch a selection of popular musical acts perform, then watch a policeman get burned alive in a big bonfire shaped like a voodoo doll?

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Well, perhaps not the latter, but if you had taken a trip this weekend down to a farm in East Kirkcarswell, near the actual location of the 1973 horror classic, you perhaps wouldn't have been met with such an array of strange characters.

Blessed with dry, sometimes very sunny weather, a rarity during a Scottish summer, a 10,000-plus crowd descended for two days of music, fairgrounds, hula hooping, chips and cheese and hangovers. Friday got off to an energetic start as up-and-coming Edinburgh indie-beat outfit Bwani Junction took to the Summerisle mainstage, enthusiastically playing material from their debut album, Fully Cocked, which proved to be a crowd pleaser.If you wanted to get away from the buzz, the Acoustic Village was the place to be. With it's chilled out atmosphere, highlight of the day was acoustic songbird, Rachel Sermanni, who had not only one, but three fiddle players on stage in her all-female band, as she performed tracks from her forthcoming debut album, Under Mountains, and Breathe Easy and Song to a Fox from her current EP, Black Currants. Her voice was ethereal and commanded the audience's attention, which they were only too willing to give.Sticking with the 1990s theme was a set from Liverpool ensemble, Cast, putting in a decent effort, as older members of the audience reminisced with tracks Sandstorm, Walkaway, Flying and Free Me, all delivered in John Power's distinctive guttural tones.Headliners Scissor Sisters had a triumphant return to Scotland as they put on an impressive set, complete with light show, gyrating to classic tracks Laura, Take Your Mama and I Don't Feel Like Dancing. Highlight was Ana Matronic's dance routine to Let's Have A Kiki (party), certainly giving a star performing the same night in Edinburgh a run for her money. On a high, due to recent success, were Kassidy, who proved to be instant crowd pleasers, as they took to the stage, performing tracks from albums Hope Street and One Man Army. Fans were out in full force, mouthing the words to almost every song. The set culminated in the foursome throwing frisbees into the audience, and sometimes, at them.Fellow Scots crowd pleasers were Dundee outfit The View, who attracted the biggest crowd of the night as they gave a raucous performance, in their own imitable style, airing tracks from their latest album Cheeky For A Reason. Finally, Texas made a comeback, playing to a home crowd, as Sharleen Spiteri launched into performances of Halo, I Don't Want A Lover, Say What You Want and Black Eyed Boy, before the poor Wickerman was burned, complete with token Olympic Torch.Some say Wickerman isn't as good as it was, but with this year's combination of up-and-coming acts and established stars, it was a good all-round showcase of the talent this country has to offer.HHHH

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wickerman festival, kirkcudbright

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