If you fancy some Americana in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, Belladrum Festival takes place this coming weekend (25th to 27th July). With a mix of local and international talent across two stages, it promises to have something special for any Americana fans thinking of travelling up to what is a vibrant and friendly festival in a beautiful Highland setting.
Having been waving the Americana flag at Belladrum for twenty years now, organiser Rob Ellen is as enthusiastic as ever about the music and musicians. Throughout the year you’ll find him enjoying live music at venues across the length and breadth of the country. However, he’s at his busiest at this time of year, with his focus firmly on helping finding additional shows for his overseas guest stars and promoting their music by live-streaming their performances from house concerts, folk clubs or other festivals up and down the country. As he says himself, “It’s busy but joyous, and I get to be the host and not the hosted for the only time of the year. That’s what I particularly enjoy about Belladrum.”
With the poor weather and the post-covid slump in live music audiences still a factor, it’s been yet another difficult year for many festivals with a number of the smaller festivals being cancelled. The knock-on from these often last-minute cancellations has resulted in a difficult touring environment being made even more complicated, especially for overseas artists coming to the UK and then making the journey north to the Scottish Highlands. It’s therefore especially heartening that Belladrum continues to go from strength to strength.
Highlights from an intriguing 2024 lineup include Phil Lee and Tommy Womack from the US, and another Americana UK favourite, Michael Weston King. Scottish representation includes more highly-regarded names very familiar to readers of this website, including Good Guy Hank, The New Madrids, Kirsten Adamson, Malcolm MacWatt, Andrew Taylor (Dropkick) and Alice Faye.
Tickets and full details are available over at the official festival website here. And here’s what you missed last year.
