Isle of Skye Music Festival

Isle of Skye Music Festival
Genrerock, pop, dance
DatesMay or June
Location(s)Ashaig Airstrip near Broadford on the Isle of Skye, Scotland
Years active2005 - 2007

The Isle of Skye Music Festival was an annual music festival that took place on the Ashaig Airstrip near Broadford on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

Overview

It was one of the earliest festivals in the year, occurring in late May or June, a time known on the Island to be the driest in the year. From this location there are views of the coast and Cuillin hills; organisers describe it as "the most impressive backdrop of any UK festival".

The festival won the "Most Fan-Friendly Festival" award at the 2006 UK Festival Awards.[1] The Festival offered on-site parking, a dedicated bus service and camping facilities.

The festival includes a mix of Scottish and international artists. It also seeks to promote the island's cultural identity by featuring lesser known local bands and by selling traditional food such as porridge and local wild boar burgers.

In 2007 the festival was included as part of the Highland 2007 culture festival, bands performing included Primal Scream, Kasabian and Mylo.[2]

The 2008 festival was cancelled after the organisers ran up over £500,000 of debts, and it was reported some musicians and suppliers had not yet been paid for work at the previous festival. The shortfall was due to much lower than expected crowds at the previous event, after spending large amounts of money on bands. [3][4]

In 2015 a new two-day event called Skye Live Festival succeeded, taking place in Portree on the Isle of Skye.[5][6]

2007 Line up

The festival took place on 25 and 26 May 2007.

Main stage

Friday Saturday

Non stop stage

Friday Saturday
  • John Martyn
  • Mark Olson
  • Barry Peters
  • Gecko 3
  • Soma DJs to be announced

Shipping forecast stage

Friday Saturday
  • Incredible Fling Band
  • Meantime
  • Fred Morisson & Friends
  • Breabach
  • Fiona Mackenzie and Brian O Headhra
  • The McCrimmon Sessions
  • Seth Lakeman
  • Skipinnish
  • Session A9
  • Breabach
  • Giveway
  • Arthur Cormack
  • Avernish
  • The McCrimmon Sessions

ITSON stage

Friday Saturday
  • The Needles
  • Fortunate Sons
  • Uncle Rocket
  • Highland Youth
  • DJs to be announced
  • The Mitsubishis
  • Darkwater
  • Hookares
  • Highland Youth
  • Convo
  • DJs to be announced

References

  1. ^ UK Festival Awards 2006 - The Winners! - - Festival News Archived 25 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Skye's the limit for music fans". BBC News. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Island music festival cancelled". BBC News. 11 April 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  4. ^ Chiesa, Alison (12 April 2008). "Skye music festival pulled as administrators are called in". The Herald. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  5. ^ MacKenzie, Keith (8 January 2015). "Full line-up for new Skye Live music festival revealed". West Highland Free Press. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  6. ^ MacKenzie, Keith (3 April 2015). "Scene set for first-ever Skye Live festival". West Highland Free Press. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.