Pic by Gordon Reid - Wickerman burning 2015
Wickerman 2015; a kaleidoscope of sunshine, fire, fireworks, friends, music and good times. What a weekend!
The Everything Flows team expanded to 4 for the weekend; expect blogs to come on Example, Optimo Espacio, Hector Bizerk, Jimmy Cliff, Neneh Cherry, BMX Bandits, The Vaselines, Miaoux Miaoux, Neon Waltz and more.
In the meantime; this is a bit of a round up of some of my own highlights that took place over the weekend;
The weather - the forecast changed dramatically in the week leading up to the festival, at one stage 2-hours of rain was forecast for the Friday night! Instead it was mainly dry with large periods of sunshine, particularly on the Saturday after some rain around noon.
The site - the Wickerman site is beautiful lush rolling green hills that lead down to a natural stage setting. There is plenty of space, yet everything is within easy walking distance, including the campsites.
The atmosphere - Positive, friendly, family friendly yet with space to party, everyone out for a good time. I even attended a wedding at noon under the Wickerman but had to run as unfortunately the heavens opened for the lucky couple. Thankfully the sun came out for them afterwards!
The fireworks were the best in the 6 visits I have enjoyed at Wickerman.
The crowd during Jimmy Cliff - pic by Gordon Reid
Jimmy Cliff - My award for performance of the weekend goes to this guy and his incredible band. They smashed it out the park with a set jammed full of classics in the glorious Wickerman sunshine leading to sunset. I Can See Clearly Now was absolutely beautiful, I don't mind admitting that I had a tear in my eye and my hands in the sky dancing and singing with friends when this was on.
Jimmy Cliff - sensational performance; pic by Gordon Reid
Stereo MC's - They came, they saw, they conquered Wickerman with an energetic set that saw singer Rob Birch cover every inch of the stage and wow the crowd with hits like Step It Up and Connected. The whole set had a real clubby feel to it and got the crowd dancing and singing. It was a particularly important set for the main stage after the unfortunate cancellation of the Sugarhill Gang who many were looking forward to. The main stage hadn't had a moment, the crowd hadn't had a chance to dance...they got one.
Rob Birch - Stereo MC's; pic by Gordon Reid
The line-up - Synergy Concerts have joined the Wickerman team as bookers and they used their skills, knowledge and experience to create a brilliant eclectic line-up that fully utilised the incredible music scene in Scotland. We had indie legends like The Vaselines and BMX Bandits, young up and coming artists like White, Neon Waltz and Kloe, top quality ska by the likes of Esperanza and The Amphetameanies and it was all ended in style by the incredible Optimo Espacio team - gotta be invited back next year?
The Amphetameanies - pic by Gordon Reid
BMX Bandits - I have to give a special mention to the BMX Bandits who headlined the Phoenix Tent last night. There cannot be many, if any, bands who can create the warmth and love that Duglas T Stewart and his friends are capable of making. I've always thought they would be perfect for Wickerman and indeed they were, playing a set spanning their full 30-years and giving older fans some long lost classics and wowing new fans who chose to end their Wickerman Festival with them. Girl At The Bus Stop was an absolute delight and Duglas rolled out Kylie's Got A Crush On Us for the first time in 20-years to the delight of those around me.
Please, please, oh please take the same bus as me
Two different generations enjoying BMX Bandits; pic by Jim Burns
No comments:
Post a Comment