JAMES and TWIN ATLANTIC to headline Belladrum’s 10th anniversary festival
Manchester indie legends James and Glasgow rock prodigies Twin Atlantic have been booked to headline the party to celebrate Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival’s tenth anniversary (Beauly, Inverness-shire; 2nd and 3rd August 2013)
James’s headline appearance at Bella in 2007 has gone down in history as one of the most celebrated moments at the event, leading to an invitation to the band to make a return visit this year. Formed in 1982, James have racked up more than 25 million sales worldwide from their 12 studio albums with hits such as ‘Come Home’, ‘Sit Down’ and ‘She’s A Star.’ They will close the festival on the Saturday night (3rd August)
Twin Atlantic’s story at Bella began with a legendary gig in the goNorth Seedlings stage in 2008 when the show had to be stopped and the rest of the gig was conducted with the enthusiastic audience sitting on the floor! Since then, the band has progressed to becoming one of Scotland’s most acclaimed rock acts with Bella proud to be giving them their first festival headline.
Twin Atlantic
Besides the headliners, an exciting and wide-ranging list of other acts is announced for the event. Among these, The Straits, consisting of former members of Dire Straits, bring a greatest hits set to Bella, and the British band Noisettes make their first appearance at the festival.
Saturday Hothouse Stage headliners are stellar garage rockers The Horrors. King Charles and Scots indie artists Admiral Fallow feature at the event and Rumours of Fleetwood Mac are also booked, together with Celtic rockers Peatbog Faeries who played the first Belladrum Festival way back in 2004
Lucy Spraggan brings her acoustic-folk-hip hop mix to Bella for the first time as does emerging soul artist Jacob Banks, who comes fresh from touring with Emile Sande. Scots folk star Dougie MacLean will headline the Black Isle Brewery Grassroots Stage, supported by folk legend Martin Carthy. Gavin James, an impressive young singer-songwriter from Ireland and Rick Redbeard of the Phantom Band in singer-songwriter mode are joined on the Black Isle Grassroots stage by the pagan pop-folk all-girl trioStealing Sheep and the gentle Geordie jazzy swingy country troupe of Shipcote and Friends
Noisettes
It’s A Beautiful Day, created during San Francisco’s 1967 ‘Summer of Love’ will also feature, together with: folk rockers Treetop Flyers who won Glastonbury’s 2011 emerging talent competition; Scotland’s much loved Celtic rockers, The Dangleberries;Jericho Hill – three ex-punks and a cowboy playing Johnny Cash; Victorian Trout Conspiracy, great ska from Edinburgh; Scotland’s most tipped unsigned band,Fatherson; local heroes Scooty and the Skyhooks, Brown Bear and the Banditsfrom Largs. Skerryvore, Feis Rois, Caledonian Ceilidh Trail and Toby Michaels Rolling Damned from the Highlands
“We are really delighted to be announcing such a mix of old friends and new talent at Bella for our tenth birthday,” said promoter Joe Gibbs. “It is very rewarding to see Scottish artists like Twin Atlantic progress from unsigned stage to top of the order, but also to see the longevity of many of the acts which come to Bella and have held the affections of the crowd over the years. In that vein, we are particularly please to welcome James back to the headline slot. With our dressing-up theme of ‘carnival,’ it’s going to be one hell of a party for Bella’s 10th.”
Full weekend, child (12 & under), campervan/caravan and electrical hook-up e-tickets can be purchased by going to the ticket link on the festival’s web sitewww.tartanheartfestival.co.uk
Prices have been pegged at 2012 levels. Booking fees have been reduced on e-tickets and a new ticket deposit scheme has been introduced for customers wishing to buy full weekend tickets in installments. Bella has sold out each of the last four years, often months before the event so fans are urged to buy early to avoid disappointment.
The 2013 theme is ‘Carnival’, in keeping with the birthday party atmosphere the milestone event is bound to create. A video of the 2012 event created by Tom Welsh from Deluxe.com, Edinburgh, can be seen on the event’s web site.
Belladrum 2013 takes place in the beautiful Highland surroundings of Belladrum Estate, near Beauly in Inverness-shire. The independent festival has built a reputation for its eclectic line-ups, its offbeat non-musical entertainments and its all-ages approach. The festival won a VisitScotland Thistle Award in 2009 and is a past winner of the Grassroots Festival Award at the UK Festival Awards, the festival industry’s ‘oscars’.
