Belladrum returns to its soul-restoring best

Oh man, it is good to be back at Belladrum. And it is great that Bella is back to its best.

2019 saw some well-documented issues at Scotland’s largest three-day festival, particularly around the crowds at some of the bands, and security. And then we all know what happened in 2020 and 2021.

So there was a lot of expectation, anticipation and even some anxiety ahead of this year’s return to the Highlands and the 17^th edition of the Tartan Heart festival on the beautiful Belladrum estate just a few miles out of Inverness. Despite the issues in 2019, the 2020 event had still sold out all 20,000 tickets long before it was forced to cancel due to the global coronavirus pandemic, and organisers rolled over everyone’s tickets, first for 2021 and then again for 2022, including the free tickets for those under 12 in 2020.

Not everyone could make it this year though for various different reasons and there were tickets changing hands on social media until the day before the site opened. In the run up to this year’s event, organisers were busy on social media reminding festival goers that groups of under 18s camping without a responsible adult would not be tolerated, and highlighting that the quiet and family campsites were just that. There were also social media warnings not to queue before the gates opened at 8am on the Thursday, and to avoid the busy times between 10am and midday. We left Inverness just before 10am and by 10.13am the queues were already two miles out of the site and a couple of hours long. It was the same situation for most of Thursday, and although most of the stages didn’t open until 4pm in the afternoon, some did. And some people were unable to get on site before 4pm, so some of the earlier sets were missed by those who wanted to see them.

The traffic was moving steadily though, and to be honest I’m not really sure how organisers could get nearly 20,000 people on to the site any more quickly than they already do, particularly as entry is on a single-track road. Suggestions on social media after the event have included opening the campsites on the Wednesday night, which of course is how Bella grew from a two-day festival to a three-day event in the first place - folk were queueing early on the Friday so they opened up the campsite on a Thursday and then invited Rhythm and Reel to play and the rest, as they say, is history. Not that I would mind staying on the Wednesday night too, or if it became a four-day event, but then I don’t have to organise it!

Once on site, it was relatively quick and easy to get wristbands and into the arena itself. It was quite strange being back somewhere so familiar, where so many good times have been had and memories made, but after what has been a collectively traumatic experience for pretty much everyone. It was almost comforting to be back, surrounded by Bella’s beautiful trees and familiar faces, sights and sounds.

The site layout was similar to 2019, with just a couple of changes, the biggest being the replacement of the Hot House tent with an actual stage located at the bottom of the hill. This is a fantastic addition to the Bella set-up, putting an end to all those times the Hot House tent was filled to capacity and hundreds of people missed out on seeing an act – just ask anyone who tried to see Alabama 3 or Colonel Mustard in years gone by. Easy to say that now though when the festival is blessed with fantastic weather all weekend as it was this year.

The other big change was the Verb Garden moving from beside the food area to the more tranquil Walled Garden, which also makes a lot of sense. And it left room for a new dedicated vegan quarter in the food area, which featured a range of Scottish vegan food providers – shout out to The Glasvegan in particular both for the cool name and the amazing vegan burgers.

Many of the familiar food providers were back, which is great to see after a difficult couple of years for the industry - Churchill’s venison burgers, Risotto to Go, Highland Hog Roasts, Mutley’s Crepes and others were all back. There were still long queues at busy times but if you set your internal festival food clock right – lunch at 3/4ish and tea at 8/9ish - you can avoid the worst of them. 

The iconic John Lennon head and the huge metal heart were both gone from their usual spots, although the heart at least was still on site, opposite the Bella bar and providing a backdrop to many a Bella selfie over the weekend. Talented florists Wild Goose made a huge life-size Nessie in the burn through the trees between the Garden Stage and the Potting Shed Trailer Trash stage.

Thursday

First band of the day on Thursday was a Scottish favourite, Glasgow-based Admiral Fallow. They left Glasgow at 10am that day and said they made their 5.25pm set by “a baby’s baw hair” after experiencing a “few traffic issues”. "Guest of the Government", "The Paper Trench", as well as "Electric Eyes" and "Tuesday Grey" from new album "Idea of You" all got an airing in a fantastic set. The sound was immense, but maybe that’s just because it’s been a while since we were at the Garden Stage.

Next up was The Magic Numbers, back at Bella some 15 years since they headlined the Garden Stage and 20 years since the two sets of siblings first formed their band. "Love is a Game", "Forever Lost", "Shot in the Dark", "I See You I See Me", "Love Me Like You", "Sweet Divide" and "Morning’s Eleven" sounded as good as ever, and created a perfect mellow vibe for a Thursday evening in the Highlands in the summer.

The mellow vibe continued with Passenger, the singer songwriter who used to busk in the streets of Edinburgh and Glasgow and knows how to work a crowd. He opened with Survivors, took a swig of what he claimed was the biggest whisky he had ever drunk, and said he was delighted to be back in Scotland.

He said he was only one man and a guitar and that he was only famous for one song, joking that he was just going to play it 15 times, and asked the crowd to sing along as loud as they can, adding “It doesn’t have to be good, just loud”. That song was of course "Let Her Go" and to his obvious delight the crowd was word perfect. He introduced "Feather on the Clyde" by saying “This one’s for you Scotland”, laughingly introduced his cover of "The Sound of Silence" as a new song, sang "Life’s for the Living", "Holes", "I Hate" – a song about everything that pisses him off – and a cover of Bryan Adam’s "Heaven". Mike, for that is his name, commented that he got the feeling the crowd was quite excited to be there, and reader, I can confirm that they were.

The first of many difficult choices to be made over the course of the weekend hit at 9.45pm on Thursday night. There is something for everyone at Belladrum and despite the clashes all the bands got a good crowd, which helps manage the increase in numbers on the site in recent years, spreading the love. And Team Bella have helpfully created a ‘clash finder’ in the free Bella newspaper which festival goers could be found pouring over throughout the weekend.

On Thursday night it was between Emeli Sande and homegrown Highland favourites Peat and Diesel, fresh from storming Glastonbury earlier this summer and who were very last-minute replacements after Eurovision winner Sam Ryder had to call off. In a compromise, we did a bit of both, starting with Emeli’s headline set, 11 years since her 2011 acoustic set at Bella right before she went stratospheric. Since then she has sold something like 19 million singles and more than six million albums. She said she was delighted to be back and “returning some of the love that she has been shown.”

She sang her heart out to "Hurts", "Wonder", "Shine", "Brighter Days" and dedicated "My Kind of Love" to her mum and dad who still live in Aberdeenshire and were in the audience to watch her perform. Labrinth’s hit "Beneath Your Beautiful" and "Look in Your Eyes" – which started full of soul before hitting a real funk vibe – from her new album also delighted the crowd.

But it was over to the new Hot House Stage for the return of Peat and Diesel to Bella, and that new stage really came into its own as thousands of fans made their way to catch the boys from the Western Isles after their “12 hour, 25 cups of tea and plenty of beers” journey to save the day. It’s fair to say they attracted the biggest crowd of the evening. Boydie was downing tinnies on stage, left the stage at one point and the set list went out the window as always. It was back-to-back performances at Bella for the Hebridean hitmakers behind the Co-Dhiu Dot Com, Brandy in the Airidh and Salt and Pepper who played at the last Tartan Heart festival before Covid in 2019.

Self-effacing accordionist Innes Scott told the crowd that it was “great to see so many people singing along to Boydie’s songs” adding that the band “started off as a craic but here we are”. Acknowledging their last-minute addition to the line-up he said “we should just be jamming in Boydie’s house tonight”, adding “we know we’re playing to a crowd that isn’t ours” but you know, the crowd was absolutely theirs and they deserved it. So many people were so excited to see them.  Bella audiences have plenty of other choices and places to be if they don’t like something, and they chose Peat and Diesel.

The last song turned into three - "My Island", "That’s The Way We Do It In The Western Isles" and "Country Boy" and the crowd fairly went wild, two years of pent-up energy letting rip with the boys from Stornoway.

Meanwhile, over at the Grassroots stage ceilidh band Tweed was doing their very energetic thing weaving together traditional ceilidh music with funk, ska and dance. Their cover of "Children" is a particular favourite that always gets the crowd going.

They were followed by Rhythm and Reel, complete with new singer Davy Cowan, and new drummer, Sam Cowan. They played a good mix of reels and their own stuff and were as popular as ever with the Thursday night crowd, packing out the tent once again.

Last band of the night on the Hot House Stage was Gimme Abba, which we decided to give a shot on the grounds that I was dressed for disco. Gimme Abba has been around for two decades and is one of the best-loved Abba tribute bands in the UK. Kicking off with "Mamma Mia" and "SOS" to an audience full of young kids who knew every word, they played a couple of lesser-known hits by the Swedish favourites, including "Kisses of Fire" and "Tiger" before "Knowing Me Knowing You", "Money Money Money", "Save All Your Love For Me", "Fernando", "Ring Ring", "Super Trouper" and "Voulez Vous". It was a polished performance in one of the longest sets of the weekend, so polished in fact that when introducing his bandmates, ‘Benny’ had to stress that the guitarist was “not really Bjorn”.

Friday

Friday dawned dry and bright as did the well-rested campers who seemed to have heeded the pre-festival advice not to have too many raucous campsite parties.

The immediate issue facing campers in all the sites however was a lack of water from the drinking water points. A burst water pipe on site, exacerbated by people arriving on the campervan and caravan site with empty water tanks and trying to fill them up from the hoses, saw the fields run dry. The wonderful Bella team manged to get the pipe fixed and water tankers on site and everything was sorted within a couple of hours. 

In the arena, the entertainment kicked off early with talks, shows and performances at the Walled Garden, the Trailer Trash stage and the Burke and Hare stage as well as the big three – the Garden, Hot House and Grassroots stages - from between 11 and noon onwards with the kids’ programmes starting earlier still.

Youth Highland, which provides mental health support and opportunities for young people ran a number of workshops throughout the weekend for youngsters as well as offering welfare support to any young people that needed it over the course of the weekend. There was no mobile library or merry-go-round this year but still plenty to keep youngsters entertained between the Tir Na Og area with its opportunities to try circus skills, theatre shows, and a maze, and the crafting area in the Walled Garden.

Team Extreme were there with demonstrations of skateboarding and scooter stunts at their specially built ramp and Edinburgh-based PyroCeltica was back with their special brand of Celtic-themed fire theatre and even a fire-breathing dragon!

Organisers introduced a number of environmentally-friendly measures this year, including using flat pack modular cabins for crew and back stage which significantly cut down on the number of trucks coming to the site during the build and take down. There was also the dedicated vegan quarter in the food area and water points were provided so that people could fill up their water bottles.

Drinks from the bars were sold in reusable cups, which you could return for a discount on your next drink, or keep as a souvenir of a great weekend, or, if you’re an entrepreneurially-minded child – as we encountered in the campsite on Sunday morning – collect them and try to sell them at vastly inflated prices afterwards. Branding some of the cups as Belladrum 2022 was a genius move with people trying to collect sets of the ones they liked, so going back for more drinks while doing their bit for the environment at the same time.

Last minute call-offs from bar staff due to Covid and illness saw social media appeals for staff over the weekend, and compounded long queues at the bars caused by card payments for drinks taking a while to go through. At more than one point over the weekend there were reports of 40-minute queues at the Black Isle Brewery bar and a 30-minute wait at the Hot House bar. And on Saturday, the card payment system crashed completely for just under half an hour. I don’t know if the token system that operated in previous years was pulled due to Covid measures or other reasons, but the bar queues certainly seemed quicker and shorter when tokens were used.

Following an afternoon spent relaxing in the sunshine in the Walled Garden, we headed across to the Potting Shed Trailer Trash stage for Katee Kross from Bishopbriggs near Glasgow. She played a mix of her own original material and covers including the Human League’s "Electric Dreams", Shania Twain’s "That Don’t Impress Me Much", Buddy Holly’s "That’ll Be The Day", and, somewhat randomly but it actually really worked, Abba’s "Does Your Mother Know". The audience shouted for one more tune, which they got (an Elvis cover), which is one of the reasons that stage never really runs to time.

Then it was up to the Ice-House stage for Supa and Da Kryptonites who regular readers will know I always try to catch live. It was another storming set from the accomplished band who never fail to get a crowd bouncing. Another band I try to see is Tide Lines. Back on the main stage at Bella, the Glasgow-based foursome are in the middle of a summer of festivals and gigs as they continue to build an enthusiastic and passionate fanbase around their brand of folk pop with a Highland heart. Singer Robert Robertson, who originally hails from Fort William, has a magnetism that just pulls you along with the moment.  “Live music being back means absolutely everything to us,” he says and you know he means it. “Okay Belladrum, let’s sing together” he implores the crowd and they don’t take any more persuading that that. "Heroes", "17 Again", "Walking on the Waves", "The Young and the Restless", "Innocent and Beautiful" and "Shadow to the Light" are all on the setlist along with new single "Rivers in the Light".

There’s a touch of a Bruce Springsteen vibe about Robert – from his soulful voice and authenticity to the jeans, rolled-up shirt sleeves, and guitar slung over his back. To my great delight they even segued into The Boss’s "I’m on Fire" at one point, acknowledging the Springsteen influence. 

From up-and-coming new kids on the block to bona-fide Scottish rock band legends, Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, whose first album debuted in 1989 – before all but one of Tide Lines was even born. They put on a typically fantastic show at the Hot House Stage, with "Dust", "Normal Boy", "Working on the Shoo-Fly" and of course "Rattling Boy" and "Goodbye Mr Mackenzie" itself all getting an airing. There was also a cover "The Way I Walk" by The Cramps.

Sticking with Scottish talent it was off to the Grass Roots stage for Blue Rose Code. The influence of The Boss was in elements of this set too with Edinburgh-born singer-songwriter Ross Wilson painting a picture with every song.  

Blusey-style finger-clicking single "LDN City Lights", "Love a Little", "Red Kites", "Grateful", and the both freedom song and love song to the west coast of Scotland, "Sandaig", were all on the set list for the near hour-long performance from this talented band, who looked as though they were enjoying it as much as the audience. As they say, nearly ten years in and they’re still being called Scotland’s best kept secret.

Then it was decision time again. The musicians, photographers and journos were all talking about 23 year-old Grammy award-winning Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, word on the street being that we probably wouldn’t get to see him in such an intimate setting again. They may well be right, and by all accounts his set was as good as the Bella hype. But my very patient teenager - who has accompanied me to dozens of festivals while I’ve been working since he was 18 months old - wanted to see The Fratellis and who was I to say no. Even though it started raining and Christone was in a tent.

Jon Fratelli and his band absolutely did not disappoint however, storming the stage right from the off – saying to the rest of the band by way of an intro “Well if we’re good we should play” - and for the whole of a blistering hour-long set. He was accompanied by some of the best goddamn backing singers I have ever seen – they had serious attitude, great voices and fantastic harmonies and super sharp outfits. They put on an almost show-stealing performance, perfectly complementing Jon’s own vocals and performance.

Jon is another great storyteller, his songs full of tales that the world is a better place for hearing. "Henrietta", "Too Much Wine", "Whistle for the Choir", "Half Drunk Under a Full Moon", "Vince", "Living in the Dark", "Stand up Tragedy", "Six Days In June", "We Need Medicine" and "Flathead" were all beautifully told but it was his cover of Baccara’s "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" and The Fratellis’ best-known hit "Chelsea Dagger" that got the biggest reactions of the night, with Jon unable to keep the smile off his face and the crowd even drowning out those amazing backing singers.

By the end of the set the rain was getting heavier and while thousands enjoyed the arena entertainment for another hour or so, the weather put paid to many an after-hours campsite party once again.

Saturday

Saturday dawned bright and sunny though and a fair few folk had dressed up for the myths and legends theme, including a brilliant Rab C Nesbitt as well as some mermaids and Maleficents.

As we made our way in through the arena, we came across a Highlands-based Jacobite fighting re-enactment group that recreated some of the fight scenes from hit films such as Rob Roy starring Liam Neeson. It certainly entertained kids of all ages, including those who are far too young to have seen the films.

Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5’s Saturday afternoon slot on the Garden Stage has become something of a Bella tradition. The band, which has been a mainstay of the festival circuit for almost a decade now, released their second album, titled "The Difficult Number Two", last year and played a couple of new songs from that, including "GT Part 1", "This is Your House" with a guest appearance from Anthony Thomas from Dope Sick Fly, "Ted Dancin’" and "We Are The Dinosaurs", as well as old festival faves that are also on the album, "Cross the Road", "Peace Love and Mustard" and "These Are Not The Drugs (You Are Looking For)". "International Sex Hero", "Dance Off" and "Bouncy Ball" all delighted the crowd, the combination of musical styles and influences and a feelgood vibe appealing to thousands of fans, more so than ever after what we have all collectively been through over the last two years. Watching thousands of people singing and dancing in the sunshine, playing with beach balls and inflatable unicorns, was a surprisingly emotional moment.

It seems obvious now just how much everyone needed to be back in a field with music and although the reasons behind not being able to do that for the past two years were sound, it’s striking how much we have missed it. Everyone was happy, everyone was smiling – and that’s the drugs we are looking for.

Dreadzone was next on the Garden Stage, offering a more mellow vibe after the Mustards. This summer, the band is without charismatic frontman MC Spee and the set certainly had a different feel to it without his presence. Legendary reggae vocalist Earl 16 was at the mic and "Life Love and Unity" and "Rise Up" kicked off their set, with "Iron Shirt", "For a Reason", "Music Army" and "Zion Youth" all getting an airing. I’ve been dancing in fields to these guys and their brand of dub/electronica/techno/roots music for nearly 30 years now, and as they said, “it’s been a long time since we’ve been outside together”. Too long in fact, and this weekend was a masterclass in realising that I hadn’t realised how much I had missed this.

Over on the Hot House Stage was Dundee’s Kyle Falconer, probably best known as lead singer for The View, although he has released a couple of solo albums in the last few years.

It’s been 13 years since I last saw Kyle play and it was great to see a happy and smiling Kyle on stage this time around. Opening with new material, "Stress Ball" and "Laura", followed by 2018’s "Avalanche", he was on stage with “his pal from Manchester who helps him out when he cannae get a band”, and commented that he was “getting too old for this, I’ve got three bairns now”. He played "Same Jeans" “just cos I want to, ken”, which got one of the biggest cheers from ecstatic crowd, as well as The View’s "Tacky Tattoo" and "Superstar Tradesman". Always great to hear "Something" by The Beatles too.

It was back to the Garden Stage for Shed Seven, who I’d caught supporting James earlier in the year and was keen to see again. They didn’t disappoint. Their first song of the night was Room In My House which was released in 2017 but after that it was 90s nostalgia all the way. Singer Rick Witter has great banter (“How old are you?” he asked a nine-year-old in the crowd, adding “Do you remember the 90s? No? Well, I don’t either, we’ll just have to get through this as best we can”) and the whole band had great stage presence and were clearly really enjoying themselves. "Bully Boy", "High Hopes", "Dolphin", "Ocean Pie" (complete with brass section) delighted a devoted following many of whom knew every word. 1996’s "Going for Gold" segued into 1976’s "Suspicious Minds" before "Getting Better", "Disco Down" and "Chasing Rainbows" brought a banging set to a close.

The Saturday headliner line-up brought more hard decisions – Edwyn Collins was on the Grassroots stage up against Ash on the Hot House stage and Nile Rodgers and Chic on the Garden Stage. It was great to see Edwyn Collins back at Bella, at what is pretty much a local festival for the Highland-based musical maestro.

Ash has a special place in my heart and I caught the first few songs of their set – opener "Life Less Ordinary", "Oh Yeah", "Goldfinger", and "Orpheus". It was a bass heavy and absolutely rocking performance from the band from Northern Ireland who famously first burst onto the music scene in 1996 when they were still teenagers.

But after seeing the start of Nile Rodgers and Chic’s set it was back to the Garden Stage for some more disco. I mean, how often am I going to get the chance to be part of a Nile Rodgers and Chic party in the Highlands?! Rodgers is a writer, musician and producer and has sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide, working with everyone from Sister Sledge, Madonna and Duran Duran to Beyonce as well as, of course, forming Chic.

He asked the crowd “Y’all read to party with us?” and the answer was a resounding yes. It was hit after greatest hit, including "Dance Dance Dance", "Chic", "I’m Coming Out", "Upside Down", "Greatest Dancer", "Le Freak", "Good Times", "Like a Virgin", "Material Girl", "Modern Love", "Spacer", Daft Punk’s "Get Lucky", "Lost in Music" and "Notorious" in one big disco medley. They were, quite simply, the perfect Saturday night headliner.

I have always said Belladrum wasn’t about the music and while it sort of still isn’t in terms of who is playing, it actually really is - the music is absolutely everything. I guess what doesn’t necessarily matter is who is doing it, so long as someone is doing it there is a magic there that just makes everything that bit better, that makes life bearable, which is so important in these - and I’m going to use that totally over-used word - unprecedented times.

To see the joy and happiness that music and dance and creativity and togetherness gives people reminds you just how awful the last two years have been for everyone, not least the artists and creatives and crews who rely on performing and whose livelihood it is. For the Westminster government to have suggested during the coronavirus pandemic that anyone involved in music or dance or theatre or art should just re-train and work somewhere else was quite frankly insulting and patronising. 

Every band, every artist gave it their all, they gave it everything this weekend, almost as though they needed it as much as we did. They played their hearts out, thrashed hell out of their guitars, rehearsed dance routines for weeks in advance, and they LOVED being back in a field as much as the crowd.

Team Bella always said it would be immense when we got back and it was. The theme for the festival this year was myths and legends and 2022 is a year that will become one of the legendary years, one of the best years, one of the ones that in 20 years’ time we’ll be sitting in a field with friends somewhere saying ‘Do you remember that year that we got to dance like no one was watching, hang out in the sunshine and under the stars with some of our favourite people in the world, wear a silver sequin cape, and ride a fire-breathing dragon....’

Belladrum is back to its soul-restoring best. I’ve said it before but it really should be on prescription.

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