Loopallu 2008

[Paul ™]

Fringe Acts

The Mystic Shoes

Davy Cowan

The Federals

Rhythm & Reel

Lorelei

[stevieg72]

Plenty of places to eat in Ullapool, most of the pubs/hotels do meals and there are other small restaurants/coffee shops as well as a Tesco and Costcutter.

There is chip shop beside the seaforth and another one round the corner, an indian restaurant/takeaway at the entrance to the festival site and a chinese takeaway behind Tesco. There is also a small market for produce, etc in the seaforth carpark on saturday morning. Also your usual festival food on site as well as local produce such as smoked salmon, venison, etc

Normal pub rules apply, fringe gigs start after 11pm when the festival ends. Family Mahone are on at 10pm on Sunday night

Yes, everything is open as normal

approx 2am

Less than 5mins although you can drop stuff off at the entrance to the campsite before parking your car

[michellelash]

The Seaforth does amazing breakfasts. Goes well with beer

[Paul ™]

More questions from a newbie, is it black isle beer thats sold at the festival? do they have cider? is the camping split into zones like bella (general, family etc)

Edited September 16, 2008 by Paul ™

[bryanb]

More questions from a newbie, is it black isle beer thats sold at the festival? do they have cider? is the camping split into zones like bella (general, family etc)

Edited September 13, 2008 by bryanb

[stevieg72]

There is a beer tent selling lager, cider, etc as per the norm for most festivals

An Teallach Brewery will also have a bar http://scottishbrewing.com/breweries/Highl.../AnTeallach.php

The campsite isn't split into zones http://www.broomfieldhp.com/

Drink will be allowed into the campsite but not the arena

Edited September 14, 2008 by stevieg72

[thebookofknowlwedge]

Left it too late to purchase tickets so if anyone out there has 2 spare festival plus camping tickets I will gladly reimburse you for all costs.

[bryanb]

Tickets on sale now from www.seetickets.com

Loop the Loop will take in the following:

Isle of Skye on Monday 15th (Portree Community Centre)

Broken Records plus support from 3 Daft Monkeys + Rachael Cormack

Isle of Mull on Tuesday 16th (An Tobar)

Broken Records plus support from The Mending Hearts

Inverness on Wednesday 17th (Hootananny)

Broken Records plus support from 3 Daft Monkeys + Lowtide Revelry

Stornoway on Thursday 18th (Woodlands Centre)

Broken Records plus support from dotjr

Each of the performances will be broadcast live over the internet and can be heard by visiting:

www.live365.com/stations/loopallu?site=live365 (just click on the yellow play button to listen to each live show)

Edited September 14, 2008 by bryanb

[Bergerac]

That's me back from work and I'm now officially on Loopallu countdown mode.I cannot wait for next weekend, it should be a beezer. I'm almost giddy,but thankfully not quite.

[Paul ™]

Left it too late to purchase tickets so if anyone out there has 2 spare festival plus camping tickets I will gladly reimburse you for all costs.

[bryanb]

Loopallu article in The Scotsman today:

http://news.scotsman.com/features/The-Hot-...-all.4490514.jp

The Hot Ticket: 'Let all the tough people come weather this one'

WHEN rumours of the first Loopallu Festival started to circulate back in 2005, it sounded like a wind-up.

Hayseed Dixie, the American "rockgrass" band who had become the flavour of the month for their hilarious hillbilly covers of heavy metal classics, were supposed to be curating some sort of two-day music event up in Ullapool. Highlands-based rock promoter Robert Hicks was said to be involved. The Undertones, Shooglenifty and Cosmic Rough Riders were apparently on the bill, along with the Ullapool Pipe Band. The whole thing sounded so bonkers that, for a while at least, nobody seemed to take it all that seriously. But then 1,200 people showed up, the event proved a roaring success with locals and visitors alike, and, with Hayseed Dixie promising to do the same thing again next year, Loopallu was suddenly transformed from a bit of a joke into a regular fixture on the Scottish festival circuit.

Of course, Loopallu had no right to become so successful overnight. Just as scientists are unable to explain how bumblebees manage to keep themselves airborne when the laws of physics clearly state that they shouldn't be able to get off the ground, so music world insiders struggled to explain Loopallu's bewildering popularity.

For a start, there's the town's sheer isolation. This year, the organisers of the hugely hyped Connect festival struggled to persuade the music-lovers of the Central Belt to travel to Inveraray; Ullapool is about four times as far as away as the crow flies. It's on the wrong side of the country for Aberdeen and Dundee, too, and it's even a bit of a trek from Inverness. In terms of geography alone, the first Loopallu should have been a wash-out.

Competition was also an issue: when you factor in tickets, transport and accommodation, music festivals can be expensive things to go to. A lot of people can only afford to do one per summer. In a market that some experts claimed had already become too crowded, a cheeky young upstart like Loopallu shouldn't have survived beyond its first year.

And then there was the issue of the bands on the bill. As the festival grew in stature it started to attract some seriously big names, but for that first year the organisers could hardly claim to have assembled a killer line-up. Yes, Hayseed Dixie had a loyal following, but the rest of the programme – quirky and diverse as it was – was hardly something you'd have expected people to travel hundreds of miles for.

But travel they did, and the first Loopallu was a corker. In her review of the event, this newspaper's critic, Claire Smith, raved about the family-friendly atmosphere, the range of music on offer and the "classiest festival food ever seen".

In subsequent years, the festival has gone from strength to strength. The Stranglers and Alabama 3 played in 2006 and the mighty Franz Ferdinand showed up in 2007. This year, another typically eclectic line-up includes big-name attractions The Levellers and Echo and the Bunnymen, as well as plenty to keep folk fans entertained in the shape of Red Hot Chilli Pipers, The Vatersay Boys and The Family Mahone.

Crucially, though, there are enough bands-of-the-moment to make a trip to Ullapool worth the time and effort for even the most discerning muso. Fence Collective head honcho King Creosote needs no introduction, and his winsome ditties, forged on the coast of Fife, will sound right at home on the shores of Loch Broom. Frightened Rabbit share similar lo-fi, alt.folk roots, while sweet-voiced Katie Sutherland of Pearl and the Puppets has been tipped to be the next KT Tunstall.

True to form, at time of writing the website for this year's Loopallu is proudly displaying a large "SOLD OUT" sign. So what is the secret of its success? In an interview with The Scotsman in 2006, Hayseed Dixie linchpin Barley Scotch perhaps came close to putting his finger on its appeal.

"This festival is for the hardest of the hard," he said. "Let all the tough people come weather this one. Then they can say 'I survived Loopallu!'"

It's a celebration of bloody-mindedness, in other words, and as long as there are enough bloody-minded people left in the world, it will continue to prosper.

Edited September 15, 2008 by bryanb

[Paul ™]

Nice write up

Have the Vatersay Boys and The Family Mahone played them all?

[Bergerac]

Email info@beyondit.net

I managed to get one just before it as they had cancellations last year, give it a go

Good stuff.. am working till Wednesday

Hopefully see you there

[Paul ™]

After The Levellers on Friday I shall be making a beeline towards the Seaforth so I guess we'll bump into each other there.

[bryanb]

Have the Vatersay Boys and The Family Mahone played them all?

[Bergerac]

I reckon the Levs will be doing the same to go see their mates playing

[bryanb]

Final acts added and stage times announced:

FRIDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER 2008

2200hrs - 2315hrs Levellers

2040hrs - 2130hrs King Creosote

1930hrs - 2020hrs The Vatersay Boys

1830hrs - 1910hrs Frightened Rabbit

1730hrs - 1810hrs Broken Records

1700hrs - 1720hrs Ullapool Pipe Band

1620hrs - 1700hrs The Side

1600hrs - Gates Open

SATURDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 2008

2200hrs - 2315hrs Echo & The Bunnymen

2030hrs - 2130hrs The Family Mahone

1920hrs - 2000hrs The Rascals

1810hrs - 1850hrs Attic Lights

1655hrs - 1745hrs The Red Hot Chilli Pipers

1600hrs - 1630hrs Alto Elite

1500hrs - 1540hrs 3 Daft Monkeys

1410hrs - 1440hrs The Storm Chasers

1320hrs - 1350hrs Pearl and The Puppets

1230hrs - 1300hrs Naked Strangers

1230hrs - Gates Open

[Paul ™]

Nice one.. Attic Lights are a good addition

Well done Robert & co

[somerled]

Nice one.. Attic Lights are a good addition

Well done Robert & co

[Ringo_Spar]

This festival is for the hardest of the hard," he said. "Let all the tough people come weather this one. Then they can say 'I survived Loopallu!'"

It's a celebration of bloody-mindedness, in other words, and as long as there are enough bloody-minded people left in the world, it will continue to prosper.

[Paul ™]

Oh f**k, what am I letting myself in for!!! I've not even done a Knockengorroch!!!

[somerled]

Oh f**k, what am I letting myself in for!!! I've not even done a Knockengorroch!!!

[Ringo_Spar]

I aint looked at a forecast yet!

[somerled]

Oh f**k, what am I letting myself in for!!! I've not even done a Knockengorroch!!!

[somerled]

It improved on the beeb today, at 9am this morning the 5-dayer said rain all week, the 1pm version said rain tomorrow and Thursday AND SUN ON FRIDAY AND 16C!!!