Darvel Music Festival is a giant success

May 22 2009 by Ian Russell, Kilmarnock Standard

IT’S all over, but what a fantastic musical feast was served up courtesy of the just-ended eighth Darvel Music Festival.

More than 30 acts appeared at the town hall during the festival’s run, an amazing feat as the event is still run by a small team of volunteers led by Sheila and Neil McKenna under the auspices of the Darvel Music Company.

The ‘fringe’ festival took place last month and featured some of the best signed and unsigned acts from the west of Scotland including Iain Morrison, The La Fontaines, Man at the Window, What The Heroes Say, The Ghosties, Streetlight Conspiracy and Darvel’s very own Iain McKinnon.

The ‘fringe’ really whetted the appetite for the official Homecoming festival itself and there was a real buzz in the town with street banners and signs giving a carnival atmosphere.

The concerts were attended by people from the USA, Canada, Australia, France, Norway, Spain, The Faroe Islands, Germany and Ireland. One particular visitor, Darvel Silda from Loveland in Colorado, became a bit of a celebrity as a result of stories about him in the Sunday Post and The Herald newspapers.

The main festival kicked off on May 1 with the exquisite voice of Eddi Reader and the talented support trio of Roddy Hart, Esther O’ Connor and Adriana. On the next night those who witnessed the breathtaking performance of the Hamilton Loomis Band were left gobsmacked. But of course there was also Ruby Turner and her band (she had played with the Jools Holland Band the night before) wowing the audience with soul and old-style gospel tracks and Hamish Stuart thrilled the audience with his fantastic band of musicians and guest, virtuoso guitar player Jim Mullen.

The first weekend finished with a high calibre jazz performance by the one and only Martin Taylor with his band Freternity and fine support on the night from Joni Keen and the Euan Stevenson Trio plus Rainy and the Dust.

A firm fixture on the annual festival calendar took place on the afternoon of May 7 with the concert for the local primary schools. This event was sponsored by the Scottish Arts Council’s Youth Music Initiative and gave young people the chance to experience a live show with the full production offered to the evening audiences. The children enjoyed performances from highly talented local singer, Rebecca Shearer and Dave Kelly, who kindly stood in to deputise for Andrew Merry.

The second week of evening concerts got underway on May 7 with one of Scotland’s national treasures, Maggie Bell, accompanied by Blues Band member Dave Kelly. This special night of blues also featured the amazing Blues n’ Trouble and highly entertaining local band the Seventh Sons.

It was all indie-pop the next night with Attic Lights, the Primary 5, Dropkick and the Parish Music Box.

The organisers really pulled out the stops on May 9 to secure the legendary Jayhawks (Mark Olson & Gary Louris). The pair were joined onstage by Norwegian percussionist/vocalist, Ingunn Ringvold. On the same bill were the Endrick Brothers, firm favourites at this event. Fine performances were also provided by Boston/USA singer Eileen Rose with her band The Holy Wreck and Hey Negrita from London.

The final night featured four great acts, kicking off with the Garrett Wall Band (Ireland and Spain) followed by longtime Eddi Reader musical collaborator Boo Hewerdine. JJ Gilmour (ex- Silencers) gave a blistering performance with his band made up of Graeme Duffin (Wet Wet Wet) and Phil Kane (The Silencers). The last act of the festival were Four Good Men, who included Derek Forbes from Simple Minds, Smiley from Robbie Williams Band and star vocalist Owen Paul. Between them they have amassed 25 million record/CD sales worldwide and they brought the house down with their brilliant renditions of classic songs by Simple Minds, Big Country, Wet, Wet, Wet and many others.

Said festival producer Neil McKenna: “This has been the most enjoyable festival to date.”

Festival director, Sheila McKenna, said: “We met so many nice people from all over Scotland, the UK and around the world, all of whom loved the concerts and enjoyed the ‘magic’ we call the Darvel Experience.”

She said a massive thank-you was due to all involved.