2009 Report
21st Stonehaven Folk Festival
‘Brilliant’, ‘great’, ‘friendly’, ‘fantastic’, ‘quality’, ‘marvellous variety of artists’.
All the superlatives from artists, concert goers, musicians and audiences.
Another fantastic weekend with all the atmosphere and buzz that the festival brings to Stonehaven. Once again the weather held up for most of the weekend ensuring that the outdoor events on the Saturday were bathed in sunshine!
Rush for tickets in the week of the festival ensured that all the concerts were sold out. Great to see capacity audiences. Always a favourite with the traditional festival goers was the Traditions Bearers Concert. Norman Kennedy’s participation this year certainly swelled the audience to standing room only.
All the fringe events were well attended. As predicted, the Didgeridoo Workshop was a great success. Amazing what can be done with a piece of plastic piping and some bees wax, not forgetting the puff!! The Acoustic Youth Stage, once again, should also be congratulated in attracting such young local talent.
The audience at the Plainstones enjoyed a wide variety of performances including one from the superbly original stand-up comic Keith Donnelly along with the community Burn’s Quoir, under the leadership of Christine Kydd. The Quoir also performed at the Friday night concert and in the Burns Memorial Garden to well-received audiences.
The Aqua Ceilidh, always a favourite, was again supported by the water enthusiasts, made even more exciting by the fairly damp conditions in and out of the water! Cabrach, swelled by some local musicians, provided the music.
A big thank you to everyone who supported the festival, particularly the bars and clubs for their hospitality to the musicians, a high percentage of whom were delighted to have the chance to play with so many people at the same time. Thank you too, to everyone who completed our questionnaires. We are listening to your feedback!
A memorable festival for many.