The Dundee Almost Blue festival has been hailed as a huge success after music fans packed out the city’s bars.
Running from Friday to Sunday, the free, volunteer-run festival, which has stepped into the breach left by the popular Blues Bonanza, saw venues transformed into live music concerts.
For the first time, venues in Broughty Ferry joined the party.
The festival kicked off on Friday, with live music in several pubs throughout the city centre, while Gardyne Theatre hosted its female singer-songwriter showcase.All 22 venues were involved on Saturday, with the Gardyne Youth Music Initiative showcase, involving 10 young up-and-coming local acts, performing on stage and launching their compilation CD, which was recorded during the three-month mentoring course.
Alan Wilson, organiser of the festival, said he was delighted with the success of this year’s event.
He said: “It has all gone absolutely to plan. The crowds have been bigger than we expected and most of the venues have been absolutely packed, especially on Saturday, when we had crowds outside venues like Clarks, the Cask and Cork, Westport and Buskers.
“Even the smaller venues like Doc Ferry’s in Broughty Ferry, and Pillars, which don’t normally put music on, have been thronging.“Sunday was quieter but overall it has still exceeded our expectations.”
Almost Blue has been going for the last four years, but has grown significantly since the demise of the Blues Bonanza two years ago.
This year was the first time Broughty Ferry pubs joined the festival, and there are hopes that the free festival will be even bigger and better next year.Alan added: “It has been busier than we expected with more people out than last year. If we can ever reach the popularity of the sadly departed Blues Bonanza then we will have achieved everything we want.”
Thousands of music fans are thought to have attended over the three days.