Organisers of a popular music festival have been left staggered by a recession-busting growth in ticket sales after a predicting a downturn this year.
With a little under a fortnight to go until its opening concert, worldwide interest in Perthshire Amber The Dougie MacLean Festival has so far shown no sign of waning.
Festival director Jenny MacLean, said, “We were braced for a downturn in sales this year. We had a phenomenally successful last year, in no small part because of the Homecoming celebrations and Dougie’s song Caledonia being showcased as the Homecoming theme song, so we expected things might be a little slower this year, especially with the global financial crisis.”
However, sales for the sixth annual festival are actually up on the same time last year, when more than 6000 visitors came from more than 17 countries, and some of the concerts are already sold out.
Jenny said, “I think we’ve hit on a winning combination of fantastic music in a stunning setting with a unique combination of venues from castles and concert halls to a cathedral and an Iron Age crannog.
“Dougie has some extremely loyal fans and friends from all over the world and we’re delighted that so many of them are able to join us this autumn. We’ve sold tickets to people from many new territories this year including Alaska, Norway and Japan and we’re looking forward to an even better festival this year.”
The festival opens with Dougie sharing the bill with Gaelic songstress Julie Fowlis and features international bands Crooked Still from the USA and Grada from Ireland, both doing exclusive Scottish appearances at Perthshire Amber as part of their UK tours.
Eliza Lynn and Will Straughan from Nashville are also appearing as well as home-grown talent like piper Fred Morrison and other well-known names such as Aly Bain, Michael McGoldrick and Karen Matheson.
Venues across Perthshire include Dunkeld Cathedral, Blair Castle, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Perth Concert Hall, Blairgowrie Town Hall, Castle Menzies and the Edradour Distillery. And the local economy is set for an unseasonal boost of more than £650,000 as a result.
Jenny said, “Our research has shown that more than 30% of our visitors come from outside Scotland and they’re all staying locally and spending money on food and accommodation at a time of year that was historically quiet.
“We have heard from lots of hoteliers who have sold out their accommodation for both weekends of the festival and we are thrilled to be making a strong contribution to the Perthshire economy.”
Photo David Wardle.