The Wee Red Town is all set for its biggest weekend of the year.
And already AC/DC fans are arriving in Kirriemuir ahead of three days of high voltage rock’n’roll in tribute to Bon Scott.
Bonfest has firmly established itself as one of the world’s biggest annual AC/DC fan events, held in the town where the baker’s boy spent his early years before the Scott family emigrated down under.
It’s the 18th year of the festival, organised by dedicated members of the award-winning DD8 Music charity.
Scott died in London in 1980 at the age of just 33.
Tragedy struck as the band – formed in Sydney by Glasgow-born brothers Angus and Malcolm Young – rode a wave of global fame on the success of their sixth album, Highway to Hell.
The main Bonfest 2023 arena is at Kirrie Show field just south of the town, with a campsite packed to capacity this weekend.
Headline bands will rock its huge marquee on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Main arena bands
Friday
- Pure DC
- The Treatment
- Scarlet Rebels
Saturday
- Gun
- Gerry Jablonski & The Electric Band
- Bon Scott Revival Show
Sunday
- Kris Barras Band
- Sin City
- Emerald Sunday
And Kirrie itself is a wonderful cauldron of excitement, music and friendships formed or renewed over the entire three days.
John Crawford of DD8 Music says the international arrivals list will be as strong as ever.
“As always, we have folk coming to Kirrie from right across the world,” he said.
“There is a particularly big representation from the USA this year.
“There’s a big fan club based around Oregon and Terry Shockley of the AC/DC Family is a regular at the festival along with many others from the States.”
Australian bassist Mark Evans is another well-known Bonfest face and will take part in two fan Q&As over the weekend.
Now 67, he played with AC/DC in the mid-1970s on albums including T.N.T, High Voltage, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Let There Be Rock.
Evans was at the unveiling of the Bon Scott statue at Bellies Brae in Kirrie in 2016, along with the band’s former session drummer Tony Currenti and Bon’s girlfriend and ‘soulmate’ Mary Renshaw.
And Currenti will take to the back of a truck for one of Bonfest’s big highlights – the town centre tour recreating the band’s hit, It’s A Long Way To The Top.
He played on the band’s 1975 debut album High Voltage.
But the musician, now 71, turned down the offer to become AC/DC’s tour drummer.
The lorry tour takes place on Saturday at 1pm.
Fans travelling from Dundee can board the Happy Bus to the festival site.
It will run all three days to Kirrie town centre.
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