Knockengorroch Festival, Galloway, 18-20 May
It's an adventure alone reaching it! - Simon Holmes, festival founder
| 11 May 2007
The average festival sucks in the consumers that are attracted by already overexposed headliners, only to race about seeing mere snippets of performances and hardly allowing any sort of real absorption or soul-cleansing, communal vibe to take over. Not this festival. The antithesis to alternative commercial festivals lies partly in Knockengorroch World Ceilidh's more minuscule gathering, that includes everyone - even kids - in an extremely remote place. The festival's founder, Simon Holmes, says, "It's an adventure alone reaching it - over the hills, around some curves and over the hills some more." As its name suggests; "It's an eminent and exotic place high up on a river." It's meant to divert people away from it all, and into its natural amphitheater inside Galloway in Scotland's Borders. Knockengorroch is also a non-profit event that takes pride in its diverse stratosphere of worldly sounds. Holmes describes the celebration as something that "is from the roots, it rises up from the ground from where we came from. It's music we're in touch with."
Performers include: Somerset's Tribal Underground with Natacha Atlas with their mix of live PA, tribal hip-hop and breakbeat sounds for a fairly laid-back, mind-seducing experience. Mambo Jambo will bring styles from the Caribbean to the Appalachian Mountains using a wide-range of instruments including the banjo and saxophone. Also on the bill is Manchester's Mr. Scruff - a name you should know - this DJ has been kicking around for over ten years on the Ninja Tune label. Scotland's own Mungo's Hi Fi will add a little reggae dancehall Soundsystem to the mix. Self-professed dub/dance pioneers, Zion Train, will be there to make you wish you'd packed the rum. Other acts include Kila, Shooglenifty, Golem System and Fantazia. More goodies to look forward to are the fire show, a cabaret, children's marquee puppets and storytelling.
For a festival that Holmes promises to "really bring people together out in the wild", take the free-spirited return to nature May 18-20. Tickets are £50 for the entire weekend. If May isn't good for your calendar, you can still make the Knockengorroch Hairth festival there in September. Go to www.knockengorroch.org.uk/knock07/ for more details.
Performers include: Somerset's Tribal Underground with Natacha Atlas with their mix of live PA, tribal hip-hop and breakbeat sounds for a fairly laid-back, mind-seducing experience. Mambo Jambo will bring styles from the Caribbean to the Appalachian Mountains using a wide-range of instruments including the banjo and saxophone. Also on the bill is Manchester's Mr. Scruff - a name you should know - this DJ has been kicking around for over ten years on the Ninja Tune label. Scotland's own Mungo's Hi Fi will add a little reggae dancehall Soundsystem to the mix. Self-professed dub/dance pioneers, Zion Train, will be there to make you wish you'd packed the rum. Other acts include Kila, Shooglenifty, Golem System and Fantazia. More goodies to look forward to are the fire show, a cabaret, children's marquee puppets and storytelling.
For a festival that Holmes promises to "really bring people together out in the wild", take the free-spirited return to nature May 18-20. Tickets are £50 for the entire weekend. If May isn't good for your calendar, you can still make the Knockengorroch Hairth festival there in September. Go to www.knockengorroch.org.uk/knock07/ for more details.