The Hairth @ Knockengorroch, 19-21 Sep

The Hairth music festival at Knockengorroch Farm will boom and thunder for three days in the hollows and perfect acoustics of the Galloway hills.

Article by Ariadne Cass-Maran | 15 Sep 2008

For the last time in its ten years of being one of Scotland's finest and most authentically rural festivals, The Hairth offers thumping good music from 19 to 21 of September in a family friendly, Celtic roots sort of fashion.

The festival is definitely going out on a high: the range of music on show is fantastic, from the Northumbrian folk of Kathryn Tickell to disco in the Tallyn Silent Disco and Dance tent. Chumbawamba, Nucleus Roots, Warsaw Village Band, Rory Macleod and Bombskare are amongst the top bands featuring, along with a whole slew of DJs. N'Faly Kouyate and Dunyakan bring traditional Mandingue music and the culture of Guinee-Conakry to the mix as well.

It's an impressive line-up of artists, but one of the best thing about this festival is that it caters for kids too, making this an incredibly warm and accessible event. There are tents for storytelling and craft, and - supposedly for children, but we have our doubts about how long that'll last - aerial acrobatics with Spinal Chord offer hijinks with an array of aerial apparatus. Not to mention DJ sessions, open mic, cabaret, fire shows, workshops, street theatre, silent disco, global stalls, real ale, a healing area long house and, blessedly, showers. Oh, and there's also a cheap bus running from Edinburgh and Glasgow for those without their own transport, see the website for more details.

One of the last festivals of the summer, it's a fitting farewell for The Hairth.

http://www.knockengorroch.org.uk