The Festival brought young and old, Indian and Scot, European and African together in a celebration of world, modern, classical, traditional music, and ‘jazzy Afro grooves!’ The festival braved many hazards also fFrom wind, rain, midges, accidents and more ….. so that music from the cool of Norway to the warm breezes of Africa might bring us all together. We had Chinese and Indian dancers, Scottish and Gaelic singers and pipers, Norwegian songs, fiddlers and African drums. The headliners were Karen Matheson (Capercaillie), Caledon the three tenors, and world famous fiddler Ali Bain and Alle Muller.
Friday
Concert - June 2007. This evening we had Erne’s Crossborder band, who combine
English and Scottish folk and with Harry on tamblas and a cello player who were
followed by the local Milngavie pipe band and the Islay
choir
Saturday The
Courtyard, Peter Donegan’s (son of Lonnie) upbeat skiffle band. The central hub
of the festival was the Courtyard stage at the historic visitors Centre which
staged a wide variety with colourful dancers, cool classical music, traditional
Celtic and atmospheric Jewish wedding music, upbeat Scottish drummers, cheerful
Barbershop, children’s choirs and enthusiastic young Indians.
Saturday
Afternoon concert.
Seylan and Cheyanne, Cheyanne on harp played delicate yet energetic rhythms
that were like waterfalls that counterpointed perfectly to Seylan’s deep toned
cello melodies. The band Caledon
were next and included Alan Beck, Jamie MacDougall and Ivan Sharpe and they
belted out Scottish songs, with Burns, traditional and modern tunes.
Saturday
Evening Concert was a Night of Contrasts and a classy concert of Scottish
traditional music and African rhythms. Fribo from Edinburgh, bean the evening with serene, innovative
sounds, and they blend Scandinavian and Scottish music traditions, combined
with a positive feel for contemporary sounds and rhythms.
Lovely
Gaelic singer Karen Matheson was engaging with a beautiful, natural purity to
her voice, that takes you on a calm
breeze. Karen sang Gaelic, Burns and modern songs. She has been hailed as the
‘finest Gaelic singer. She was followed by Diwan and Samba Sene, and their wild,
infectious vitality and a chaotic stage presence, both loose and ragged, that
added to their laid back yet upbeat feel. Diwan band members play African
percussion instruments and are from Senegal,
Mali, Colorado
and Scotland.
Catch them if you can!
Sunday - The
Courtyard, .
The Sighthill Project ,were enchanting and were led by two former RSAMD students. They consisted of asylum seekers and refugees from the likes of Kosovo, Albania, Ski-Lanka and Africa. They played Scottish and Irish traditional music. They were followed by Two’s Company: a classical trio from Edinburgh, that included violin, piano ,clarinet and cello. Vivien Scotson provided a contrast as a solo singer songwriter with only her acoustic guitar, her soul-searching voice and her emotive songs. Sunday afternoon concert, was led by accomplished players Ali Bain and Ali Moller on the bandstand stage. Here were two musicians, one the master of traditional Shetland music, the other on mandolin, an accomplished Norwegian musician. Ali Bain’s fiddle music has an unsurpassed clearness and a lyrical beauty.
The Sighthill Project ,were enchanting and were led by two former RSAMD students. They consisted of asylum seekers and refugees from the likes of Kosovo, Albania, Ski-Lanka and Africa. They played Scottish and Irish traditional music. They were followed by Two’s Company: a classical trio from Edinburgh, that included violin, piano ,clarinet and cello. Vivien Scotson provided a contrast as a solo singer songwriter with only her acoustic guitar, her soul-searching voice and her emotive songs. Sunday afternoon concert, was led by accomplished players Ali Bain and Ali Moller on the bandstand stage. Here were two musicians, one the master of traditional Shetland music, the other on mandolin, an accomplished Norwegian musician. Ali Bain’s fiddle music has an unsurpassed clearness and a lyrical beauty.
The new festival included many accomplished, entertaining, diverse
and interesting artists, performing both traditional and new music. From the
expert and world travelled Ali Bain to enthusiastic young singers. We had two
bands bringing together Norwegian and Scottish traditional music. One band,
Diwan, that brought artists together from around the globe – from the USA, Mali,
Senegal and Scotland. We
had the two main stages, the Courtyard and the Walled Garden. The Highlights for me
were the energy of Diwan, the beauty of Karen Matheson’s voice, the expert
traditional violin of Ali Bain and the innocence and joy of the Sighthill
project.
MUGDOCK - http://pkimage.co.uk/mugdockfestival
MUGDOCK - http://pkimage.co.uk/mugdockfestival
Mugdock
2008 -
Mugdock
festival 2009 -
