More than 50 acts support new festival in Inverness – NC50 Music Fest will take place next month in the city centre with at least 50 bands and musicians performing at more than 15 venues over two days
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A new festival which could be a regular part of the Inverness music calendar will take place at the end of next month.
The news follows the pending closure of the Ironworks as a dedicated live music venue, with local publicans being prompted to act.
Together Don Lawson, the owner of Johnny Foxes & The Den and Jimmy Badgers, and Steve Robertson, the manager of Hootananny, have come up with the concept of the NC50 Music Fest.
The free festival already has at least 50 bands and musicians performing at more than 15 venues in the city centre over two days – the main date is Thursday, October 27.
And, if successful, the group is committed to building and expanding on the concept and organising more events.
Mr Lawson, who is the chairman of the Inverness Pub Watch Group, said: “The closure of the Ironworks venue has been disappointing, but the Pub Watch Group is determined to show that Inverness still supports and needs our live music scene.
“The NC50 Music Fest will be a free event, hosting a variety of live bands and musicians over different parts of Inverness and the city centre.
“We just hope that people will get behind us and come out on October 27 to help us demonstrate that Inverness loves live.”
The organisers stated that they have had a fantastic response so far and said the number of acts and venues taking part is expected to rise further.
Mr Robertson, who is the event planner and coordinator, said: “The NC50 Music Fest was put together with the goal of being a collaborative event between the members of Pubwatch group to give the people of Inverness a grassroots music festival that they can lay claim to as their own.
“The idea is that the venues will each showcase four original acts on the main night ranging from bands, musicians, DJs and singer/songwriters.
“We are offering more than a great night out. We really want to bring people together to celebrate our vibrant local music scene at a time when support for musicians and venues is needed more than ever.
“More details to follow soon but for now, if you can, please save the date, spread the word, use our hashtags – #NC50 #invernessloveslive – and share our posts.”
John McDonald, from Inverness BID , added: “The NC50 Music Fest will exhibit both established and emerging musical talent and I am really looking forward to seeing what the final programme contains.”
He said it was something to look forward to and wished it every success.
