Western Isles first pop festival hosts The Pretenders, Primal Scream, Spiritualized ...
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Inverness band The Joshua Hotel joins an "artfully curated" line-up for new Lewis festival the Midnight Sun Weekender next May 27-29 – tickets on sale tomorrow (Wednesday).
Hosted in the grounds of Lews Castle on the Isle of Lewis , Midnight Sun acts include Thursday headliners The Pretenders, Friday headliners Primal Scream, Edwyn Collins, Spiritualized, Ocean Colour Scene, Public Service Broadcasting plus rising names Honeyblood, Ado Matheson, The Choir and Izzie Yardley.
The boutique event will also be the first festival completely powered by green energy sources.
Launching for the first time in 2023, the collaborative event has been organised by Charlie Clark – a founder of indie heroes Astrid – and Ian MacArthur.
In his career, Charlie Clark has also been part of the Reindeer Section (with members of Snow Patrol, Belle & Sebastian and Mogwai). He worked as music manager for Houston Hospitality in LA, and is currently the head booker for Glasgow institution Nice’n’Sleazy.
His co-organiser, Ian MacArthur, is a Scottish chartered accountant and a barrister. During a long career in the private sector, he has also worked for Virgin Records and later became the worldwide group chief executive for The Big Issue, responsible for turning around its fortunes. Together they have also set up the Outer Hebrides based indie label No Big Deal Music.
Speaking about what to expect from the first ever Midnight Sun Weekender, co-founder Charlie Clark says: “The Midnight Sun Weekender will be the first ever major pop and rock festival to be held in the Western Isles. It will be held, annually, on Lews Castle Green, the iconic setting in front of Lews Castle and overlooking Stornoway Harbour.”
Not content to be the first festival of its kind in the Outer Hebrides and with "one of the finest line-ups to boot", the Midnight Sun Weekender will also be making strides to address many of the other ethical imbalances of the wider festival industry.
Eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable, the festival will be completely powered by hydrogen produced on the Isle of Lewis, leading the way to becoming one of the greenest festivals of our generation.
It also intends to lead by example in addressing the gender balance that has crept into more established festivals in recent times, Midnight Sun is also guaranteeing a 45% to 55% Female to male ratio of performers across the weekend.
Promising a weekend of the finest sounds in alternative music in an awe-inspiring setting that needs to be seen to be believed, this highly prestigious, boutique festival will make its grand debut in 2023.
The organisers say stay tuned for further updates from the festival in the coming weeks…
Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Wednesday, December 14) @ 10am: https://skiddle.com/e/36245442
Tickets are priced at £79 (Thursday), £99 (Friday), and £129 (Saturday). A limited number of weekend tickets will also be available, priced at £270
