20th Milnathort Folk Festival to take place

Mar 9 2010 Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

REVELLERS seeking good craic near Perth should look no further than the venues of Milnathort.

This weekend will see the 20th Milnathort Folk Festival – aka, the Milnathort Crackin' Ceilidih – ply traditional music fans with another generous round of foot-tapping performances from stalwarts such as Gaberlunzie.

Gordon Menzies and Robin Watson are both former Glasgow bobbies who have been playing together for close to three decades and boast a substantial back catalogue of original and traditional recordings.

Also onstage will be Tich Frier, Brenda Frier and local legend John Watt, best known for songs such as ‘The Kelty Clippie’, ‘Pittenweem Jo’ and ‘Fife's Got Everything’.

The festival was the brainchild of Gaberlunzie’s Gordon Menzies, who banded together a committee of local musicians in 1990 to launch what has become a highly popular draw for lovers of traditional sounds.

This year's event will also showcase the talents of Iain Anderson, Wildfire, Cairdeas, Neil Paterson, The Lomond Ceilidh Band and special guest Steve Tilston.

Festival spokesman Neil Paterson said organisers expect the Gaberlunzie concert on Saturday night to sell out as usual, with hundreds of and visitors descending on Milnathort to soak up concerts and informal pub sessions.

“This year's youth concert will be the third one staged by the festival, which is all about giving young musicians a taste of playing for a very supportive audience,” he said.

“Last year the bowling club was filled with spectators eager to hear the 25 or so youngsters, some as young as seven, perform on accordions, keyboards, guitars, pipes, fiddles and drums.

“We hope to have some more of the same this year, along with some dancers and it would be great to hear some singers too.”

This year the festival’s organisers have embraced the 21st century and set up a website. Find out more at www.milnathort.info.