A fairytale kingdom of music, performance and woodland shenanigans

The ace Peenko blog recently asked the Director of Kelburn Garden Party, David Boyle, to sum up the festival. A tough job, but we think you’ll like his response:

What makes Kelburn so special?

The quick answer is the sheer mind blowing beauty of the site and the creativity that it inspires, but really I think it’s a combination of ingredients that come together to form an utterly unique event. Set in a lush country park by the sea, Kelburn is a wonderland like no other festival site and is the inspiration for The Garden Party. With a Graffiti Castle and the islands of the west coast as the backdrop and a dramatic wooded glen through the middle, with waterfalls to swim in and hidden gigs, workshops and outdoor theatre tucked away to discover, there is no festival experience that can match it.  The programming is inclusive, open minded and always exceptional but after 3 years we, like our festival fans, take that for granted. With a focus on supporting the best in Scottish talent, there’s everything from swing jazz and rock and roll to cutting edge dubstep and underground DJs, acoustic sessions and ceilidhs to indie and hip hop. This sensory overload is enriched through details in magical lighting installations, floating lanterns, barrel fires and painstaking décor and underpinning it all there is an intangible yet unmissable vibe of creativity and collaboration, energy and love, and unadulterated fun.  Kelburn is only great, can only be great, because of the team of artists, contributors and volunteers who insist on creating the best festival in Scotland. That care and hard work is easy to sense but difficult to describe. You’ll have to come and find out for yourself.  

What am I most looking forward to see?  

There is so much I can’t wait to see this year but the most magical moments for me, and what makes Kelburn Garden Party so special are the secret hidden gigs: The orchestra in the walled gardens, the ska band in the glen, or the drum circle high on the hill looking out over the islands. The intimate atmosphere at these one off sumptuous locations is overwhelming and not to be missed – if you can find them!  In truth though, when people manage to transcend the mundanities and weariness of life and become truly alive, you can see it in there eyes and feel it lifting the mood around them. I don’t know any event that is as friendly or as fun as Kelburn and that’s entirely thanks to our festival fans, so really, it’s them whom we are most look forward to seeing.