Creetown Country Music festival

Press release from Kevin Dodd

2011-04-01T09:49:00.001+01:00

Unfortunately the 2010 Creetown Country Music Festival incurred a substantial loss, mainly due to lack of support and anticipated sponsorship / funding.

We have operated the festival for 14 years with a voluntary committee and the impact of reduced working capital places us in a difficult position when considering planning this year’s festival.

Therefore we have taken the decision not to run the festival in 2011 but to concentrate on addressing the financial situation and plan for a quality festival in 2012.

We have made many friends over the past 14 years and we know that this decision will be a great disappointment to a lot of people, but I hope you will appreciate the reasons for this decision.

Finally we would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has become part of the festival over the years, those attending, those visiting and those providing untold unpaid hours in the background.

Creetown Festival Association Ltd

Mum, Mum We're on the Telly

2009-10-20T13:15:00.002+01:00

We wanted to let you know that the performances filmed at the festival will be broadcast as part of a new series starting THIS WEEK on BBC ALBA.

Ceòl Country is a six-part series produced by mneTV to showcase the best music from this year’s Caithness Country Music and Creetown Country Music festivals, and will hit our screens from Tuesday 20 October at 9pm with weekly hour long programmes being broadcast every Tuesday over the next six weeks, with repeats the following Sunday evening at 9pm. The first three programmes in the series will focus on the Caithness Country Music Festival, and the later three programmes will come from the Creetown Country Music Festival.

BBC ALBA is available on Sky channel 168, Freesat channel 110 and live on BBC iplayer.

Feedback

2009-09-22T10:24:00.005+01:00

Hi,

We're opening the Blog up for feedback, to try and get a feel of what went wrong - what went right - and what can be improved for next year.

So we can respond - if need be - and also to stop spammers we would ask you to take a moment and register so you can make a comment.

We've started off with an Email from Garry & Karin Irvine - We've had to break it into 3 sections as it was a bit longer than the normal Comment text allowed...

Thanks for the Photo by the way, Garry

Call for more Stalls

2009-09-08T11:58:00.001+01:00

Are you an organisation, group, business or charity who might be interested in taking a stall at the festival this year? If so, get in touch! We have loads more space at the festival this year, as well as extra site security.

Andrew Ward, one of the organising team, said:
“The Saturday street fair attracts thousands of people and in previous years local groups, charities and traders have done good business, with a hugely varied mix of stalls selling products and raising money. Booking a stall for the street fair is very simple, the price for commercial traders is low and there are additional discounts for charities and local groups.

“For people who want to spend longer trading with country fans the Festival opt for a stall at the new site. In the past festival stall holders have mainly been specialist country traders, but the extra space on the new site means we can invite a wider range of businesses to participate.

“We’re keen to hear from anyone who thinks that their goods and services can add to the Creetown Country Music Festival experience.”

Organisations, businesses or individuals who want to know more are invited to contact Robert Ross on 01671 820 531 for street fair stalls, and Kevin Dodd for festival stalls. Alternatively people can contact the Creetown festival office on 01671 820 654.

Preview of the Homecoming Marquee

The Creetown Country Music Festival is less than three weeks away so we’re beginning our countdown to Scotland’s biggest country music event. The most obvious addition to the 2009 festival is the Homecoming Marquee, made possible by the move to a new location, with more space and lots more music.

Friday
The first act onstage in the Homecoming Marquee is Fiddler Adam, one of the most popular artists ever to play at the Creetown festival. In fact last year he was the artist most people wanted to see again, with around a third of the people at the festival naming him their 2008 festival favourite! Fiddler Adam is one of the top fiddle players in Ireland and the UK, playing varying styles from Bluegrass, Cajun and Country fiddle, to Irish Traditional fiddle. What sets him apart from other fiddle players is his outstanding voice, suited to many genres of music, including Country, Irish, Folk and Jazz.

Fiddler Adam says:
“I enjoy myself when I perform and that comes across in my performance because I put so much energy into my show. You can either sit and listen, clap your hands, kick your feet or feel free to go mad, dancing or jumping around the place. I have been to the Creetown Country Music Festival on three previous occasions, it’s very enjoyable and well organised and I’m looking forward to playing my music, singing my songs and entertaining the crowd.”

The Banjo Boys follow Fiddler Adam onto the stage with a foot stomping show that comes highly recommended. The well established band from Glasgow has a reputation for getting everyone up dancing, and they have teased the Creetown festival organisers with the possibility of a surprise guest. Apparently they’re good friends with ‘the lead guitarist of a famous rock group’ who might come along and join them onstage. We have no idea who that is or even whether they’re pulling our leg – it will be interesting to see what happens!

Calico are the final band in the Homecoming Marquee on Friday, and they are arguably the top live line dancing band in the UK. Based in Essex they’ve been playing for 10 years as Calico, formed with the intention of creating a professional and exciting line dance band with a modern, punchy, driving sound. Nikki from Calico says:
“We play country music, some slowies and some songs that newcomers to country are bound to recognise. We’ve never been to the Creetown Country Music Festival before so we’re really looking forward to it. It will be nice to see some new faces, and some familiar ones.”

Saturday
Dumfries singer songwriter Maurice Sutherst was Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association’s favourite act in the West Sound Live’s Battle of the Bands competition, and so he was an obvious choice for the Homecoming Marquee which is sponsored by DGAA. A talented musician with a distinctive sound, Maurice was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and worked as a guitar maker and seller till last year. He says:
“I started writing songs and playing live in and around the North East and across the border about four years ago and I have now made my home in Dumfries. I’m told I sound like Nick Drake, Jimmy Nail, Alan Hill, Chris Rea, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Mark Knopfler, my gawd! I must have a sore throat!”

The Woodshed All Stars are as local as the bands get this year. Members of the band hail from Newton Stewart and the surrounding area, and it’s a great opportunity to see a very accomplished Galloway band perform.

With a similar name but a vastly different style The Moonzie Allstars round off the evening at the Homecoming Marquee. Based in Fife The Moonzie Allstars perform energetic Afro-Celtic and world fusion music, centred on bagpipe and whistle tunes, interwoven with foot tapping backing arrangements of West African, Arabic, Cuban, and Rock styles. The band has been likened to Moving Hearts and the Afro-Celts, and are fast gaining a reputation for inventive music and exciting live show.

Sunday is tribute day in the Homecoming Marquee, with a line up that includes Elvis, The Commitments, GLAMD and Bon Jovi. We’ll have all the details of the tribute line up and more information on the country music programme in the Big Tepee in next week’s Free Press.

Tickets for the Creetown Country Music Festival start from £20 for a one day adult ticket and £5 for a child ticket. Free, secure, onsite camping is available to all weekend ticket holders. Tickets and camping passes can be purchased from the ticket office on 01671 820 654 or from the festival website at www.creetown-countrymusic-festival.com.

Musical Line Up Finalised

2009-08-18T12:04:00.004+01:00

The Creetown Country Music Festival has revealed its final musical line up – with twice as many artists as in previous years.

The festival’s move to a new, self contained site has meant organisers can add a second marquee, and so the ‘The Big Tepee’, the traditional focal point for country fans over the 3 day event, is now joined by ‘The Homecoming Marquee’. This second venue, sponsored by Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association, will host a varied selection of live music with broad appeal. The programme will include music from the UK’s top line dancing band, traditional and Celtic music, popular local acts and the return of the Sunday tribute event, which proved so popular last year.

Highlights include HillBilly Deluxe who perform traditional country songs by the likes of Johnny Cash and more recently have been veering towards the country rock of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Trace Adkins.

Award winning Buchanan are a band that believes in the quality of their own music and they have a growing fan base across the UK and Europe. Breaking away from formulaic country composition, Buchanan’s 2006 album ‘The Picture’ won the award for Best UK country album.

Nominee for best singer songwriter at the Country Routes Awards, Ade Payne performs all his own material as a three piece band. Most of Ade’s songs are modern country soul music and he has performed across the UK, US and Canada, playing on the same bill as artists such as the Stranglers, Jethro Tull and Donovan.

Closing the country music in The Big Teepee on Sunday night are the Picasso Brothers, one of the top country bands in the UK with a large and varied repertoire of modern and traditional country rock.

Over in the Homecoming Marquee the festivities start with Creetown Festival favourite and one of Ireland’s top fiddle players, Fiddler Adam, followed by Glasgow’s lively Banjo Boys and the UK’s top line dancing band Calico, who deliver a modern, punchy, driving sound that will have everyone on their feet.

Local artists the Woodshed Allstars from Newton Stewart and Dumfries’ singer songwriter Maurice Sutherst play on Saturday. As do The Moonzie Allstars who bring an exciting mix of energetic Afro-Celtic music, focusing on bagpipe and whistle tunes, interwoven with foot tapping arrangements of West African, Cuban, Arabic and rock styles.

The Sunday tribute day returns for a second year, this year featuring Paul Larcombe, the only UK Elvis artist ever to be endorsed by Elvis Presley Enterprises, the Conmitments, GLAMD and Bon Giovi, five talented musicians who expertly capture the sound and the energy of Bon Jovi.

A new event for the festival is a Saturday afternoon country showcase featuring solo artists who don’t normally get the opportunity to perform at major festivals but who are keen to show off their talents. They include 15 year old Clarissa Hayward who is working on her third album with leading record producer Terry Bradford, and whose melodic voice is attracting a lot of interest.

John Craven from Preston who runs leading country music website http://www.countrymusic.org.uk/ has endorsed the music selection saying:
“This lineup will please all tastes in country music as well as those not yet converted to country music. Listeners, line dancers, westerners and people who simply enjoy good music are in for a real treat as there are some outstanding bands taking part in this year’s Creetown festival. The introduction of a solo artist showcase people is particularly nice to see as people will be able to enjoy artists that they would not normally see at festivals.”

The full line up can be viewed on the festival website. Tickets for the Creetown Country Music Festival start from £20 for a one day adult ticket and £5 for a child ticket. Free, secure, onsite camping is available to all weekend ticket holders. Tickets and camping passes can be purchased from the ticket office on 01671 820 654 or from the festival website at http://www.creetown-countrymusic-festival.com/.

The (Cow)boys are back in Town

2009-08-18T12:00:00.002+01:00

After a two year absence the Creetown Country Music Festival is looking forward to welcoming back a group of Westerners who added colour, flair and authentic Country & Western style to the long running music festival.

Vic Doucet who lives near Glasgow has confirmed that he will be coming back to Creetown this year, and he’ll be inviting members of his two country and western clubs, Kentucky and Tombstone, to join him.

Vic and his wife Veronica famously tied the knot at the 2001 Creetown Country Music Festival, and they have been long term supporters of the event, regularly bringing with them a group of Country & Western enthusiasts. Two years ago they felt the festival had lost its way and their absence was sorely missed.

Vic said:
“I came down for a look around the new site a couple of weeks ago and I’m very, very impressed. The ground seems to be ideal for camping on with great drainage, and I’m looking forward to the Westerners camping section with our own chill out tent. There should be a great Western atmosphere and lots of noise over the weekend.

“The Creetown festival has always been my favourite Scottish country festival, which is the reason we chose to get married there. But a real issue many regular visitors had was the growing problem of anti social behaviour from rowdy youths. I’m very impressed with the security plans that the organisers are putting in place, so much so that I was pleased to confirm that I’ll be taking part in the festival this year and hopefully so will many of my club members.”

Vic has also offered to help raise awareness of the new site, the new plans and of the festival itself with country & western enthusiasts across the UK, and he is taking marketing material to festivals and events throughout the summer.

Andrew Ward one of the festival organisers said:
“I’m absolutely delighted that Vic is coming back to the festival. Vic and the other Westerners have become an intrinsic part of the Creetown Country Music Festival and it simply hasn’t been the same without them.”

Tickets for the Creetown Country Music Festival start from £20 for a one day adult ticket and £5 for a child ticket. Free, secure, onsite camping is available to all weekend ticket holders. Tickets and camping passes can be purchased from the ticket office on 01671 820 654 or from the festival website at http://www.creetown-countrymusic-festival.com/.

Creetown Country Music Festival to be showcased on three 1 hour BBC ALBA TV Programmes

2009-07-16T22:25:00.001+01:00

The Creetown Country Music Festival will hit TV screens again with the long standing music event being the focus of three 1 hour TV programmes for Scottish Gaelic TV channel BBC ALBA to be broadcast in November this year.

The digital TV station has a strong following among country music fans, with half a million viewers regularly tuning in to watch a variety of programmes including country music programmes created by mneTV, the production company who will be filming in Creetown this autumn.

Alasdair MacKinnon of mneTV said:
“We’ve produced a couple of TV series based around country music, most recently Ceòl Country which featured many of the country artists who took part in last year’s Creetown festival.

“Our next series moves out of the studio visiting Scotland’s country music festivals, capturing the atmosphere and warmth of those live performances. Creetown is the largest country festival in Scotland and so we’re very pleased to be filming three of the 1 hour programmes at the festival.”

This is the second year in a row that Creetown Country Music Festival has attracted TV interest, featuring on BBC Scotland’s Landward and hosting a live broadcast and line dancing lesson by Border TV’s Lookaround last year.

Chairman of the festival Jim McDowall said:
“There’s something about the cowboy hats, the costumes and the atmosphere of our festival that comes across really well on TV and in photos, and we are all absolutely delighted that mneTV are going to be filming for BBC ALBA this year. Short films on high profile programmes are great, but we are really looking forward to seeing our festival depicted for its music on a programme geared towards country fans.

“Three hours of TV capturing the quality of the performances and the atmosphere of the marquees will be an incredible thing to be able to show people who are thinking about travelling to the festival, and I’m sure the cameras and 20-odd crew members will only add to the atmosphere of the event.

“The programmes will be a great help for us in attracting country music fans from around the UK to join us at Scotland’s main country festival, which should give a huge boost to the festival and to Galloway in the years to come.”

The Creetown Country Music Festival is supported by the Stranraer and Wigtownshire Free Press, Gaelforce, Dumfries & Galloway Council and Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association (DGAA), who are sponsoring the new alternative music tent as part of the Homecoming Scotland celebrations.

Tickets for the Creetown Country Music Festival start from £20 for a one day adult ticket and £5 for a child ticket. Free, secure, onsite camping is available to all weekend ticket holders. Tickets and camping passes can be purchased from the ticket office on 01671 820 654 or from the festival website at http://www.creetown-countrymusic-festival.com/.

Be an Early Bird...

2009-06-01T19:46:00.000+01:00

10% off tickets if you book before 28th June.
If you haven’t already booked your tickets then be quick! You have less than four weeks left to claim your early bird discount.

We’ve been busy booking bands and we’ve now got around half our acts confirmed for the Traditional Music Marquee.

They are Fiddler Adam, Banjo Boys, Calico, Shaun Falkner and Woodshed All-Stars – a great mix of quality performers.

The Sunday night tribute event is back.
This won’t affect our Country Music Marquee at all, and our marquees will be positioned to ensure there is no acoustic interference between the two tents. But if you were one of our tribute night fans you’ll probably be keen to know who we’ve got lined up. Elvis, The Commitments, Glamd (fabulous glam rockers) and Bon Jovi tribute bands will turn our traditional marquee into a tribute marquee on Sunday.

The Creetown Country Music Festival has now also joined the world of social networking! As well as our News blog which is updated with press releases and odds and ends of information as we gather it, you can now find us on Facebook.

We’re also having a think about whether we should start Twittering, hanging out on My Space or investigating other sites. Let us know if you use any other social networking sites or forums – the Creetown Country Music Festival is very much a product of our community and our visitors, and we’re happy to chat with people online as much as in the real world.

That’s all for now! Remember to book your tickets before 28th June to take advantage of the early bird discount, and we’ll send you an update when we have more news to share.

Tickets for the Creetown Country Music Festival start from £20 for a one day adult ticket and £5 for a child ticket. Free, secure, onsite camping is available to all weekend ticket holders. Tickets and camping passes can be purchased from the ticket office on 01671 820 654 or from the festival website at www.creetown-countrymusic-festival.com.

2009 Countdown News

2009-05-10T14:24:00.000+01:00

Creetown Country Music Festival has revealed its full marquee programme of country music for the 2009 festival and has promised a completely fresh approach to the long standing event.

Taking place this year from the 18th to 20th September, the changes came as the organisers recognised important lessons had been learned during the 2008 event. The main changes made for 2009 are:

Entire festival site relocating to a private, secure, self contained site within Creetown

One dedicated country music marquee and a second playing traditional music

A return to 3 days rather than 4

Two on-site camping areas, one dedicated to the Westerners

Improved facilities and more stalls

Secure perimeter with no access for non-ticket holders

24 hour security patrols

Festival Chairman Jim McDowall said the organisers are confident they’ve got it right for 2009:
“The Creetown Country Music Festival is hugely important to our town and we are absolutely committed to making it an event that visitors enjoy and want to return to again and again. Last year we undertook a major survey of our visitors to find out what they wanted to see and how we could improve it, and that survey has very much informed our planning this year.

“Security has been an ongoing issue, mainly due to the unwelcome presence of youths from a nearby town, but we’ve been hindered in our ability to do anything about it because our site has always been a public park – which meant we had no authority to remove anyone. This is the main reason why we have relocated the festival. Our new private site will be completely secure and offers us tremendous scope for making real improvements to our event.

“The most dramatic change is adding a second marquee. Last year we tried to encourage more local people to come along by hosting a tribute evening, and while this was a financial success for the festival it took away from the traditional country music which has always been at the heart of the Creetown festival. This year our festival will have a 100% dedicated country marquee with some fantastic country bands, and our second marquee will play a mix of traditional music including folk, traditional Irish and Scottish music and bluegrass. We hope the quality of the live music will be such that at times people will be torn between the two marquees!

“And of course the other big change is free, secure onsite camping for weekend ticket holders, with two camp sites, one for the Westerners and one for those who aren’t too fussed about gun fights. With the practical changes we’ve made and the warm, friendly atmosphere that comes as standard at country music festivals, we are anticipating that the 2009 Creetown Country Music Festival will genuinely take a leap forward in providing a quality country music experience for new visitors as well as our long standing friends.”

The programme of country music was confirmed this week as:
Friday
Lazy Dog
Rootin’ Tootin’
Hillbilly Deluxe

Saturday
Afternoon showcase
Buchannan
Cajun Moon
Armadillos

Sunday
Bob Morgan & the Western Reunion
Louisiana
Ade Payne
Soggy Bottom Boys
Picasso Brothers

The three additional bands which will play during the Saturday afternoon street fair have still to be confirmed, as has the full programme of music for the alternative music marquee which will be announced on the festival website at the end of May.

Also on offer is a family friendly mix of daytime events and activities, including a street fair, traditional costume parades, stalls, a western style shoot out, line dancing, bean eating, fast draw and horseshoe throwing competitions and more. A detailed schedule of activities and events will be confirmed later in the summer.

The festival is supported by the Stranraer and Wigtownshire Free Press, Gaelforce, Dumfries & Galloway Council and Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association (DGAA), who are sponsoring the alternative music tent as part of the Homecoming Scotland celebrations.

2009 Tickets Now On Sale

2009-04-15T22:15:00.002+01:00

Special Offers

Early Bird Booking » Order before 28th June & Save 10%

Weekend Group Bookings » Order 10 or more Adult Tickets & Save 10%

Weekend Family Tickets » 2 Adults & up to 4 Children - Save 10%

Partial Programme now posted - 9 Bands confirmed to date

Tickets Online

2009 Line Up (so far) Appearance Dates & Times still to be confirmed

2009 Country Music Festival 18th - 19th - 20th September

2009-02-17T15:00:00.001Z

Its New! Its Big! and its Fun!

2009 Creetown Country Music Festival will take place at a superb New Venue, 5 minutes walk from the Village Square. The new secure enclosed site will feature more stalls, on-site camping, entertainment and new improved facilities.

Also new for this year

Back to three days Fri 18th, Sat 19th and Sun 20th September

Two Marquees. One totally the very best of Country Music, the second marquee, something a little different.

More Bands. This year up to 26 bands

New address for the Jesse and James Booking agency

91 St John Street, Creetown, DG8 7JE
Telephone 01671 820654

Why all the tribute bands?

2008-09-15T09:49:00.001+01:00

This year we are launching a new event at the festival – Creetown Country Plus. Five of the UK’s top tribute bands, all established acts who are considered the best in their field.

So are we abandoning our country roots? Not at all. We’ve introduced the tribute event for one main reason. It costs a whack of money to put on and organise the festival each year and we want to sell as many tickets as we possibly can.
We know that many of our loyal festival goers have concerns about the tribute music, but the aim of Creetown Country Plus is to add to the festival’s appeal for day trippers and people who are new to country. As one of Galloway’s major events we also want to make sure that we are providing an event that has strong local appeal, and we think that a lot of local people will enjoy the tribute bands and that they will attract people who wouldn’t normally come to the festival. Importantly we hope it will give a boost to the festival coffers at the end of the event; a time when many of our country fans are beginning their journeys home, and ultimately we hope the increased revenue will allow greater stability to create an even better festival experience for 2009.

That’s our plan anyway, and with such a great line up of tribute artists we’re sure it will be a resounding success!

Counterfeit ABBA
The band came together in 2000 and is now one of the UK’s most sought after Abba tribute bands, touring regularly across Europe. With multiple costume changes and a confident Abba-esque sound the band delivers an impressive and authentic Abba extravaganza.

Mikki Jay
Performing as Michael Jackson for 16 years, Mikki Jay bears a close vocal and physical resemblance to the colourful star, emerging as one of the country’s most popular and prolific tribute entertainers. Having performed in theatre, television, concert, cabaret and for royalty, Mikki Jay is Michael Jackson at his best.

The Cheatles
Forty years after Beatlemania, The Cheatles transport audiences back to the swinging sixties. Now firmly established as one of the finest Beatles tribute bands in the world, The Cheatles have been performing at top venues throughout the UK, Europe and the Far East, and have a huge following of their own.

Sarah B Williams
In January 2000 Sarah started to think about doing a tribute to Shania Twain because people often remarked how much she looked and sang like her and since then she's never looked back. She first performed on BBC Children in Need as Shania and also as herself singing one of her own songs and she is recognised as a rising tribute star.

Kings of QueenRounding off four days filled with music are the spectacular Kings of Queen, an exciting and powerful four-piece band that accurately recreates the phenomenon that was Queen. Visually entertaining and giving a high-energy, non-stop performance, Kings of Queen authentically create a show that evokes Queen at their very best.

A beginner's guide to country

2008-09-15T09:48:00.000+01:00

Plenty of the people who come along to the festival each year don’t consider themselves country fans in the slightest. So here’s our beginner’s guide to country, designed to show you that you’re more of a country fan than you thought!

Think you won’t enjoy country music? You might be surprised.
Country music may have its roots in Nashville and the southern states of the USA but its influence has spread across the globe and there is a thriving country music scene here in Scotland. In fact the roots of country music have a Scottish connection too – with the country and western sound evolving from old-time music, gospel, traditional folk music and celtic music.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a country music fan, or even a country music tolerator, you’ll almost certainly find some country influences within your music collection. The birth of modern country music took place in Nashville, Tennessee, where the sound of 40s jazz and swing merged with raw honky tonky storytelling and cowboy songs. Elvis tops the bill as one of music’s most influential figures, and his roots are firmly in the country music scene now called ‘Rockabilly’. Tracks such as ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ and ‘Don’t be cruel’ are classic examples, as is Johnny Cash’s ‘I walk the line’.

Country music and rock music collided in the 1960s and 70s, and artists like The Byrds, The Eagles, Neil Young and even The Rolling Stones embraced country, with songs like ‘Honky Tonk Woman’. In more recent years country rock is still going strong, Shania Twain and Garth Brooks two of the artists who have brought country into the mainstream. Of course the person who has brought country into more living rooms, dance floors and karaokes than anyone else is the Queen of country, Dolly Parton.

Country music at the Creetown Country Music Festival spans a broad range of musical styles, and the 2008 line up has been selected to appeal to those new to country music as well as established fans. You can whet your country appetite by choosing from the sassiness of the Country Sisters, rockabilly band The Hanks, the country rock of Raising Cain, original Americana from Brian Hughes and Blue Horizon, fantastic fiddlin’ from Fiddler Adam and the varied set of The Crown Top Kings, mixing up country with Rock n’ Roll and the 40s Swing Jive scene; as well as festival favourites such as John McCane and Texas Gun.

So grab your hat, slip on your boots and throw yourself into the country music vibe at this year’s festival and you might discover that you’re more of a country fan than you had thought!

Lots of news!

2008-09-15T09:47:00.001+01:00

Oh what a busy time we, at the Creetown Country Music Festival, have been having lately! As you can imagine we are all stepping up a gear to make sure the 2008 Festival is one of the best ever, so here’s a quick summary of what we’ve been up to.

Programme
The commemorative festival programme is back! After a gap of several years we felt the time was right to resurrect this magazine style programme. With a price of only £1 your programme will enter you into a fabulous prize draw, plus you can read all about the festival, the bands and we’ll introduce you to all the reasons why Creetown and the surrounding area is one of the best places in the world to take a holiday... not that we’re biased of course.

Read all about it!
Creetown is hitting the headlines, or at least the travel sections of some great publications this month. The Press & Journal , THE paper of the north of Scotland, are running a travel feature all about Creetown and its festival, the Blackpool Gazette and Scottish Field both say they’ll be mentioning the festival in the next few days and our wonderful local newspapers, as always, gave our official launch some fantastic coverage. Thank you to everyone who is helping to spread the word!

Plus, still to come.... Creetown is going international, with Scottish Banner, a Scottish ex-pat publication that sells throughout Canada, the USA and Australia, are planning to write about Creetown next month. And we’re expecting several TV crews over the Festival weekend, so keep an eye out for Creetown on the small screen in the near future.

Credit crunch? What credit crunch?
Despite some expectations of poor sales for this year’s festival because of the credit crunch, we’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well our tickets are selling. It seems people don’t want to cut back on having a good time, and quite right too! As the nights begin to draw in and Autumn winds bring cooler days, Creetown is the place to be to dance any credit crunch worries away.

Competitions
We’re running competitions left, right and centre this year to raise awareness of the festival and to encourage new people to come along and enjoy it, so we’ll be welcoming plenty of winners to the 2008 festival. The first prize winner in our competition in the Daily Mail will be travelling all the way from Wick to join us, and competitions will be appearing in newspapers across Dumfries & Galloway, Ayrshire and Central Scotland this week. We’re looking forward to wishing all our competition winners a warm welcome and we hope they have a fantastic time and become regulars to Creetown Country Music Festival.

So much to do....
There are so many activities happening during Saturday that we’ve been a bit lax in adding information to the website. Rest assured there is LOTS on offer to keep you busy during the day times. As well as the staples of our Saturday Street Fair entertainment, such as our costume parade, stalls and a western shoot out, over the course of the weekend you can also enjoy bean eating, fast draw and horseshoe throwing competitions, a bucking bronco, music competitions, rifle shooting, archery, log throwing and a Country Music Quiz and Karaoke hosted by Elvis (or at least someone purporting to be him!).

And since we’ve still got so much to do preparing our foot-tappingly good festival, we’d better get cracking!

Country Festival Travel Feature

2008-08-31T21:52:00.002+01:00

Haven't visited the Creetown Country Music Festival before? Read all about what you've been missing here!

Uncovering the wild west of Scotland
Laura Scott takes a trip to Scotland’s Wild West where guitars, cowboy hats and line dancing are putting a small Galloway village on the must-see map.

Think of south west Scotland and you’re likely to imagine a rural idyll of beautiful countryside and landscapes interspersed with sleepy villages and quaint towns. So upon visiting it can be a little disconcerting to find yourself surrounded by cowboys, watching a western style shoot out in a town where the roads are closed to cars but warmly welcome hoards of line dancers every September.

Welcome to Creetown, welcome to Scotland’s biggest country music festival. In fact we had stumbled upon the sort of all consuming welcome that left us grinning from ear to ear and enjoying a newfound appreciation for country music.

The Creetown Country Music Festival is a 4-day celebration of all things Country & Western when Creetown is transformed into a wild west frontier town. Normally home to 750 residents, during the festival around 10,000 country music lovers, country and western fans, line dancers and people who simply enjoy live music and a good time inundate this small village and the surrounding towns.

The event is focussed around 4 evenings of live music in a huge seated marquee called ‘The Big Tepee’ and a programme of festivities that dominate the streets of the small town. Attractions on offer include a giant street fair, costume parades, stalls, a western style shoot out, line dancing, archery, gold panning, bucking broncos, log throwing and whatever other quirky ideas the festival organisers pull out of their cowboy hats.

On our leisurely tour of Scotland’s south west we arrived in Creetown when the village was in full gun toting, foot tapping, line dancing swing; streets lined with families enjoying the festivities and live country music blasting out into the pretty town square. 2008 will be the 12th year the festival has taken place and the event is gaining momentum, this year it takes place from 18th to 21st September and it has expanded to include an afternoon and evening of tribute music for festival goers who enjoy the country and western themes but who perhaps aren’t so keen on the country sounds.

Creetown and indeed Galloway is a magical place to visit at any time of year. The landscape this quiet corner of Scotland is a perfect mix of long sweeping coastlines, mountainous uplands, swathes of forest and woodlands, lochs, tumbling streams, nature reserves and wetlands, rolling farmland and quiet moors, and amongst all the scenery is a plenty of interesting things to do and see.

For example, as well as the country festival Creetown is also home to a most unusual museum and visitor centre of international acclaim, the Creetown Gem Rock Museum which showcases a tremendous variety of gemstones, minerals and fossils in easily accessible and truly interesting exhibits. Our trip also took us further afield into the depths of the majestic Galloway Forest Park, the dusty bookshelves of Scotland’s National Book Town, Wigtown, and to the mysterious ancient chambered cairn of Cairnholy, all within a few miles of Creetown.

There’s something joyful about experiencing and sharing in other people’s passions, and that’s what the Creetown Country Festival is all about. It has its roots in not in a passion for country music, but in a passion for Creetown itself.

Determined to breathe life back into their quiet village a large group of residents took it upon themselves to host an event that would encourage visitors to the town. The enthusiasm with which country fans followed their passions was contagious and Creetown caught the bug. They residents decided to host their first festival in the mid-90s at a time when the tourist season was winding down and it proved an immediate success, with people travelling the length and breadth of the UK to join in the festivities.

As visitors to the festivities we were more than happy to join in. We decided to invest in a couple of Stetson hats and with a little trepidation we ventured into the Big Tepee to spend an evening listing to the kind of music we’d normally avoid.

Perhaps it was the enthusiasm of the crowd, or the vigour of the dancing, or the costumes, or perhaps simply the close proximity of a well stocked bar that caused us to catch the Creetown country bug? Whatever it was, our journey home was filled with the sounds of damn fine, foot tapping country tunes reminding us of Scotland’s wild wild west.

New Line Dancing Line Up!

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Line dancing is making a comeback a the Creetown Country Music Festival! After a few years when admittedly our line dancers haven’t been so well catered for, we’ve teamed up with an expert, Audrey Watson from Stranraer. We are delighted to announce a great new line up of demonstrations, displays and workshops for Saturday 20th hosted by Audrey and her dancers the Centre Liners.

Audrey will be leading line dancing in the street from 1pm till 2pm with old and new line dances, and the Centre Liners are planning a demonstration and display full of surprises. Some line dancing workshops will then be on offer for both beginners and experienced dancers in the main music venue, the Big Tepee, during the Saturday afternoon.

Audrey, who is an award winning choreographer and has taught line dancing internationally, says she is looking forward to returning to the festival:
“I have led a workshop before at the festival back in 2005, just before I won the Crystal Boot for my dance ‘Be Strong’. We had a brilliant day and met some lovely people who we still keep in contact with, but this is the first year I have been invited by the committee to advise them on the line dance side of things.

As well as the workshops I’m looking forward to joining the Centre Liners display team, Lorraine, Sue, Gail, Heather, Lorna, Cheryl, Sherrieann, Angela, Helen and Elizabeth, who have all given up their spare time to put together a few dances to demonstrate to the crowd, with some great fun ideas thrown in which we hope will give the crowd a laugh and let everyone see what great fun line dancing is.”

Audrey is also hoping to bring the Creetown Country Music Festival to a worldwide audience, and is working with Linedancer Magazine, the main publication in the line dancing world, to report back on the festival and to film the event for their Onlinedancer website.

“This will be a great opportunity for Creetown Country Festival and for Galloway to be seen by people all around the world. I have many people who drop into my classes from far and wide, this year we have had dancers from Denmark, Western Australia, Norway and France and they all same the same, what a beautiful part of the world we live in. With the coverage Linedancer Magazine are giving we shall hopefully see some line dancers from far and wide coming to enjoy next year’s Creetown Country weekend.

“It should be a great weekend, there’s a lot of effort gone into the festival this year, and we’re really looking forward to meeting old friends and making new ones, entertaining the crowd and encouraging people to give line dancing a try for themselves.”

Festival Officially Launched

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Creetown Country Music Festival has launched its expanded 2008 programme with a new look, new events and a new finale to the long established event.

Taking place from 18th to 21st September, the 12th Creetown Country Music Festival is a 4-day celebration of all things Country & Western when Creetown is transformed into a wild west frontier town.

The festival programme is focussed around 4 evenings of live music in a huge seated marquee by some of the UK’s most exciting Country music artists, featuring a mix of festival favourites and new friends. Among them are the Crown to Kings, Fiddler Adam and The Hanks and Country Sisters, a popular European girl group who will be making their UK debut at the Creetown Festival. New for 2008 is Creetown Country Plus taking place on Sunday 21st, five of the best live tribute acts in the UK, including The Cheatles and exceptional Queen tribute band Kings of Queen.

Also on offer is a family friendly mix of daytime events and activities, including a giant street fair, traditional costume parades, stalls, a western style shoot out, line dancing, bean eating, fast draw and horseshoe throwing competitions, a bucking bronco, music competitions, rifle shooting, archery, log throwing and a Country Music Quiz and Karaoke hosted by Elvis (or at least someone purporting to be him!). Little wonder that the small town of Creetown, normally home to only 750 people, draws crowds of up to 10,000 at festival time!

Festival Chairman Jim McDowall said:
“This year we have taken a fresh look at our festival, and we think we’ve come up with a cracking line up of music, events and activities that can be enjoyed by everyone – not just country music fans. We’ve developed a new look for our festival with a logo that sums up all the fun and friendliness that makes the Creetown Country Music Festival such a welcoming and warm event. We’ve added an extra day of music and we’ve introduced Creetown Country Plus, a great fun and very accessible afternoon and evening of the best tribute bands in the country, which we hope will encourage people who haven’t been before to give us a try.

“We haven’t forgotten our country roots by any means, and our country music programme is very exciting. We’re hosting the UK debut of the Country Sisters, a lively European girl band who put on a tremendous performance, and we’re delighted to have some of the rising stars of the live UK country scene, such as the Crown Top Kings, who have been notching up rave reviews all summer. There’s a real buzz about the festival this year and we think audiences will be in for a treat!”

The festival is sponsored by the Stranraer and Wigtownshire Free Press and is supported by Gaelforce, Dumfries & Galloway Council, Awards for All and EventScotland.

Editor of the Stranraer and Wigtownshire Free Press Alan Hall was delighted to add the newspaper’s backing to the popular event. He said:
“We have been impressed with the way the festival has grown year after year attracting country music fans from far and wide to the area, while maintaining the roots that made it so popular for locals.

“There is a superb line-up of artists on offer and the programme is a real credit to the hard work of all the volunteers behind the scenes. I am sure this year will help cement the festival as one of the top events in the region and continue to bring much needed revenue into Dumfries and Galloway.”

Paul Bush, Chief Operating Officer of EventScotland said:
"We are delighted to work in partnership with Dumfries and Galloway Council to support the Creetown Country Music Festival, a key event for Dumfries and Galloway that is a significant driver for tourism."

Counting down to the Festival

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Our first press release for the 2008 festival which we hope was of interest to our friends at Cross Country and CMDS. We will soon be adding a flurry of information to the blog with all the latest news and press information so keep checking back!

Creetown counts down to Music Festival

The final touches are this month being made to the 12th Creetown Country Music Festival which takes place from 18th to 21st September in the glorious Galloway countryside in south west Scotland.

Organisers have taken on board feedback from festival regulars, and say that the 2008 festival is going to be one of their best in recent years, with a full programme of daytime activities and events to complement a varied musical line up.

The live music programme features a mix of festival favourites such as Texas Gun and John McCane, and new friends like The Hanks and Country Sisters, a popular European girl group who will be making their UK debut at the Creetown Festival.

Nominee in the British Country Music Awards, Brian Hughes is returning to Creetown with his band the LoneSharks. With three album releases and a fourth currently in production, Scottish songwriter Brian promises a live, kick-ass rockin’ show and said:
“We’re really looking forward to the 2008 festival, it’s a lovely place to meet up with old friends and make new ones within a wonderful setting in a beautiful part of the country. The organisers, stage crew and audience are very friendly and supportive and the area surrounding the festival town of Creetown has tremendous beauty and many places of interest to visit. A friendly welcome and a top class programme await both returning and first time visitors.”

Northern Irish Fiddler Adam is another returnee to the event. The 6ft 5in cowboy plays bluegrass country fiddle and signs, and his repertoire includes Thank God I’m a Country Boy, The Gambler, Country Roads, the Devil Went Down to Georgia and lots of fast bluegrass fiddle tunes. Fiddler Adam says:
“I am looking forward to meeting all the wonderful people who I have met before, both at the Creetown Country Music Festival and at other shows I have played at. My act and programme are suited to all ages young and old, you can either sit and listen, clap your hands, kick your feet or feel free to go mad, dancing or jumping around the place. I enjoy myself when I perform and that comes across in my performance, because I put so much energy into my show.”

New to UK audiences is the popular European girl group Country Sisters. The band has been playing in its current line up since 2004 and promise the audience swinging, clogging, rock ‘n’ roll dancing, instrument acrobatic movement and lots of surprises. All the members of the band are gifted musicians and dancers, and their set features a cross section of country music styles from traditional classical country style to the latest modern hits, cajun, bluegrass and gospel to rock'n'roll. Wireless transmission for instruments and microphones enables a great freedom of movement and dancing in country style on stage, and a succession of outfits and costumes add to the visual appeal of their live performances.

The Creetown Festival organisers have also responded to requests from loyal festival goers to help fill their day-times with fun and activities as much as their evenings. This year there is more on offer throughout the weekend than ever before, with new activities being added to the programme continually, and visitors are encouraged to check the website for updates, or to subscribe to the festival email newsletter. One of the highlights is set to be ‘Young Country Stars’, a competition to showcase the musical talents and song writing skills of children and teens - a great opportunity to foster and encourage a love of the country genre in the area’s young people.

New for 2008 is Creetown Country Plus, a Sunday afternoon and evening of some of the UK’s best live tribute artists which is being trialled this year to encourage local people to attend the event. Organisers recognise that many loyal country music fans have concerns about the inclusion of tribute acts, but say that the aim of Creetown Country Plus is to add to the festival’s appeal for day trippers and those who are new to country. Importantly they hope it will give a boost to the festival coffers at the end of the event; a time when many of the country fans are beginning their journeys home, and ultimately they hope increased revenue will allow greater stability to create an even better country festival experience for 2009.

The Creetown Country Music Festival 2008 is sponsored by the Stranraer and Wigtownshire Free Press and is supported by Gaelforce, Dumfries & Galloway Council and EventScotland.

Free camping is available to all ticket holders just a five minute walk away from the main venue, The Big Teepee. Order your camping pass from the ticket office. Tickets for the Creetown Country Music Festival start from £15 for a one day adult ticket and can be purchased from the ticket office on 01671 820 281 or from the festival website at www.creetown-countrymusic-festival.com.

FREE CAMPING - FREE CAMPING - FREE CAMPING

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Just 5 minutes walk from the main venue.

All you need to do is request a Free Camping Pass when you buy your ticket.
If you already have your tickets you can still phone the ticket office and request a Free Camping Pass.

Welcome to the Creetown Country Music Festival Blog

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We are very pleased to welcome you to the 12th Creetown Country Music Festival. Over the past eleven years the Festival has developed into the largest Country Music Festival in Scotland.

Here we are again, now with 11 years of Country Music festivals under our belts, ready to welcome you to our 12th Creetown Country Music Weekend. Whether you have visited us before or are new to the Creetown experience, we look forward to meeting you and introducing you to our guests from the UK and USA.

Over the years the people of Creetown have made many new friends during the Country Weekend. We would like to thank them and the many local business and community organisations that have helped to make every year a success.

Lastly but by no means least we would like to thank all our volunteers for the countless hours of time, effort and enthusiasm they have contributed to the festival for the past ten years. They have done a truly amazing job and we extend them our heartfelt gratitude.

If you are an old hand or joining us for the first time, a warm Creetown welcome. Have a good time, enjoy the music and have a safe and memorable weekend!