Kelburn has a massive variety of music and other entertainment so this is just a very narrow and brief taster of what was on offer in 2024. Situated on the Ayrshire coast it is probably best described as a boutique but mental event and it has built a hard-core following over the years.
Undeterred by the wind and rain which was making things not very summery, Makeness played a late evening set on the Thursday night at the mainly Skinny-curated Pyramid stage. Based in London but originally from the Hebrides, mainman Kyle was joined by two other players for an atmospheric and varied set which included some new material. The dance beats and electronica included some catchy choruses, oblique lyrics and a DIY approach which chimed with a lot of the acts on this stage over the weekend.
Friday saw Edinburgh-based Doomscroller on the same stage, another slightly wonky 3-piece with electronica, live drums and bass. Using analogue keyboards (which gave a few issues in the outdoors…)
They played tracks mainly from current album ‘The Flat Earth’ to a very positive reaction from the audience (ok so some of them were their pals but still…).
Slightly later on, Glasgow-based all-female trio and BM faves Brenda also appeared on the Pyramid stage plying their unique brand of skewed pop, full of wonky synth lines (Flore and Litty), surf guitar (Litty) and bashed out drum patterns (Apsi). Presumably putting the worry of drummer Apsi’s missing parrot aside (and yes Jobby did turn up in the Southern Maternity hospital later amid widespread press coverage – you really couldn’t make it up), they ran through favourites like ‘Microscopic Baby’, ‘High Horse’ and ‘Cease and Desist’, with all three members taking vocal duties at various points. In a just world Brenda would be huge but they seem quite happy causing a minor rumpus here at Kelburn, and surely must have won over a few more fans.
Girobabies played quite late on in the Smugglers Tent, the latest five-piece lineup including Mina Merrow on keyboards and Jenny Tingle on drums. Tonight their feral energy seemed to feed the crowd and there was dancing, moshing, and shouted choruses. It wasn’t quite the greatest hits but there was a sense of occasion, with Mark barking out the lyrics as if his life depended on it – tracks like ‘Overheard In The West End’, ‘Landfill Culture’ and the set closer ‘Daily Mail’ all sounded urgent, ominous even… Mark also threatened that the next Girobabies album will be the last one…
Motopia opened the Square stage on Saturday but the early hour did not deter a crowd who were determined to dance in the sunshine no matter how late they had partied the previous night. The band put on a characteristically loud and dramatic performance, with tracks like ‘Addicted To The Poison’ and ‘Rise’ going down very well, and the closing Rage Against The Machine cover had everyone shouting and screaming, a great start to another good day of music.
Hopefully that has given some idea of what was going down at this pretty unique festival…
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