35,000 flock to Rock Ness

Jun 26 2009 by Sara Bain, Dumfries Standard Friday

AROUND 35,000 music lovers landed on the banks of Loch Ness to experience what is fast becoming one of the biggest dates on the Scottish contemporary music calendar.

Scenery, sound and sensual stimulation were just some of the pleasures that the Rock Ness weekend had to offer over June 12 to 14. The summer festival on the banks of the famous Scottish loch is now in its fourth year and there is little doubt why it has twice been voted Scotland’s best music festival.

The sun beamed down on a magnificent backdrop of the loch and rugged Highland mountains while some of Britain’s most energetic musical talent belted out the entertainment from six stages.

An eclectic mix of über-headliners saw dance-inclined acts (such as Orbital, Basement Jaxx, Soulwax, Mylo and Pete Tong) play alongside rock giants such as Super Furry Animals, The Wombats and Scottish rockers Billy Clyro. Apart from the laid-back atmosphere, the emphasis was on fun and volume ... lots of it!

To prevent dehydration and over-heating of the festival-goers, organisers kindly held a Carling cold beer amnesty: swapping warm unopened cans for cold ones — a welcome move!

For those that were tired of looking at the same old wellies every festival, a welly swap provided a chance to pick up a different pair to dance in.

Romance was also in the air at the chapel where couples ran down the canvas aisles to get married in an extremely unusual setting!

Friday’s highlight included the superb Flaming Lips who were accompanied by the Tellytubbies — that’s right, the Tellytubbies — who opened the festival with a wave of euphoria. And the party lasted for over three days with wall-to-wall action, the pace never relenting until it ended with an explosion on Sunday night with the mighty Prodigy.

The festival’s GoNorth stage has provided a showcase for up-and-coming Scottish talent for the past four years. While the only bit of heavy rain of the weekend fell on the canvas, festival-goers poured into the tent to hear Moffat musician Lewis Cook and his band Yahweh perform their talented musical set to a deafening applause.

Rock Ness is a diverse and exciting festival that is well organised and looks after its punters. A superb weekend away — all it needed was a monster!