Every year the tiny island
of Cumbrae, just off the west coast of Scotland is home to the Millport Country
Music Festival. This year was the 25th anniversary and we
(Silverball Country) were invited along. In fact we had the pleasure of looking
after a stage – Cactus Jack’s. It may be one of the smaller stages on the
compact site but it had a party atmosphere right from the start.
Friday
Amid torrential rain Cactus
Jacks was the de facto main stage, since Nash Field as an open air venue wasn’t
open. The line up was certainly enough to temporarily claim the title of main
stage – as the three acts were all headliners in their own right!
Mr Millport himself, Gavin welcomed
everyone to the festival in very damp attitude, in fact dripping from his cap
onto the stage, showing that the weather wouldn’t spoil the fun.
Simon James
We were thrilled to welcome
our first act onto stage, Simon James and his band, the Deep River Pilots,
which included a guest pilot in the form of the birthday girl Sam Coe on Keys
and backing vocals. We have a close
relationship with Simon, having recently reviewed his new album and album
launch gig, so it was with great pride that Francesca took to the stage for her
own first festival intro. Simon did not
disappoint, delivering a fabulous festival opening, playing tracks from that
new album.
Morganway
Second act on the Cactus
Jacks stage was Morganway – unfazed after the minor drama of changing an entire
sound desk minutes before their show time!
The whole band were happy to wait before storming the stage with their
own brand of #RowdyFolk. We first met Morganway at Country In The Afternoon and
were impressed by their energy at that show – and this demonstrate that they
have that level of energy at every show!
SJ’s vocals soared across the tent, Nicole played her fiddle so hard
that she broke a string, and all the boys seemed to be competing to see who
could go craziest without missing a single note – spinning, stomping, dancing
and even, at one point, stepping on a spare guitar with fortunately no damage!
Sarah Jory
Sarah is an incredibly
talented musician, playing pedal steel and slide guitar with gusto and energy
that belie her 40 years in the
industry. She is also one of the
absolutely nicest performers on the scene with a calm outlook and friendly,
unflappable approach. After line checks
she simply says “lets do it” and the show is on. Rik, doing her stage intro, could not find
words to do justice and simply said “Ladies and Gents – Sarah Jory” allowing
her music and her band to do all the talking.
One of the many highlights of her set must have been a cover of Brad
Paisley’s “Nervous Breakdown” – a high tempo piece giving her pedal steel a
work out, and making Luke Thomas on lead guitar break a sweat! There was banter
between the two about who you should vote for, as both are nominated for the
BCMA musician of the year. Sarah finished her set with a rendition of Amazing
Grace that sent chills through every member of the audience.
We couldn’t let the night
end there, we knew those on the island liked to party so we had planned to keep
the music going to curfew, midnight, with a Silverball Country afterparty.
Having to follow Sarah Jory
was no mean feat, so Francesca crafted a playlist to follow of “Powerful Women
In Country” in Sarah’s honour – an all female disco that was well received by
the late night party people in the tent!
Millport Day 1 - done!
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