Electric Fields festival offering double the entertainment this year

Dumfries and Galloway's Electric Fields music festival is now in its third year at its current home, and it's bigger and better than ever this time round.
Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie.Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie.
Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie.

Now just over a week away, it’s expanded from a single-day event to a two-dayer for 2016 and is offering what is comfortably its strongest line-up yet.

It’s taking place at Drumlanrig Castle again, on the Queensberry Estate, about 20 miles north of Dumfries, on Friday, August 26, and Saturday, August 27, with the Charlatans headlining the first night and Primal Scream the second.

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“Electric Fields is all about bringing the best music to our audience in this incredible location,” said festival co-founder Nick Roberts.

The Charlatans.The Charlatans.
The Charlatans.

“We’re proud to welcome such amazing bands to the line-up. They each bring something unique and powerful to a bill that we think is the best for music lovers, and the best value, anywhere in the country this summer.”

Festival director Alex Roberts added: “We are growing into our new home at Drumlanrig and have a festival line-up that has captured the public’s imagination.

“Our ticket sales are more than double what they were at the same date last year.

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“We are still the best value for money festival this side of the Orinoco. At £89.50 face value, our ticket price is set so that everyone who wants to come to Electric Fields should be able to do so.”

The Charlatans.The Charlatans.
The Charlatans.

The festival’s second stage has been renamed the Stewart Cruickshank Stage in memory of the late BBC radio producer of that name following his death last year at the age of 64.

“We’re naming our second stage in honour of the brilliant Stewart Cruickshank, a true Scottish music hero,” added Nick.

“He was part of the fabric of music radio in Scotland and the UK for 35 years, giving a much-needed platform to new bands from Scotland and bringing us the best new music from wherever he could find it.

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“With the blessing of his wife Lorraine, we’re proud to acknowledge his exceptional contribution to our musical heritage.”

The Charlatans, also Thursday night headliners at this year’s Kendal Calling festival at Lowther Deer Park in Cumbria last month, have nine top 10 albums to their name, including three chart-toppers.

That run of chart success spans over quarter of a century, from Some Friendly, a No 1 in 1990, a year after their formation in Cheshire, to their 12th and latest studio album, Modern Nature, a No 7 hit last year.

They’ve also hit the singles chart’s top 10 four times, with The Only One I Know, a No 9 in 1990; One to Another, a No 3 in 1996; and North Country Boy, a No 4, and How High, a No 6, both in 1997.

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Primal Scream, formed in Glasgow in 1982, have enjoyed a similarly distinguished career, racking up seven top 10 albums and three top 10 singles.

Their biggest LPs to date are 1991’s Screamadelica, a platinum-selling No 8 hit, and 1994’s Give Out But Don’t Give Up and 1997’s Vanishing Point, both No 2s. Their 11th and latest studio album, Chaosmosis, was a No 12 hit following its release in March this year.

Their three top 10 singles so far are Rocks, A No 7 in 1994; Kowalski, a No 8 in 1997; and Country Girl, a No 5 in 2006.

Also on the bill, among others, are Wild Beasts, Everything Everything, Public Service Broadcasting, the Twilight Sad, Sugarhill Gang, Steve Mason, Honeyblood, Admiral Fallow, C Duncan, Field Music, the Go! Team, Eliza and the Bear, Fat White Family, Baby Strange and Lisbon.

Weekend camping tickets are £103.95, and day tickets are £59.50.

For details, go to www.electricfieldsfestival.com

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