The eighth edition of the family-friendly Scottish festival ButeFest was held at the island’s Ettrick Bay at the weekend, welcoming around 1500 visitors for three show-stopping days of entertainment and activities.
The sandy bay proved to be the perfect backdrop for the much-loved festival and its two stages of incredible talent spanning more than 40 pop, indie and folk acts including some of Scotland’s top established and emerging talent.
Music lovers of all ages headed en masse to the island on the Firth of Clyde, just 35 minutes by boat from the mainland, to catch sets from singer-songwriting powerhouse Callum Beattie and Isle of Skye fusion legends the Peatbog Faeries.
Elsewhere, award-winning electro-trad duo Valtos, genre-bending trio Talisk, celebrated pop pairing The Eves, and returning festival favourites Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 all played unforgettable slots to a thrilled audience of Bute locals and visitors from across Scotland and beyond.
With unrivalled views and a quintessential island festival experience without the long journey, the community-driven ButeFest is proving popular with visitors from near and far and continues to establish itself on Scotland’s annual events calendar.
Hayley Ewing, ButeFest Acting Chairperson, said: “It’s been a joy to welcome thousands of visitors to the Isle of Bute for this year’s festival. We can’t quite believe it’s our eighth edition and it was fantastic to be able to show off the island at its best and showcase the incredible musical talent that we have here in Scotland. The atmosphere was just fantastic all weekend long and Ettrick Bay just proved once again why, in our opinion, it’s one of the best festival locations around! We’re so grateful for the community effort that goes into making the event happen – it truly is a team effort and we can’t thank all of you who make it possible enough.”
Activities for kids including storytelling, family parties and aerial performances were all part of the programme at this year’s ButeFest, alongside craft workshops and exhibitors, activities and stalls boasting a variety of local and Scottish produce.
ButeFest 2024 ran from Friday 26th – Sunday 28th July. Visit www.butefest.co.uk.
