Since its inception in 2004, Belladrum has often been branded as a fun, family-friendly festival which welcomes anyone and everyone. Although the characterisation was and still remains accurate, the highland festival has proved it is way more than just a sociable and amiable weekend of the year throughout its 14 year existence.

In recent years especially, the calibre of acts performing both on the main stage and the smaller stages has been steadily rising. Over the last two years acts such as Two Door Cinema Club, Franz Ferdinand, Circa Waves and The Sherlocks have all graced a Tartan Heart stage of some description. 2018 saw another big step taken in making Belladrum a household festival name.

Established singer-songwriter Amy MacDonald headlined the Thursday night. Although she played a lot of new material, she still galvanised the crowd. The Thursday night music is a relatively recent addition to Belladrum and one that seems more than welcomed by the crowds. As well as big names attracting herds of music fans to the more prestigious stages, the organisers clearly aren’t afraid to welcome diversity either with their array of stages from jazz to country.

Belladrum consistently pulls in acts who are the next big thing. Last year saw The Sherlocks play the hothouse stage ( they have since supported Liam Gallagher on a world tour) and previous years have seen household names like Catfish and The Bottlemen. This year The Snuts were welcomed. Bands like these show that classic indie music will always be relevant. With their never overly complex musical progressions and snappy lyrics, The Snuts seemed destined to follow in the footsteps of other bands who have found success after playing Belladrum Festival.

The other highlight of the Friday night saw alternative icons The Charlatans take to the main stage. This group are still managing to take refreshing strides with their lyrics and musically despite being together for close to 30 years. Opening track, and of from the New EP, Totally Eclipsing seemed to stir the crowd just as much as classics Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over and The Only One I Know, songs which still remain engrained in our minds from the British 90s rock scene. The band added to the emotion of the weekend by paying homage to the late Scott Hutchinson with a cover of Heads Roll Of with two members from Frightened Rabbit.

The final day of the festival seemed to be the day to discover up and coming acts with the XPO North stage providing a stacked lineup. Glasgow based band Fauves took to the stage at midday with their unique blend of funk and pop.Their enticingly unique tracks proved a crowd pleaser both for people who knew their music and for people who were just being introduced. Hit Like This was undoubtedly a highlight with some of the cramped crowd singing along to the chorus “I wanna see, everything that you see”. The vocalists range seemed too unique to be real as the band filled the tent with their infectious choruses.

The Nickajack Men were another highlight of the Saturday and clearly are a group that will be playing on bigger stages in the imminent future. Their new EP was released recently with tracks Changed Ways and Different Languages. Their relentless sound enthused a crowd who, despite not knowing the songs, seemed as enthused as any other audience throughout the weekend. The climax of the set saw them play When The Winter Comes, a rock song that is bursting with compelling guitar solos and constantly changing textures. The end of the set saw the frontman play the final chords whilst lying on his back.

Undisputed music royalty. Primal Scream closed the Saturday and the festival with a blistering and varied set. The fans saw classics Moving On Up Now and Swastika Eyes as well as slightly lesser known tracks such as Can’t Go Back. The clear distinction in sound and intention in the albums is delightfully clear and they makes this very obvious live. From the trancy Trippin’ On Your Love to the classic rock sound of Jailbird, Primal Scream continue to encourage freedom within music.

2018 saw Belladrum continue to grow in potential, it is only a matter of time before it is competing with other UK festival giants. It is already one of Scotland’s most sought after music festivals and if the quality of acts keeps improving like it has done in recent times, it will surely start to be discussed with the Readings and The Isle of Wights.

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