Wall of support builds for Moray’s youth music festival

The Wall of Rock - fundraising bid off to a good start
The Wall of Rock – fundraising bid off to a good start

A YOUTH MUSIC festival has started well in its bid to obtain the funding it requires to go ahead for a fifth successive year in September.

The ‘Wall of Rock’ issued an appeal last week when it became clear that it faced a funding crisis for the 2015 event.

Public and charity funding for community events has become so difficult that the highly successful Lossiemouth festival faces a real danger of not taking place at all – despite having already lined up around 120 performers and over 500 eager young people already signed up to attend.

Essential costs faced by organisers of the free festival includes security, licencing, public liability insurance, first aid cover, transportation, publicity and hire of essential sound and light equipment.

Around £600 of the £3000 required to operate the festival had been raised last night – with a further £100 already promised from local community leaders.

A spokesman for the Lossiemouth Community Council said: “We would certainly urge people to support this event if they are in a position to do so.

“Lossiemouth demonstrated during the recent Seafest week that ours is a vibrant community that knows how to come together – they will no doubt do so again next month when the annual Raft Race takes place in the town.

“The Wall of Rock is organised by our young people and demonstrates to us all that they are willing and able to do some good in the community. For that reason we have allocated a £100 donation towards administration costs for an event that our entire community is rightly proud of.

“As a community council we are very limited in what we can do – so it is very much up to the people of Lossiemouth and the wider Moray community to help if they believe, as we do, that supporting such events is important.”

Details on how people can pledge their support for the festival can be found on the Wall of Rock Kickstarter Appeal  – meanwhile, should the funding appeal succeed, the full line-up for the 2015 event on Friday, September 4 and Saturday, September 5 is as follows.

Friday from 6pm to 10.30pm

6pm – DJ Niamh Duncan (Keith)
6.30pm – Magilvry (Keith)
7.30pm – Peruvia (Lossiemouth)
8.30pm – Checkered Sky (Buckie)
9.30pm – The Unofficial (Buckie)
With special guest DJ Jack Duncan between bands.

Saturday from 6pm to 10.30pm

6pm – Dangerous Dave (Keith)
6.30pm – The Scenix (Elgin)
7.30pm – Milk Interference (Aberdeen)
8.30pm – Chasing Tasko (Elgin)
9.30pm – DJ Kavari (Lossiemouth)
With special guest DJ Tom Wiltshire between bands.

Saturday Main Stage from 12pm to 6pm

12.00pm – 3 Days Apart
12.40pm – Esplanade (Burghead)
1.20pm – Rabbit Punch (Inverness)
2.00pm – Civil Punk (Forres)
2.40pm – Wasted Jazz (Forres)
3.20pm – Guys at the Hotdog Stand (Elgin)
4.00pm – Moray Concert Brass (Moray)
4.40pm – Christy Row (Elgin)
5.20pm – Rising Tide (Inverness)

Saturday Acoustic Tent from 1pm to 6pm

1.00pm – Joe Fox (Elgin)
1.30pm – Sam & Kyle (Buckie)
2.00pm – Christopher Anderson (Keith)
2.30pm – Stewart McLeod (Lossiemouth)
3.00pm – Margaret Finlayson (Keith)
3.30pm – The Fox Gloves (Forres)
4.00pm – Gregor Lawson (Lossiemouth)
4.30pm – No Rest For the Wicked (Elgin)
5.00pm – Owen Clark (Lossiemouth)
5.30pm – Wave & I (Lossiemouth)