It’s July and that means only one thing in this part of Moray .. Speyfest.
Speyfest is a foot tapping celtic music festival which takes place over 26-28 July in a specially erected tented village in our own small town of Fochabers. Over that one weekend the place fair reels to the traditional music of Scotland and the sounds of people out enjoying themselves!
Topping the bill this year is Eddi Reader, the former Fairground Attraction lead singer, who will headline the Saturday night bill supported by Fara, three fiddlers and a pianist from Orkney, making their first appearance at Speyfest.
On the Friday night is Blazin Fiddles whose fast pace and exceptional talent is a sight and sound to behold and one definitely to get your foot tapping. They will be supported by up and coming young talent Iona Fyfe, from Huntly, just along the road, who was Scots Singer of the Year in the MG Alba Scots Trad Fest Music Awards in 2018 and certainly one you won’t want to miss.
Speyfest features a lively stomp each evening and bands with extremely interesting names, include Elephant Sessions, the Mark Winchester Ban; Orcadian Saltfishforty; Tour Bus Fortune and Bombskare are all making an appearance over the weekend.
Now in its 24th year, Speyfast was started by a local musician James Alexander and is still largely run by volunteers who give up their weekend (and probably many weeks beforehand in the planning) to make this a successful, popular and much looked forward to event. Tickets are already on sale and selling fast so check out their website http://www.speyfest.com/ for full details and to book tickets so that you won’t be disappointed.
In addition to the great music (and of course whisky, it goes without saying that the place is licensed) there is a music masterclass for beginners and improvers at the nearby Baxters Highland Village http://www.baxters.com/about-baxters/our-stores/fochabers/ which is free, but you must register beforehand. If you are interested in a taste of Scotland as well as the sound there is a gin Masterclass on Saturday afternoon with Aviva Scottish Gin www.avvascottishgin.co.uk, and again on the Saturday afternoon a whisky Masterclass with Macallan www.themacallan.com which is billed as a “fully immersive sensory experience, discovering and challenging both your nose and plate”. Both of these have a charge and for over 18s only and are at the event.
And if all that makes you hungry, within this tented village is also a number of food stalls and of course you have the beautiful town of Fochabers on your doorstep with lots of great pubs, coffee shops, an award winning fish and chip shop and a well-stocked Co-op to buy supplies.
On the Saturday between 10 and 4pm Speyfest hosts a craft tent with some great items on sale.
Fochabers, with a population of around 2,000, rests on the banks of the River Spey in the heart of Moray, about 10 miles east of Elgin. It is roughly an hour’s drive from Inverness airport and is on a bus route from Elgin or Keith, but not a rail station so do give Ace Tours a call to book transport – we can pick you up from the airport, Elgin railway station or your hotel in Elgin or around Moray, take you to the event and more importantly see you get home again. After all with so much music and stomping giving you a thirst you really don’t want to be driving at Speyfest.
Tickets do sell quickly so if you are interested in this event, which is a brilliant weekend, do get in touch with Ace Tours and we will help with the arrangements and can add on events either side of the weekend too.
