Solas Festival

Solas Festival 2017 concluded last weekend, and it was another incredible year for the family friendly event!

The midsummer celebration of arts, music and ideas took place at The Bield once again from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th of June and those who attended were treated to a fantastic weekend with some incredible performances. The festival was concluded with a live BBC Radio Scotland broadcast hosted by Deacon Blue's frontman Ricky Ross, who introduced the likes of Declan Welsh, Aberdeen band The Little Kicks and storyteller Mara Menzies.

There was something for everyone, with children's musicians Fischy Music on-hand to keep the little ones entertained. There were over 250 performances and events in total - a simply magnificent weekend!

The festival welcomed 130 refugees as audience members, and it's something that Dot Reid, Solas Festival director, was delighted with.

"I'm so happy that we've been able to make this happen. The theme of this year's festival was 'home' with a number of discussions and events addressing that. Considering what home might mean to someone who has lost everything and had to flee their native country is vitally important, and I hope that by offering these new Scots the chance to enjoy an event like a music festival, we can help them to feel a bit more at home in their new country."

We sent Colin along with a camera over the weekend to snap some pictures for this weekend's gallery. If you like the look of the pictures, next year's festival takes place from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th June 2018!