Around 4,000 attendees packed-out the Meedies for this year's Rockore Festival on Saturday, August 22.
They were drawn in by numerous big-name acts spanning musical generations, with headliners ABC closing the show.
Organiser Kevin Payne said: “It went really well and was probably one of the smoothest we’ve had. There were no hiccups.
“The older ones were pleased with ABC because they’re from the 80s, and then Inspiral Carpets are the 90s so that was great too. We tried to cover all bases so there was something for everyone.”
DJ George Bowie, also known as GBX, provided high-octane electronic beats to get the crowd jumping, before bringing on singer/songwriter Cammy Barnes as a surprise special guest.
Mr Payne said: “It was a total surprise for them. At about noon George called me. He said, ‘I’m with Cammy Barnes can he come along?’
“We didn’t make any announcement of it and just said ‘there might be a special guest coming’. He came through the gates and the crowd erupted.”
This year also saw the addition of a second stage for up-and-coming artists.
“There were a lot of people who knew certain acts and went to see them,” said Mr Payne. “It worked really well and stretched out the crowd.
“We took picnic benches up there that allowed people to go and sit with their food.”
He also acknowledged that there were issues with there not being enough food vendors, due to an incident “outwith the festival’s control” that meant five of them needed to be sent home the night before.
Mr Payne went on to say that preparations have already started for next year despite it being a difficult time for the festival scene.
He commented: “The ball’s rolling, and we’ve made contact with two or three bands to see if they’d be interested.
“It’s hard now, a lot of acts have doubled their fees since covid and there is all the infrastructure. We’ve had to increase the ticket prices to absorb those costs.
“A lot of festivals are starting to fold, and you can fully understand because it’s a massive gamble.”
He went on to thank all the volunteers who made the day possible, calling them a “credit to their community”.
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