Wildfire Festival

Scotland's award winning rock festival, WildFire Festival, makes a welcome return between the 28th and 30th June 2019 to a new location, Wanlockhead!

About Wildfire Festival

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The renaissance of Scotland’s leading grassroots festival, Wildfire, continues with the announcement of a second tranche of 14 bands that will play at the festival in Wanlockhead from the 28th-30th of June 2019. Only 96 tickets away from being a sell-out, Wildfire Festival’s emphatic return marks a welcome comeback for a much-loved grassroots music event, that was forced to close it doors last summer due to rising infrastructure costs.

Wildfire Festival is committed to investing in the Scottish grassroots scene – already eight local bands have been confirmed for the main stage - Concrete Kingdoms (Dunfermline), Last Alibi (Glasgow), She Burns Red (Edinburgh), Nocturne Wulf (Glasgow), Sauza Kings (Kirkcaldy), Tacado (Banchory), The Swamp Born Assassins (Glasgow) and Tantrum (West Lothian).

Further afield, Wildfire is attracting rising bands from all corners of the United Kingdom, many recognising the important role that Wildfire Festival plays in giving new bands a first opportunity to break into the festival scene. Dan Southall from These Wicked Rivers comments: “Wildfire is absolutely integral to the grassroots scene. It gives young bands the chance to meet each other – all the other bands, their fans and families. It’s a fantastic way to get a load of people with similar music interests together in one pace; talking about it, listening to it and having a great time. The work that Dave Ritchie does at Wildfire is absolutely great.”

Bands from as far away as Cornwall (King Creature), Kent (Gallows Circus), Leicester (Skam) and Cambridge (4th Labyrinth) will be joining with the local talent to make this year’s Wildfire Festival a comprehensive showcase of a new generation of British rock.

This year’s Wildfire Festival will see a departure from the old location of Wiston Lodge country estate to the new location in Wanlockhead village. As the highest village in Scotland, Wildfire is looking forward to giving something back to the community that will host the event, with local companies and sponsors working with Wildfire to provide food, accommodation and a place for the music to be performed. From profits made, the festival organisers will reinvest back into Wanlockhead, as they hope the event can have a lasting positive impact on the local community. Wildfire Festival remains a family-friendly event, with anyone under 16 being able to attend for free! If accompanied by adults.

Dave Ritchie, Founder and Director of Wildfire Festival commented: “We are really excited by the bands coming to play at Wildfire Festival this year. Despite the unfortunate disruptions last year, it has been amazing that we continue to attract a really high quantity and quality of talent. Wildfire Festival remains committed to helping young bands get a first step on the festival ladder. Everyone involved in Wildfire is in it for the music and we share a passion to give small and overlooked bands a meaningful opportunity. And with less than 100 tickets remaining for the weekend, we are humbled by the public’s enthusiasm for the event and what it stands for. Big festivals give fans a ‘who’s who’ of top bands to enjoy, but with the closure of so many grassroots venues we all need to remember that tomorrow’s big bands have to start from somewhere. We like to think that this is where Wildfire Festival makes a real difference to people’s lives.”

While we take every opportunity to ensure the details for Wildfire Festival are accurate, we always advise that you contact the event organiser before setting out for the event to avoid disapointment.

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