Amongst the mythical hills, close to the little known toon known as Doune, there lies a yearly spectacle for all to revel in. Doune the Rabbit Hole celebrated its 10th anniversary this year and still maintains its spot as one of the best wee festivals in Scotland. I headed along last weekend to catch the antics for myself.
Despite a soggy start to the weekend, the festival was alive with frolicking fever. There’s an incomparable magical twinge that twinkles from the very core of Doune. For the next three days, I found myself in another world of wonder, laughter and musical wonder. The Friday acts kicked off around 4pm, with no less than six stages to choose from as well as the brain feeding ‘Douniversity’ there was a lot to discover.
After waiting for the late arrival of Lee Scratch Perry, which put a mild dampener on my hyped-up self, we decided to go explore and see what else the festival had to offer. Over at Baino, Paws were just kicking up with their solid power chord sound. Glasgow based three-piece bring an emotionally charged set that is fuelled by experiences of loss and relationship turmoil. They offer soul diving sounds that raise the hairs on the back of your neck.
Hot 8 Brass band were next up on my hit list for the pure sheer love of that big tuba sound. Hailing all the way from New Orleans, the 20 year long standing musical outfit bring you funky covers of your old favourites. Booming out happiness through every valve. Their reputation fully precedes them, and despite the rain, people still came out dancing. Heading back to Baino, Skerryvore saw us into the night with their distinctly Scottish folk sound. Long ago (in 2005) on the far-off island of Tiree, the quartet had a vision of spreading folk love across the world. They have now managed to play in over 25 countries and are still bringing the goods. In every Scottish person’s body, there is a blood that runs tartan and this performance from Skerryvore painted mine shortbread tin red. It was a raucous rendition of their well-known, high energy sound. Setting high standards for the days to come.
Worried that the festival might have peaked too soon, I set about scoping my line-up for the Saturday. With the skies clearing up and the shorts coming out, I headed for an afternoon session with Tom McGuire and the Brassholes. If you haven’t had the full eclectic, modern funk and soul experience yet, you need to get yourself plugged into this band’s jams. Glasgow based and full of colour, these guys don’t like to take life too seriously and are full of the perfect level of bizarre needed to fill your festival boots. Their flare brought a vibrancy to my Saturday afternoon like I’ve never experience before and set me off in good spirits for the rest of my Saturday.
For those of you who have bairns or doggy bairns, the festival provides ample entertainment for young humans and furry friends alike. There were a range of kid’s activities as well as spaces to play and chill dotted all over the field. The ‘Douneiversity’ tent also provided an alternative to all the partying. This was a brand-new addition to the festival this year bringing you learned array of talks covering everything from the benefits of music for dogs to Vikings through the lens of queer-theory.
Back on the Bandersnatch stage, Heir of the Cursed was making waves into the early evening. The mellow sounding solo act gives off strongly voiced vibes with so many key messages in every lyrical line. Her stringed chord progressions had me hanging on every word. It was a beautiful journey chilling truths and subtle tones. Also, featuring on my Saturday list were DJ Scratch and Sniff. I have to confess, this was a slightly bias decision on the basis that I met the girls at the box off on the way in and the informed me that they would be giving out home-baked cookies as part of their set. Sugar bribes aside, this Edinburgh based outfit bring dance music to life through a truly multi-sensory experience. The perfect way to funk on through the night.
Sadly, my festival journey had to end on the Sunday morning to head back home for some more Discovery related business. But it was a sad goodbye to such a fun-filled experience. Not only that but Doune really gives you a sense of community that isn’t always there at bigger more mainstream festivals. If you’re into something a little more low key, and ever so sparkly I can’t recommend getting yourself set for future Doune experiences.
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