

But the buzz of joy from her performance was unmistakeable.Īnd Emeli from Alford was just one example of all the talent on show of many strong women from near and far the festival had found to showcase this year. That power some people seemed to think was pushing her voice further than it wanted to go. Her current love of life – she mentioned her partner was with her – enhanced the sense of freedom and power in her strong vocal with oceans of emotion in tracks like her opener It Hurts. Thursday night’s main act EMELI SANDE divided people. One of the favourite of all debates starts once all the headliners have presented their main stage sets. On all these things, everyone will have their different opinions. The new open-air Hot House stage, the scaling-down of Mother’s Ruin's schedule, the shifting of the Verb Garden to the Walled Garden area, the creation of the Moose Hollow area by uniting the Potting Shed and Trailer Trash stages – the apparent disappearance of the big pulsing heart at the top of the main stage steps (or did I just miss it, maybe?).


You gradually took in the tweaks and alterations, as the familiar scent of cut grass hit your nostrils. Maybe a bit like Sleeping Beauty’s courtiers waking up to a slightly altered world, a lot of us ventured on-site on Thursday to find the changes time had brought. And there had been the online Belladrum, which was a great consolation – bands, including Rhythmnreel, had filmed songs onsite, which were bittersweet to watch at the time, when we were also living through the uncertainty of whether there would ever be a Belladrum again. And the absence left nothing to talk about in the many Bella-heavy exit discussions that usually last well into the autumn, the checking out of tracks and albums by your new favourite musicians, the booking of dates they will play and you will see for the rest of the year and beyond.įacebook revealed a few people went ahead and held their own mini-Bellas in their back gardens. Once we knew Covid had robbed us twice, the wait seemed endless. It was good to see that was still so alive after two Bella-less years of hard times for everyone when the Italian garden was just a beautiful garden for two long summers – nothing to look forward to. The Honey Monster, gets close to the stars. There was so much ingenuity and skill walking past for three days – all just to have a bit of fun. Unicorns arrived on stilts or in blow-up pairs, two-woman Nessies walked the fields.Įven what looked like the Honey Monster ( see below) – that costume must have been hot! – was raising his golden furry head in the Garden Stage arena. Fearn Jackson and Aimee Gray with Emma Robbie Picture: James Mackenzie Winged beasts rubbed feathered shoulders with Viking gods. This year’s Belladrum got everyone to think big and get imaginations working on the theme of myths and legends. It just joins all the opinions, discoveries and surprises that have been out there since the festival started up in 2004 after Joe Gibbs dreamed a dream – and look what he did?Īlready part of the Belladrum legend, Colonel Mustard (John McAlinden) & The Dijon 5 were back to deliver peace, love – and mustard. It’s got 25,000 voices now and though the following year’s one replaces it, it never really stops. Every year at Belladrum, a new conversation starts up.
