Schedule changes do little to disturb Saturday night success at MacMoray Festival
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LAST-MINUTE schedule changes to little to alter the success of MacMoray Festival’s Saturday night.
Pop-rock group The Hoosiers brought their funky riffs to the stage at 5pm. The duo, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Irwin Sparkes and Alan Sharland on drums, played much of their 2000s classics such as ‘Goodbye Mr A’ and ‘Worried About Ray’.
They also mixed up their setlist with a spicy rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’.
Irwin said: “It is funny, you don’t know what you’re going to get but the crowd was wonderful. It’s just a big stage and a big group of people!”
This is not the first time The Hoosiers have been to Scotland.
Irwin added: “We played Inverness in the Ironworks – it's closed now, we killed it! Now we are killing festivals.”
The group were intrigued by the concept of a white pudding supper, but it is unconfirmed whether they sampled the Moray staple or not.
After The Hoosiers, the announcement was made that DJ Sammy’s flight was cancelled and he was unable to make his schueduled timeslot.
However, with some last-minute flight bookings, DJ Sammy was booked onto another flight and Nashville country-rockstar, Drew Dixon, filled in.
Despite having not slept since Thursday night, Drew was “honoured” to have been asked to return to the main stage.
He said: “I was sitting at Amsterdam airport on a five-hour layover when I got the message asking to move the set up a bit.
“I was honoured they asked us to be honest. I was glad that the flights lined up and the band were able to get in on time.”
It was Drew Dixon’s third time at MacMoray and he has a deep appreciation for the festival and the people involved.
Drew said: “Everyone here is the best, even the people who were working the bar in the first year we played still keep in contact with me.
“It’s not just a business thing, it’s personal. We know each other and want each other to succeed.
“It’s amazing to support something that one of your friends is doing.”
At the end of Saturday, Blue hyped the crowd up before DJ Sammy arrived to finish the show.
Performing hits such as ’Heaven’, the crowd were electric, and the festival’s first day ended on a high note.
