Tunes By the Dunes set to attract 1200 music fans to Dunnet this weekend

Music fans from across the UK and beyond are set to descend on Dunnet this weekend for the second Tunes By the Dunes festival.

All 1200 tickets have been snapped up for the two-day event being run by North Coast Entertainments and local camp sites are reported to be fully booked.

Tide Lines, Skerryvore, Peat and Diesel and Rhythmnreel are among the 11 acts performing in a large marquee at Ham Park.

The first Tunes By the Dunes went ahead in 2019 but the pandemic meant it couldn't take place in 2020 or 2021. Now the organisers are determined to make up for lost time.

“We're all geared up, everything is in place and the tickets are all sold,” event co-ordinator Iain Mackay said.

“I would say the majority of people are coming from outwith the county. There are people from all over the UK, we've got a party coming from Sweden and people coming from the Netherlands as well.

"It seems to have really grabbed the attention of people.

“It's a very strong line-up that we have as well. The genre is traditional and Celtic – it seems to be really popular."

Iain pointed out that the event will bring spin-offs for businesses in the area.

“It must be great for the local economy," he said. "Both the Dunnet camp sites are fully booked.

"A lot of these 1200 people are travelling from outwith the county and outwith the Highlands, so accommodation has got to be benefiting from it, even right down to the transport.

“I think we've probably got every coach that's available in the county booked for this weekend.”

Whisky, Hò-rò, Trail West and Skerryvore are on the bill for Friday evening. Saturday's performances start in the early afternoon with the Brandon McPhee Band and they will be followed by Calum Jones, The Chair, Beinn Lee, Rhythmnreel and Peat and Diesel before Tide Lines bring the festival to a close.

"It's a really busy programme," Iain said. "We've got four bands on Friday night, topped off by Skerryvore – they'll be headlining.

“They're just back from a tour of America. They're doing a few shows here and then they're back to America in September to tour, so we are really lucky to get them.

"We start off on Saturday with our own Brandon McPhee – we're delighted to have him opening the show – and it'll be closed by Tide Lines on Saturday evening.

"In between we've got The Chair, from Orkney, who seem to be very popular as well, and of course Peat and Diesel will certainly have the place bouncing."

Details of the line-up of bands are on the festival website, www.tunesbythedunes.co.uk

“As a festival it is very much in its infancy," Iain said. "This is just our second go at it, but what we're looking to do as time goes on is to develop it and change it and make it an even bigger attraction.

“I'm a small part of a huge team. It's a great team effort and we've had support from the wider community as well."

A finishing time of 11pm will be observed on both nights.

Ian added: "Obviously we respect the people within the village so there won't be any issues there at all. It is well stewarded.

"We've had to go through all this to obtain our entertainment licence. We'll make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible."

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