Free family music festival in Stornoway

The best, free, family festival on Lewis is set to take place in Stornoway this coming weekend and organisers are looking forward to the culmination of months of hard work.

Stramash has been a popular community event since 2012 and the volunteer group behind it promises another year of fantastic local performers and bands, along with two mainland guest acts, fun for the family and much more.

The event is free to all and is dedicated to supporting local talent.

Taking place on Willowglen Green (the former Willowglen pitch) , the Stramash showcase kicks off on Friday night, featuring some of the islands most talented local musicians; Neosa and band, Big Wheels, Finloi, Seeforth, Andrew Eaton Lewis and Doctor Moon.

Saturday’s matinee is a family-focussed afternoon of brilliant local bands, bouncy castle fun, candy floss and a free goodie bag for the first 150 children to come through the gates.

The matinee line up of local acts are Trouble Is, Riff Raff, Calum Blane, and Miss Irenie Rose. Isla Scott and Alt are also performing.

Alannah Louge will play from 1pm on Saturday before switching into the evening with a DJ set from Logue Sounds between 5 and 6pm.

The festival ends on a high on Saturday night with the Stramash Rocks line-up of local bands headlined by rock band, Twister and high-energy rock pop band, The Hot Damn! who promise to bring their own brand of colourful chaos to the Iain Crawford Rocks Stage.

Also on stage will be Sarah Macaskill and band, as well as One Big Fuse.

On offer again this year are free goody bags and juice for the kids, free candy floss, complimentary tea and biscuits for the adults, free bouncy castles all afternoon.

In addition, free hot food will be available between 1 and 4pm on Saturday.

Community wind farm Point and Sandwick Trust are among the sponsors of the annual festival having signed a five-year package of £7,000 to the organisers in 2019.

Stramash chairman Paul Matheson said: “From travel and transportation for performers and equipment to equipment servicing and event insurance there are plenty of costs associated with putting the festival on each year and regular donations from our supporters make it possible to run Stramash smoothly and safely while staying true to our focus on promoting local artists and bringing a family-friendly rock festival with a difference to Stornoway. Thanks PST for your continued support.”

DJ MacSween from Point and Sandwick Trust commented: “We are always very happy to support people and organisations that have a strong vision and Paul and the team behind Stramash have exactly that.

“They’ve worked so hard to build a festival here on Lewis that really elevates our local acts and adds a rocking event to the calendar for people of all ages. We support them because of the fantastic work they do to bring the community together and look forward to another successful year.”

While volunteers for setting up the festival are always welcome, this year the staff and students from Macaulay College will also be lending a hand setup, running and strip down of the event.

Paul Matheson said: “We always involve the students in as many of the tasks as we can so that they can learn new skills and we ensure that they know that their efforts are well appreciated. Then they can enjoy the event.”

Anyone needing any extra access or assistance should message via the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stramashfestival to ensure that the festival experience is enjoyable, easy and comfortable.

Free family music festival in Stornoway

28 August 2023