BY DANIEL CULLEN
A new alternative music festival on Skye has been described as a “roaring success” after drawing crowds from across Scotland, the UK and beyond to Kyleakin Hall last weekend.
Dùn Rùin Festival – a two-day metalcore event organised by Layla Sawford – welcomed around 200 attendees each night on Friday and Saturday, with festival-goers travelling from places including Aberdeen, Cardiff, Cambridge and even Los Angeles to attend.
The event featured eight bands from across the UK alongside DJs, a metal quiz and (what organisers believe to have been) Skye’s first-ever ‘Metal Cèilidh’.
Among those performing were Gun Ghaol, the world’s first Gaelic metalcore band, and Switch Angel, a live coding DJ who travelled from Boston, Massachusetts to appear at the festival.
While the event brought a heavier musical genre to Skye, the atmosphere across the weekend was notably welcoming and family-friendly.
The Free Press spoke to Layla Sawford to find out more about the festival.
“It was incredible to see babies settled in their prams with ear defenders on while their parents enjoyed the music and older children bopped about,” Layla said, “people sometimes have a view of metal fans as rowdy and aggressive, but that really couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Alongside visitors from further afield, many locals also attended across the weekend to experience the festival’s mix of live music and community atmosphere.
Sarah Loader, a paramedic from Borve who volunteered behind the bar, said: “The atmosphere was immense. I don’t even like metal music, but I’m actually considering listening to metal now.”
She added: “The bands were so talented and they were genuinely the friendliest bunch of people I have ever met. The weekend was just utterly incredible.”
Festival-goers praised both the line-up and the setting, with several attendees calling for the event to become a permanent fixture on Skye’s cultural calendar.
Layla said feedback from performers had highlighted the lack of similar events across Scotland.
“A lot of the Scottish bands spoke about how much we lack events like this in Scotland, and how much we need spaces that bring bands together,” she explained.
“I just feel incredibly lucky to have been in a position to create something where folk could come together, connect with like-minded people and have a really nice time. That’s all I wanted Dùn Rùin to be about.
“It’s more about real, tangible connection than anything else.”
She also stressed that the success of the weekend had relied on a large number of volunteers and supporters.
“This event wouldn’t have been possible without the volunteers, caterers, the Dùn Rùin crew, supportive locals, the hall committee and everybody who backed the idea from the very beginning,” she said.
“We were blown away by the response and by all the lovely folk who came along and made the festival far more successful than I ever imagined.”
Organisers are now encouraging attendees to share photographs, videos and feedback via the festival’s website and social media pages.
More information available at Dùn Rùin Festival on Facebook.
