Cultivate will bring some of the most popular acts in electronic music – including Denis Sulta, Ewan McVicar and The Blessed Madonna – to Aberdeen this weekend.
The festival, which first took place in 2018 and returned to Aberdeen in 2021, is organised by Rory Masson who runs RARE Club at The Tunnels and Scott Forrest who is behind Let It Bleed at Unit 51.
“We’ve been working on this festival for eight months, so it’s been long time coming,” said Rory.
“The acts that we’ve got are some of the biggest DJs in the world – it’s amazing we’re able to bring them to Aberdeen.
“The biggest name just now is Ewan McVicar. He had a number one song – Tell Me Something Good – when it came out last summer.
“He was warming up for the other acts during the September festival and only eight months later, he’s playing the headline slot on Saturday.
“He’s going to be the biggest act there, alongside Denis Sulta who’s been going for a lot longer than him.”
Strong line-up and unique venue
Glasgow-based producer and DJ Denis Sulta, who is known for his meticulous and diverse approach to dance music, will play the main stage from 7pm to 9pm on Saturday.
“Skream (an early and influential exponent of the dubstep genre) has been added to the line-up,” said Rory.
“He’s a really massive DJ.
“We’ll also have some up-and-comers. One of them is Sarah Story who took over from Annie Mac as the Friday night dance DJ (on Radio 1’s Future Dance).”
Barry Can’t Swim, Dance System, Ross From Friends and many more will also take to the Cultivate stage this weekend.
Rory previously told us that finding a right-sized venue in Aberdeen was quite difficult, but he’s excited to once again host the festival at the inflatable theme park Innoflate on Beach Esplanade.
“It’s quite a big process to get the venue ready,” said the festival organiser.
“They had to close for a full week for the event to go ahead. They spent the day rolling everything up, putting it away and clearing the upstairs. The axe throwing cages upstairs will be turned into cages for dancers – we’re making do with what’s there.”
There will also be four bars in the venue.
Cultivate to provide boost for Aberdeen economy
In addition to enriching Aberdeen’s music scene, Rory is certain Cultivate will also support the local economy.
He said: “People will be travelling from all over the UK and even Europe to come to Aberdeen. Most people are from Aberdeen, but a lot of them are also from Inverness, Glasgow, Edinburgh, English towns and there are also people coming from Italy.
“It’s a weekend festival so they’ll be staying in hotels and going to bars and restaurants in the city. They’ll all be benefiting from Cultivate festival being here and injecting 3,000 – 4,000 people into the city.
“We think it’s great for the city and we plan to host the festival twice a year.”
How to book tickets for Aberdeen festival Cultivate
Cultivate will take place from Saturday May 14 to Sunday May 15 at Innoflate. A limited number of tickets is still available. Click here if you wish to book tickets.
Rory revealed the next Cultivate festival will take place from Saturday September 24 to Sunday September 25. The line-up will be revealed in the coming months.
