Welcome to Scotland’s festival city – and I don’t mean Edinburgh.
Sure, the capital’s cultural jamboree that is the Fringe and official festival are the big tickets for audiences, both home and abroad, when they spring into life in August.
But, Aberdeen is quietly and confidently carving out its own niche in the arts world through the absolute plethora of festivals – old and new – that are now taking pride of place on our calendar.
This week, we saw the curtain going up on three festivals coming to the Granite City in September.
The brand new Wonderland looks like it will be a belter, taking art to the streets and to the people – and all for free.
Not only that, True North – one of Scotland’s best music festivals – is heading back, with none other than Mica Paris curating a night honouring Aretha Franklin as a centrepiece. I’ll have some of that, thanks.
And these two showcases – courtesy of Aberdeen Performing Arts – have a new venue as a pivot. I can’t wait to see what the Wonder Hoose, popping up in Marischal College’s Quad, is all about, what with its own dedicated programme of music, performance and family events.
As if that wasn’t enough, here comes WayWORD, the University of Aberdeen’s youth-led festival that will see big hitters like Booker Prize-winning author Douglas Stuart (of Shuggie Bain fame) taking part.
And all of that is just for September.
A festival for every month of the year
It seems we have a festival almost every month of the year now: the Aberdeen International Comedy Festival in October, the Christmas Village in December, Granite Noir in February along with Spectra, the jazz festival in March, TechFest in May, Nuart in June. The list goes on.
All of this gladdens my soul for one simple reason: arts and culture can, should and must be one of the primary driving forces for the future of Aberdeen.
The cultural engine is revving up once more and – hopefully – will be going full throttle again soon
It was all gaining so much traction a couple of years back, with the revamping of the Art Gallery and Music Hall, and the work on Union Terrace Gardens creating a proto-cultural quarter. All those festivals were fuelling that drive, too.
Then, the pandemic arrived and simply stopped all of that in its tracks. I had a real fear that all of that work, all of that positivity and vision, would be lost to us, never to return.
But, now, the cultural engine is revving up once more and – hopefully – will be going full throttle again soon. It’s a big, beautiful machine, and a powerful one, at that.
Art can enrich and transform our lives. It can make the place we live so much better, so much more attractive. It can also transform the fortunes of a city that is looking for a brighter future in a post-oil world. Just ask Edinburgh what its festivals bring to the party.
We all need to support this drive – spearheaded by Aberdeen Performing Arts, Aberdeen Inspired and the city council – because it truly is putting our future centre stage.
I hope that, in years to come, I can write: “Welcome to Scotland’s festival city. And I do mean Aberdeen.”
Scott Begbie is entertainment editor for The Press & Journal and Evening Express
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