Aberdeen’s award-winning True North music festival has been hailed a success by organisers after 65 acts played across eight venues over four days.
“We set out to celebrate the re-opening of our venues, the return of live events and the life it can breathe into the city and from the reaction from our audiences, artists and staff we certainly achieved that!” said Ben Torrie, director of programming and creative projects for Aberdeen Performing Arts.
“As the first large music festival held in Aberdeen since the pandemic, we saw this is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate what the Aberdeen music scene has to offer, and also the ability of the city to draw amazing talent from across the UK and worldwide to perform for our audiences.”
Celebration of the music of Stevie Wonder
True North wrapped up on Sunday night with a celebration of the music of Stevie Wonder from Grammy award-winning superstar Corinne Bailey Rae along with a host of musicians and singers at the Music Hall.
It was a fitting end to the festival, which started on Thursday and boasted highlights such as American singer-songwriter John Grant, Aberdeen’s own Ransom FA and the soulful, eclectic Ayanna Witter-Johnson.
A special spoken word event led by award-winning poet Jo Gilbert focussed on the festival’s theme of Rise Up, and Fringe events staged by APA entertained throughout the city centre.
Festival atmosphere in the Granite City
Ben said the festival had been an amazing weekend of live events, enjoyed by audiences drawn to venues including the Music Hall, Lemon Tree as well as fringe events in the likes of Siberia and Union Café.
He said: “True North has always been about giving a platform to new talent and celebrating those who inspire the artists of the future, and with our Rise Up theme this year we are celebrating freedom of expression, diversity and community, and the power of music to really drive these things forward.”
