The two-day Music at the Multiverse festival took place at Crawick Multiverse on the 2 nd and 3 rd September. Thanks to a record crowd, amazing performances and a sizzling hot weekend of sunshine in Dumfries and Galloway, this family-friendly festival has left event organisers, visitors, locals and headliners buzzing with excitement about the potential of Crawick Multiverse; one of Scotland’s most spectacular outdoor visitor attractions and festival venues.
The 55-acre environmental artland set between Kirkconnel and Sanquhar on the Dumfries and Galloway and Ayrshire border, was transformed into a lively festival site for the weekend, but from day-to-day, the former open-cast coal mine, is a popular artland and visitor attraction and is the perfect picnic and dog-walking spot for visitors and locals.
Just under 2,000 people attended the local independent festival over the weekend, almost double 2022 attendance, with both an increase in local support as well as visitors travelling further afield from areas such as Ayrshire, Carlisle, Fife, Glasgow, Nottingham and Southampton.
Headline acts attracted a record audience to the 2023 festival and included feel-good festival favourites Scouting for Girls; multi-award winning Celtic trad-rockers Skerryvore; Glasgow-based indie rock band Shambolics; and Scottish rock legends Big Country who entertained the crowds from the Main Stage at the Sun Amphitheatre.
Meanwhile, the Big Top Dance Tent hosted performances from Ultrabeat and N-Trance and were supported by Team GBX – Michael Smith, Cassi and Macca, Stevie Lennon, Joe Deacon and MC Rowlands.
Local DJ Malcolm X from Kelloholm also returned to entertain the crowds and was joined by other local performers including; The Dangleberries, Mary Barclay Band, Big Time Louie and Pedro and the Pirates.
The Crawick audience were also entertained by up-and-coming Glasgow five-piece band Rodeo Club.
Now in its third year, the festival has well and truly established itself within the Scottish music scene and has put Crawick Multiverse on the map for outdoor festivals and events.
Roy Stride from headline act Scouting for Girls was taken by the whole experience and the stunning views of the Upper Nithsdale Valley. He took to Instagram during his visit to show off the venue to his followers where he described the site as “the maddest festival site of all time”. He added: “I’m at the maddest festival site in the world…this is the view…”. During their performance, Roy also left the stage to lead a giant conga around the Multiverse.
Festival-goers who were fortunate enough to reserve a spot for their motorhomes were more than delighted with the views, peace, tranquillity and open space they enjoyed while staying over at Crawick Multiverse, and, of course, with the sunshine and the buzz of the festival during the day too.
Festival organiser Sharon Glendinning, General Manager at Crawick Multiverse said: “What a fantastic weekend we had here at Crawick Multiverse. Top-class artists, a fun, friendly and lively crowd, a stunning site and brilliant sunshine really did result in a wonderful festival. The atmosphere was great and to have doubled our ticket sales year-on-year has exceeded our expectations. We are only in year three, and we have some lessons to learn, but we are proud to have delivered a safe family-friendly festival experience and to have had the support of local residents, businesses and the media has been greatly appreciated. We hope the success of this weekend will help inspire future events and festivals and encourage more day visitors and locals to make good use of the amazing outdoor space we have on our doorstep. Thank you to everyone who came along and supported us and a huge thank you to our staff team, contractors, local suppliers, event and media partners and our sponsors and funders – we couldn’t have done this without you!”
The Crawick Multiverse Trust would like to thank The Globe Inn, David Hardie Engineering Ltd (Community Sponsor), The Holywood Trust (Youth Development Sponsor), Shaw Contract EMEA, Lloyd Ltd, J & J Currie Ltd, McGowan Miller Construction Consultants, Asher Associates Ltd, Genesis OHS Ltd and Alba Printers Ltd for generously sponsoring Music at the Multiverse 2023. The Trust also gratefully acknowledges the funding contribution received from Dumfries and Galloway Council Major Events Fund 2023/24.
Thanks to sponsorship received from David Hardie Engineering Ltd (Community Sponsor) and The Holywood Trust (Youth Development Sponsor); and working in partnership with Action for Children, Upper Nithsdale Family Service and Upper Nithsdale RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association), we were also able to invite four local families and a group of young RDA volunteers to enjoy the festival experience too.
For anyone who would like to visit Crawick Multiverse, the site is open to the public 7 days a week. Day and family tickets and annual memberships can be purchased online. Group visits are also welcome. Crawick Multiverse has also recently opened an aire for motorhome and live-in vehicle stopovers, To find out more or to sign-up for the latest news and details of future events at Crawick Multiverse visit www.crawickmultiverse.co.uk.
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