Doune the Rabbit Hole celebrated a triumphant return this weekend, as 10,000 ticket holders flooded through the gates at Cardross Estate to enjoy a weekend full of music, dancing and family fun.
The highly-anticipated event delighted attendees with an incredible line-up of more than 200 Scottish and international acts, 100s of workshops, talks, and family-friendly activities across a stunning weekend of sunshine in the beautiful Stirlingshire countryside.
The festival’s main stage, the Jabberwocky, saw spell-binding headline sets from the legendary Patti Smith, as well as Scotland’s own Amy Macdonald, Belle & Sebastian and Teenage Fanclub, with Amy expressing her delight at playing a festival which featured two female headliners, amongst its four headline acts.
This year’s festival saw the addition of the Còmhla stage, funded by Creative Scotland, which saw attendees blown away by the stage’s incredible audio-visual experience during performances from the likes of 808 State, Niteworks,Peatbog Faeries and Sleaford Mods. Contributing to the Còmhla experience was the unique Danley Sound Labs speaker system with its patented technology sounding fantastic and contributing to the festival’s sustainability goals through its reduced power consumption.
Danley Sound Labs speakers could also be found on the Baino’s Tolbooth Stage, funded by Event Scotland and curated together with Stirling’s own Tolbooth venue. Stand-out performances from the stage included Yard Act, Elephant Sessions, The Rezillos and Boney M. who treated a capacity crowd to a hit-packed set on Sunday evening.
Elsewhere at the festival saw performances on the Whistleblower from Baccara, with their Scottish football anthem ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’ going down a treat, Stanley Odd and Tim Burgess. The Warren Dance Area saw Scottish DJsArielle Free, Eclair Fifi & Bonzai Bonner whip the crowds into a frenzy. While for those after a slower pace the Bandersnatch provided some of the finest from across the folk music spectrum, including The Mary Wallopers, Rachel Sermanni & John Francis Flynn.
Crowds were also treated to exceptional food throughout the festival, with award-winning boutique independent and affordable vendors curated by The Pitt Street Food Market, including Barnacles & Bones, Shawarmarama, Pizza Geeks and Rost.
Doune the Rabbit Hole Festival Director Jamie Murray said: “After two years of plans put on hold due to the pandemic, it felt incredible to see and experience the success of this year’s Doune.
“The artists were outstanding and the crowds were absolutely loving it, but it’s not just the music that makes Doune so special. We pride ourselves on being an all-inclusive, family-friendly space for everyone, with wellness activities, comedy events, workshops and talks. It was amazing to see so many people of all ages flocking through the gates and getting involved with every aspect of the festival.
“We’d like to thank the local community for their incredible support this year too. It was a long wait for the return of Doune the Rabbit Hole, but it was definitely worth it. Roll on next year!”
Scotland’s biggest independent festival returned bigger and better than ever after pandemic-related postponements in 2020 and 2021. The event provided a weekend of relaxed, family-friendly fun for festival goers. The number of stages across the site nearly doubled from five in 2019 to nine in 2022, with more than 100 additional acts on the bill in comparison to the last time the festival took place.
In addition to this, festival-goers enjoyed 100s of workshops, educational talks, comedy shows, and yoga activities, alongside jam sessions and pop-up performances.
Follow these topics: News, Newsletter