ADVENTUROUS, welcoming to all ages and not afraid to be political, Doune The Rabbit Hole is a gem on Scotland’s festival scene and organisers pride themselves on creating an atmosphere just as good as higher calibre live music events.

This year, the festival celebrates its 10th birthday by upping capacity, adding a wellbeing strand to its growing list of activities and introducing the Douniversity, a space for discussion on everything from Alzheimer’s to gravitational waves.

More speakers will be added to the Douniversity’s bill in the coming days, says Jamie Murray, who co-founded the festival back in 2010, when it was originally held near to the titular village.

He says to expect the announcement of more speakers related to the independence movement in the coming days, in addition to the likes of Robin McAlpine and Cat Boyd.

READ MORE: Doune The Rabbit Hole: our must-see picks from this year's festival

Having moved to a site near the Lake of Mentieth due to the “Outlander effect” in Doune, the festival’s music lineups are known for mixing the most exciting outfits in Scotland’s DIY scene with bigger names and international guests not often seen at other festivals here.

Last year featured The Orb, Dreadzone and Levellers, favourites of the festival scene since the heady days of rave, alongside Glasgow experimentalists Banana Oil and ear-splitting Berliners Atari Teenage Riot.

2019 looks like the best Doune yet, with Sister Sledge, The Damned, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Hawkwind, The Wailers – genuine legends all – being joined by the likes of Battles, Skerryvore, John Grant, Blanck Mass and Kathryn Joseph.

The National:

“It has taken time, energy and effort but we’re really proud with what we can put on the poster,” says Murray.

On the colourfully illustrated schedule, Steve Ignorant of anarcho-punks Crass is next to playful funkmen Tom McGuire and The Brassholes. Mono, a revered avant-garde outfit from Japan, is next to mainstream trad pop princes Skerryvore.

“It’s important to remember that serious music fans who like people like Battles and John Grant also want to let their hair down and have some fun to The Wailers and Sister Sledge,” says Murray with a laugh. “I think it’s easy to forget that there’s sometimes a stuffiness to music fandom, and festivals are a great opportunity to put that to one side, and that’s what we’re trying to do with the lineup. Really innovative modern music can go together with older, danceable festival music.”

The festival depends on the efforts of volunteers from the local area and further afield. Of the 300 people helping to set up, steward and dismantle Doune are Dutch people who initially confused it with Down The Rabbit Hole, a relatively new festival held in Beuningen in the Netherlands.

“They said they wanted to come here instead to help us,” says Murray. “That we had a better lineup.”

With Electric Fields having ceased trading earlier this week following its decision to move to Glasgow’s SWG3, times for festivals never seem easy. Nevertheless, Doune have increased capacity this year from a modest 3500 to around 5000 in response to the strength of that winning lineup, triggering the increased involvement of the local council.

A refreshing change from the restraints and regulations often hampering live music elsewhere, Stirling Council were “a dream to work with”, says Murray.

Perhaps a few of the local reps will get along to Doune, even for a day. Programmed in partnership with Glasgow-based gig promoters 432 Presents, each of the three days is a draw in itself.

“It’s very important to craft each day of the festival, so that we give our day-ticket holders a proper taste of Doune,” Murray says. “This way they are less likely to drop in and drop out, or come for just a specific band. Instead, it’s a real day out where they take part in that mini community that forms at Doune. Hopefully they’ll decide to stay the whole weekend next year.”

July 19 to 21, Lake of Mentieth, Cardross Estate, Stirling, weekend tickets £105, £80 ages 12-18, under-12s free, day tickets £35 and £50, £15 and £20 ages 12-18, under-12s free.

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