STAY FRESH Music Festival has smashed its fundraising record once again, raising an incredible £10,500 for charity after taking over Dunoon’s Queens Hall on Saturday.
The eighth instalment of the home-grown festival transformed the venue with a colourful Day of the Dead theme as a packed line-up of musicians took to the stage in support of good causes.
This year’s total takes the amount raised by Stay Fresh since the festival was launched in 2018 to an impressive £55k.
Living up to its motto of Local bands for local charities, the event once again showcased some of the musical talent Dunoon and the surrounding area has to offer, with almost every act on the bill coming from the local area.
ROK made their Stay Fresh debut to open proceedings, bringing together an accomplished collective of musicians for a set featuring predominantly original material.
Another newcomer to the festival, Robbie McTaggart, kept the entertainment flowing on the acoustic stage between the main bands with a crowd-pleasing set.
Liam Somerville and The Streetlight Band followed, mixing new original material with established favourites, including songs which had never previously been performed by the full band.
Female-fronted Skelp were next to make their Stay Fresh debut, combining original songs with covers given the band’s own distinctive twist.
Festival favourites TOAST then turned up the tempo with their floor-filling mix of tunes and mash-ups before organisers SOAP swapped their behind-the-scenes duties for the stage, delivering themed covers and mash-ups which kept the Queens Hall crowd singing and dancing.
The Stay Fresh supergroup brought proceedings to a close with a set packed with familiar favourites and a full-volume singalong from the audience.
With the exception of Robbie McTaggart, every band performing during the evening was local, while all of the musicians donated their time free of charge to support the festival and its charities.
This year’s beneficiaries are Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance, Blood Cancer UK (Dunoon), Castle House Museum and Pumpkin and Friends.
Money will also be allocated to the Stay Fresh youth group fund following applications made earlier in the year.
Organisers said the £10,500 total represented another major success for an event which relies heavily on support from the wider Dunoon community.
They said: Our community is a huge part of why we do this and how we can come back every year and deliver an event that’s better and better.
Without the support of our community we wouldn’t be what we are.
Particular thanks were given to the local businesses and organisations whose sponsorship helped make the festival possible, along with the large team of volunteers who staffed stalls and ticketing, acted as floor marshals and helped organise the tombola and raffle.
The team looking after the festival’s sponsors area was also thanked, along with sound and lighting crew Duncan and Graeme, who organisers said literally bring the stage to life.
Live Argyll staff at the Queens Hall were also praised for their contribution to the event.
Behind the scenes, organisers said putting together an event on the scale of Stay Fresh involved almost a full year of work by a relatively small team, and paid tribute to their friends and families for supporting them throughout the planning process.
Summing up another record-breaking year, organisers added: This one was such a win for us, but it’s a win for the whole of Dunoon!
Attention will now turn to Stay Fresh Music Festival 2027, with organisers promising further details through the festival’s website and social media channels.
