Edge Fest: Scottish singer reveals Borders town that got him in trouble with his gran
Last updated 2nd Sep 2024
Scottish chart-topper Callum Beattie is praising the Borders crowd after performing at the region's biggest music festival for a second year in a row.
The Salamander Street star was accompanied by local lass Eryn Rae on the fiddle ahead of UB40's headline performance at Edge Fest last night (Sunday).
He told Greatest Hits Radio: "It wasn't the best of weather today, but it didn't put them off at all; they were superb.
"I'm absolutely just grateful for them turning up and showing us so much support, because there are so many great bands playing."
Around 8,000 people from both sides of the Scotland-England border packed into Lilliardsedge Holiday Park, near Jedburgh, over the weekend to watch performances from the likes of McFly, the Lightning Seeds, and Scouting for Girls.
While visitors enjoyed glorious sunshine on the opening day, the heavens opened as revellers made their way home on Sunday night.
"It's just nice to come down to the Borders," Beattie admitted, revealing his local links. "I have some family in Hawick, I used to (pronounce it - Hawick - wrong} and my granny used to give me a row."
But he added: "Delighted to be back. To be honest, I'd play it every year if I got asked."
A decision's expected before the end of the month on whether Edge Fest will return to the Borders for a third year.
Eryn, who hails from Lanton and has played the fiddle since the age of seven, praised the event organisers for putting on another show.
"It's so fab," she said. "We did it last year as well. I think we were on Saturday last year. It's probably one of our favourite gigs each year; the energy is just totally different here."
Speaking ahead of the event, organiser Stuart Macdonald said: "None of us can quite believe we're here again; it doesn't feel like a year since the last time. But we're all really excited for what's to come!
"It was a great weekend last year, everybody really enjoyed it. It was obviously something new to the area, so we're hoping to be able to repeat that with something a little bit bigger this year.
"We spend almost the full year planning the event, it's pretty full on; and we've spent the last ten days building the site.
"Our main drive is we want to bring something to the area. Everyone travels to the likes of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Newcastle for these kind of shows, and we just wanted to bring something into the Borders so people weren't having to travel as far for it."
And he added: "Quite a few (of the performers) are staying in local hotels, so it's nice for them as well to get someone exciting coming through the door."
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