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WATCH: videos and pictures from Speyfest festival


By Chris Saunderson

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TAKE a bow Speyfest!

Ian Grigor, Ashleigh MacGregor and James MacGregor - part of the quintet for 'Colin Campbell and Friends'...Speyfest 2022, as the Fochabers-based music festival celebrate their 25th anniversary. ..Picture: Daniel Forsyth..
Ian Grigor, Ashleigh MacGregor and James MacGregor - part of the quintet for 'Colin Campbell and Friends'...Speyfest 2022, as the Fochabers-based music festival celebrate their 25th anniversary. ..Picture: Daniel Forsyth..

The 25th anniversary festival in Fochabers was fantastic – there's no other way to describe it.

Forced to wait since 2019 to celebrate its milestone event, it certainly did not disappoint those who made a beeline for Fochabers.

More than 4000 people over the course of the three days attended the festival's concerts and stomps – outstanding and a huge reward for the hard work of the organising committee led by Ashleigh MacGregor.

Speyfest is a relatively small festival with a big heart and ambitions to match.

It has grown from a 300 capacity marquee event in 1995, to a venue for up to 1500 people each evening.

The best Scottish traditional performers are enticed to Speyfest year after year.

Much of the credit for the success of the festival goes to the late James Alexander, who had the vision to recognise the potential of Fochabers as a setting for a showpiece event.

Generations of children have picked up the fiddle thanks to James' enthusiasm and passion, and his legacy is there for all to see.

Sadly, James died earlier this year, robbing Speyfest of the chance to see him play one more time.

So, it was fitting that his fiddle was played on the closing Sunday by former student Colin Campbell.

The legendary Scots musician Phil Cunningham summed it up best when he said: "He will be a terrible loss and will be a real miss to this area. He did so much for the music, for the festival, for the kids. He was a real inspiration.

"A fine, lovely guy and Aly and I were very fond of him. He has left an incredible legacy and I am sure we will all enjoy that legacy for years to come."


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