Legendary Bay City Rollers among early line-up for revamped Doune the Rabbit Hole

The Bay City Rollers will be in attendance at the new Back Doune the Rabbit Hole event
-Credit: (Image: Gemma Leigh)


The first performers set to take to the stage at the rebooted Back Doune the Rabbit Hole festival have been unveiled by the organisers.

The diverse line-up of musicians, covering genres from rock, folk, reggae, and pop, will be delighting the crowds at the Cardross Estate, near Port of Menteith, next summer.

It reflects an effort by the festival’s new owners to go back to the roots of the event for hosting an ecletic array of performers to enjoy.

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They include icons in Scottish music, the Bay City Rollers, punk rock hopeful Sandi Thom, as well as English folk punk band Ferocious Dog.

Also set to perform are veteran rockers The Blockheads, explosive Dunfermline rock quarter The Skids and ‘For the Love of Shane MacGowan’ - a band set up by John McLaughlin paying some of the songs of the Irish singer-songwriter, who passed away last year.

The headliners for next year’s festival are still set to be announced, with the highly experienced Rock Asset Management involved in the booking of the event as part of their new ownership role.

In a post on social media following the announcement of the first wave of artists, the organisers wrote: “Well BDTRH - we just want to take a minute to say a huge thank you to each and every one of you who has first of all supported us coming back, and secondly have put your faith in us by buying a ticket.

“We hope you have enjoyed the line- up we have dropped so far, we have so many more amazing artists to bring you over the coming weeks!”

Speaking to the Observer last month, musician and businessman Brian Harkin, who is the brains behind the new festival, said: “Year one is basically treading very carefully with what we do because we know it would be fatal if what has gone before happens again.

Musician and businessman Brian Harkin is behind the plans for the revamped 'Back Doune the Rabbit Hole' festival for 2025
Musician and businessman Brian Harkin is behind the plans for the revamped 'Back Doune the Rabbit Hole' festival for 2025

“We’re fully aware of the climate, there are lots of festivals folding and struggling to survive; so we’ll be looking very closely at the budget requirements for the bands.

“It will be carefully curated in terms of the budget for music and we’ll be focusing more on the full experience of the event, engaging with local artists and craftspeople.

He added: “We will utilise a lot of local bands and the roster that Colin and Paul work with – we know we have to put headliners but we will not be overstretching.”