The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Fake Festivals
Dunfermline, Pittencrieff Park, July 7; Dundee, Lochee Park, July 21
Tribute bands are nothing new, but the art of imitation is set to go into overdrive.
The Fake Festival concept is straightforward – take a bunch of rock’s best impersonators and stick them in a tent in an urban park for a day of expertlyplayed classic hits and feelgood vibes.
It could so easily be called ‘Fantasy Festival’ as the by-proxy line-up is the stuff of every vinyl or cd junkie’s dreams, and it’s proving to be a growing hit on the summer gig calendar.
Perth Fake Festival, which was staged for the third time last month, has proved to (almost) be the real deal while helping pave the way for similar Dunfermline and Dundee extravaganzas.
Event manager Lee Storey says positive feedback from the 1,500-plus attendees at the Fair City’s first two South Inch fests was crucial in the decision to add more Scottish dates for the UK’s only touring tribute festival, which started in England in 2007.
“The whole event is based around providing a good, safe, family-friendly festival in town, so that people don’t need to travel,” he says.
“It’s been really well supported and has proved it was a great decision coming to Scotland. We’ve had particularly good comments from people from Dundee and Dunfermline, so we’ve begun taking the festival there too.”
The franchise’s Fife and Dundee editions took their bows at Pittencrieff and Lochee parks last year and return to the same venues next month.
Every band aims to capture the looks and sounds of the original artists, meaning festival-goers can expect ultra-professional Axl Rose, David Bowie, Chris Martin, Debbie Harry and Mick Jagger doppelgangers strutting their stuff.
Dunfermline Fake Festival kicks off with U2 tribute band New2 at 12.30pm, followed by The Stones (2.15pm), Fu Fighters (4pm), Really Hot Chili Peppers (5.45pm) and Killers soundalikes The Fillers (7.45pm), with headliners Coldplace – you guessed it, Coldplay clones – taking to the stage at 9.45pm.
At Dundee, the line-up includes Really Hot Chili Peppers at 1pm, Bowie tribute Aladdinsane (2.45pm), Blondied (4.30pm), Guns2Roses (6.15pm) and Kazabian (8pm), before The Fillers round off the night.
The Suffolk-based outfit have performed to crowds of up to 35,000 at venues across Europe, the USA, Mexico and the Caribbean. They’ve also played with members of the real Killers and been praised by Brandon Flowers.
Adult tickets ordered before early bird deadlines are £22.50 compared to £35 on the door. Discounts are also available for under-18s, disabled patrons and families, while thrill-seekers taking rodeo challenges at either venue can win passes for this year’s 24-band Big Fake Festival in Nottinghamshire.