THE EVENTS agency EventScotland is to invest £12,000 in the annual Perthshire Amber Festival.

Now in its fifth year, the festival—dubbed the Dougie Maclean Festival—will take place between October 30 and November 8.

It celebrates music and the arts amid stunning Perthshire scenery and it’s hoped the funding will help increase the event’s audience, bringing more people to enjoy the performers and the area.

Perthshire Amber started in 2005, and has grown rapidly over the years to establish itself as one of Scotland’s premier music festivals.

The festival features the musical talent of Scottish icon Dougie MacLean each year, as well as a host of his musical friends and creative contemporaries.

This year, the festival will open with The Dougie Maclean Band and Eddie Reader at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

Further performances will follow over the next 10 days from Beoga (Ireland), the Michael McGoldrick Trio, Calaisa (Sweden), Heidi Talbot, Ross Ainslie and Jarleth Henderson, The Sorren MacLean Band and Eliza Lynn (USA), plus other surprise guests.

For further information, visit www.eventscotland. org.

Tickets are available from www.perthshireamber.com