Perth’s first post-lockdown festival, Live and Unlocked, was closed out last night by jazz stars Alison Burns and Martin Taylor after an “enormously successful” week of long-awaited gigs.
The sun set on the festival with a relaxing jazz night on Perth Concert Hall Plaza after six days of family-friendly fun, Fringe festival favourites and local acts.
Highlights included Perth duo First Ladies of Country, who delighted audiences with classic favourites from the likes of Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, and Fringe sensation Showstoppers.
Nick Williams, chief executive of Horsecross Arts, the creative organisation and charity behind Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre, praised the festival’s turnout.
“What a week!” he said. “It has been a huge pleasure to bring live performance back to Perth with our Live and Unlocked Festival. Audiences have been flocking to our programme which truly offered something for everyone.
“Thanks to them and our amazing staff, who worked tirelessly to support the artists and keep audiences safe, we’ve had an enormously successful festival.
“We’ve been delighted by the enthusiasm our audiences have shown and look forward to announcing our reopening shortly and welcoming everyone back to our beautiful venues.”
And many audience members took to social media to sing their own praises of the event. Comments included: “nights like this have been much missed”; “Thanks Perth Concert Hall, great event, well organised and superb staff”; “Brilliant night”; “fab gig. thank you for being live!”; “Great fun”; “Top night”.
With such a strong turnout, it’s clear the appetite for live music in Perth has survived lockdown, and organisers hope to give crowds more entertainment soon.
VisitScotland’s director of events, Paul Bush, said: “With the excitement around the return to in-person events being so palpable, EventScotland is delighted to be able to provide support for events like Live and Unlocked through Scotland’s Events Recovery Fund that will allow performers and audiences alike to enjoy the live entertainment experience again.”
Meanwhile Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre are planning to host a full programme of autumn activities in line with the anticipated easing of Covid-19 restrictions, with details to be announced shortly.
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