7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Historic stately home in West Lothian provides splendid backdrop for Boiler Room session
Armand van Helden and Ewan McVicar delighted thousands of revellers at Hopetoun House
Thousands of dance music fans descended on a stately home in West Lothian at the weekend for a two-day event.
The grand looking 325-year-old Hopetoun House near the village of Newton provided an incredible stage backdrop for the occasion.
Looking in the opposite direction, beyond the greenery the Queensferry Crossing dominated the skyline.
Hopetoun House is owned by a charity trust but the south wing remains the family home of the 4th Marquess of Linlithgow.
The Hopetoun House Sessions is a new series of outdoor summer shows by the Scottish events company, EE Live, who also organise the Terminal V festival.
On Saturday, the headline act was Australian house and techno producer Fisher who thrilled the crowds.
Comments on social media during the day confirmed that the music wasn't confined to the site, with many over the water in Fife being able to hear the party in full swing quite clearly.
The weather remained fair for the crowds who attended over the two days with showers contained to Sunday morning, and the sun was out ensuring the site was dry again before the gates opened for the afternoon.
There was an even bigger crowd on the Sunday with broadcaster and promoter Boiler Room taking over the stage for the day. It was a prevalently youngish crowd who queued patiently at the gates to access the site where the usual, quite pricey, festival-type bars and eateries.
The Boiler Room stage set-up allows the crowd to get up really close and rub shoulders with the DJs as they perform.
Top of the bill was legendary house music veteran and speed garage pioneer Armand van Helden, the former Grammy Award nominee from Boston rolled out a set laden with classics including his own remixed versions of Sneaker Pimps' Spin Spin Sugar and Tori Amos's Professional Widow, which went to number 1 in the UK Singles Chart.
He also delivered Bonkers, his collaboration with Dizzee Rascal from 2009, and the following year's Barbra Streisand track which he released as half of duo Duck Sauce with Canadian DJ/producer A-Trak, it hit number 3 in the UK. His set delighted the euphoric dancing crowd further as lasers and searing flames lit up the West Lothian sky.
Prior to Armand van Helden's appearance, Scotland's own Ewan McVicar had upped the tempo a bit in preparation for the Bostonian's arrival and there was a maturity about the set he delivered, which didn't include his 2021 debut single, Tell me Something Good.
Earlier in the day an international line-up featuring; Swatt Team, Messie, Saint Ludo, Notion, and a back-to-back set featuring Oppidan and Todd Edwards had kept the receptive crowd moving.
The event rounded off at 10.30pm but with no on-site parking facility at the venue and revellers relying on being picked up, taking a taxi, or hopping on the Happy Bus, it would be a few hours before the majority made it home, with many departing on foot for lengthy walks to pre-determined pick-up points elsewhere.
However, they happily wandered off into the relative darkness following a great day dancing in surroundings of splendour.
