Put it in your diary! Following the success of last year’s sell-out event, the Belladrum Tartan Heart Music Festival will be staged again on August 12th and 13th 2005.

Expanded to a two day festival for 2005, the Tartan Heart has already signed up Woodstock legends The Country Joe Band who will be visiting from the United States to play the festival.

Tickets for the event in the Italian Gardens at Belladrum (near Beauly, Inverness-shire) will go on sale by April. They will be available individually for both days and at a discounted price for the two days together. Children under 12 will again be free and like last year’s festival, the accent will be on producing a family event. Last year's festival sold out, leaving many people disappointed so we are urging people to book their tickets as early as possible this year. Camping will be available Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

After raising £2,000 for Maggie’s Cancer Care Centre in Inverness in 2004, we will be supporting the charity again this year. We did a lot to raise the profile for Maggie’s last year and we would like to have made more money for them but start-up costs and restrictions on numbers made that impossible. We hope for a great result for the charity in 2005.

Country Joe rose to fame at Woodstock with his ‘Fish Cheer’ anti-Vietnam war song, ‘Feel Like I’m Fixing To Die Rag’ which became the anthem of the flower power generation. Last year’s Tartan Heart Festival celebrated the 35th anniversary of Woodstock. Last year’s festival featured Grim Northern Social, Linda Gail Lewis, Peatbog Faeries, The Andy Gunn Band and Geno Washington, David Ogilvy, Karen Matheson and Donald Shaw of Capercaillie, Toto La Momposina, the Lush Rollers and others.

For further information on the festival see the festival web site www.belladrum.co.uk which will be updated and revamped shortly or call Joe Gibbs on 01463 741366 joe@belladrum.co.uk