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Darvel Music Festival
Darvel Music Festival is a music festival in Darvel, Scotland, United Kingdom that has been held since 2002. It is located in Darvel, a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland, in the historic county of Ayrshire. The Darvel Music Festival is a community-led initiative, managed and supported by the Darvel Music Company, which features ten days of music featuring seven concerts and twenty five international and national performers at Darvel Town Hall.

History
The Festival is largely the result of the work of Neil McKenna and his wife Shelia, the director of the festival. When describing his reasons for wanting a music festival in Darvel, Neil McKenna said, “We moved to Darvel 13 years ago. In 2002 it was Darvel’s 250th anniversary, and I managed a series of events. After getting involved in the community stuff, I wanted to focus on a central theme, which was essentially making Darvel a music town. It’s already known for its lace and weaving, and Alexander Fleming, but we would love to make it the first-ever music town in Scotland.” While they didn’t actually launch the festival, the McKennas have been very involved in the process, and are known to personally pick up artists from the airport, cook for them, and to let bands stay overnight in their home. Since its formation seven years ago, the festival has managed to get well-known bands to play, and attracts people from all over the world. In order to attract people to the event, bands are asked not to play in Glasgow or anywhere else in the west of Scotland around the time of the festival. Over the past few years people from such locations as Japan, Canada, Italy, Spain, Ireland, France, and Germany have come to the festival as it has gained notoriety. The local economy of Darvel has prospered because of this increase in visitors to the area.

Darvel 'Homecoming' Music Festival 2009
The Darvel ‘Homecoming’ Music Festival is held in Darvel Town Hall, which can hold approximately 360 people, on West Main Street in Darvel, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The festival occurs from May first to May tenth, and will feature seven concerts and twenty five international and national performers. New acts are featured every day for £15 to £20 per ticket per day. This year’s line-up includes Adriana, Attic Lights, Blues n' Trouble, Boo Hewerdine, Dropkick, Eddi Reader, Eileen Rose and the Holy Wreck, Esther O'Connor, Four Good Men (with Owen Paul), Gary Louris, and Mark Olson (of the Jayhawks), Hamilton Loomis Band, Hamish Stuart Band with special guest Jim Mullen, Hey Negrita, JJ Gilmour, Joni Keen and the Euan Stevenson Trio, Maggie Belland Dave Kelly, Martin Taylor's Freternity featuring Alison Burns, Rainy and the Dust, Roddy Hart, Ruby Turner, The Endrick Brothers, The Garrett Wall Band, The Parish Music Box, The Primary 5, and the Seventh Sons. This year's line-up was arranged by festival producer Neil McKenna. The festival has gained a reputation for attracting some of the best international and national acts. Known for its friendly ambience and eclectic artists, the festival presents a wide range of musical styles including soul, latin, funk, country, indie-pop, rock, and blues.

'Fringe' Event 2009
The main ‘Homecoming Festival’ is preceded by a ‘fringe event’ which showcases up and coming regional bands. This event is the start of the ‘homecoming’ celebration, and occurs before the main festival, which lasts from May first to May tenth. The event intends to support emerging talent and gives these acts the opportunity to perform with the same professional sound and lighting as the main acts at the ‘Homecoming’ event. Many bands and solo artists make requests to perform and the festival committee decides who will be offered a slot at the show. This year, unsigned bands from West Scotland will be appearing at the ‘fringe’ event on the seventeenth and eighteenth of April. Five acts perform each night. All profits attained from selling tickets and merchandise are donated to the live music and youth development fund. The 2009 ‘fringe’ line-up for day one includes performances by What The Heroes Say, The Ghosties, Streetlight Conspiracy, The LaFontaines, and The Longhorns. Day two of the festival ‘fringe’ features the Iain Morrison Band, Iain McKinnon, Man at the Window, TV21, and Laki Mera. The tickets for the ‘fringe’ event are less expensive than those for the ‘Homecoming’ festival, with ticket prices ranging from £5 to £7. The event, like the ‘Homecoming’ event, is held in the Darvel Town Hall.

Darvel Music Company
The Darvel Music Company is a community organization established in April 2008 in Darvel in order to promote music culture and live musical performance within Darvel and other East Ayrshire communities. The Darvel Music Company recently took over the organization and running of the Darvel Music Festival, and also plans to stage smaller concerts in Darvel Town Hall and to plan a series of music ‘sessions’ at local pubs. The company will be run by volunteers and operated on a non-profit basis. It will rely on grants, sponsorship, and fundraising events to finance the programs. Shelia McKenna, who is also the director of the music festival, is the new chairperson of the company.

Regional Award and Funding
The Darvel Music Festival has, for the second time, received Event Scotland funding from the Regional Awards Program in order to market the festival during the 2009 ‘Homecoming year.’ The £10,000 grant will pay for design fees, festival banners throughout the town, and national media advertising. The Chief Operating Officer of Event Scotland, Paul Bush, supports the festival partially because it successfully attracts visitors to East Ayrshire. Shelia McKenna, the festival’s director, stated "We are delighted that Event Scotland considers our music festival to be one of the cultural highlights in the West of Scotland. It is also very encouraging that such a prestigious national agency views our event so positively and that they recognize how much time and effort our volunteers put into creating a special musical experiencefor top class performers and local people and visitors to enjoy". The Darvel Music Committee (the DMC) is also applying for funding from Awards for All and East Ayrshire Council. Funding is also provided by Scottish Power Renewables, Atrium Homes, Gibson Wright Engineering and Klin Homes.

Sponsors
Sponsors for the 2008 and 2009 Darvel Music Festivals include: East Ayrshire Council, Scottish Power Renewables, Event Scotland, Awards for All (Big Lottery Fund), Stagecoach Western, Stagecoach Bio-Bus, Atrium Homes, Klin Homes and Cribs, Gerald Eve, East Ayrshire Community Planning Unit, GMB Union (Scotland), ATD Developments, Loudoun Castle Family Theme Park, Centrestage Theatre (Kilmarnock), JH Donald Ltd, Gibson Wight Engineering, YIP World (Cumnock), Darvel Improvement Group, Tarmac Ltd, Smalltown Audio, Scottish Arts Counil (Youth Music Initiative), Allseasons at the Meadows (Galston), Sasse Limited, Noble Dental Laboratories, Loudoun Medical, McConnell’s Pharmacies, Walker and Connell (Darvel), Andely Wine Stores (Darvel) and Craighead Building Supplies Ltd.

Festival Production Team
The Festival Production Team includes Shelia McKenna (director), Neil McKenna (producer), Hugh Morton (treasurer), Josh Clinton, Stephanie Grant, Lisa Cunningham, Lynne McCubbin, Alex McAllister, Mike Ritchie (marketing), Gary Beck, David Paterson, Anne Fonteyne, Martin Hay, Alison Calder, Jim Dunn, Sofie Aspeslagh, and Rachel Clinton.