A Dumbarton poet played his 300th gig at one of Scotland’s biggest music festivals and was on the same bill as top acts Nile Rodgers, Emeli Sandé and The Fratellis.
Stephen Watt, Dumbarton FC poet in residence, performed at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival on Saturday, July 30, alongside his colleague and friend Jason Golaup.
The pair performed their book, Voodoo Daze, to the Belladrum crowd, which Stephen thought was a fitting tribute to festival and music culture on his 300th set.
He said: “It went really well. It was my 300th gig since 2010, so it was quite nice.
“A good little crowd came into the tent, including Robin Kearns, who was the host for my first ever set in 2010 at a night called ‘Last Monday in Rio’ in Partick.
“So, the fact Robin was on the bill on the same day as us, really meant a lot. It was really touching that he came along.
“It was supposed to be a 45-minute set, but I thought that would be a bit long for one guy to be shouting words at you, so I said that I would perform my book Voodoo Daze with Jason Golaup because it is all about acid house and rave.
“I thought that would fit well with a music festival.
“I covered subjects like reggae gigs and the Barrowlands. It got good laughs where they were supposed to, which is always encouraging.
“You could see afterwards that both of us were so relieved that it went so well.”
This was the second time Stephen had played the Belladrum festival after playing it in 2019, and he still can’t get over the fact he was on the same bill as so many big names, he said: “Being on the same bill was a bit mental.
“At least it wasn’t the same stage as that would be heart attack material.
“The good thing is that although you’re getting paid, you also get a free ticket, so we saw some massive acts like Stiff Little Fingers. We also got to see Nile Rodgers, and it was fantastic.
“There were a few other poets that we were friends with who were performing, including Robin, who we went to see to offer our support.”
It was an eventful week for Stephen as he also featured on BBC Scottish football highlights show, Sportscene, where he appeared alongside fellow poets telling the tales of the drama of the beautiful game.
