Entertainment / Sleepless Circus raises over £3k for charity after sell-out success
THE CIRCUS came to town this weekend, bringing a musical extravaganza which has raised over £3,000 for two charities.
Inside the big top, organisers Regan Williamson, Peter and Scott Tomlinson hailed the “massive success” of the first ever Sleepless Circus – which moved between Lerwick and Scalloway over the course of the weekend.
And the trio already have their sights set on surpassing the high bar they have set themselves, with a series of events throughout 2026.
Kicking off at 2pm in the Marlex on Saturday, around 100 people crammed in to hear “Faroese superstar” Sigmund Danielsen, followed by singer Keirynn Topp and finally The High Flying Bhajis.
Then the party transferred from town to village, where Scalloway Boating Club was again rammed for Black Out Fear, Fully Licensed and headliners The Dead Pans.
Sunday was a day for impromptu musical mastery in the Marlex, with the Scotland football match helping ensure a packed audience for the Sleepless Circus’ crescendo.
The event was organised as a way of getting vital funds to both Shetland Foodbank and Macmillan Cancer Support, worthy charities at the heart of its three organisers.
Regan said they had raised over £3,000 to be split between the two – £850 of which came in raffle ticket sales alone – across a superb weekend.
“It was a massive success,” he told Shetland News.
“We’re really chuffed and really proud of how it all came together. This was really going to be the tester, but it ended up being a lot bigger than we initially spoke about.
“Everyone we spoke to said it was a really well put on event, everyone was in really good spirits.
“Nothing went wrong at all. It’s made us want to do more events again and raise money for good causes.”
He admitted he was a “little bit worried Sigmund was going to be playing to an empty room” for the initial free Marlex gig on Saturday afternoon.
But the room was soon packed out for the afternoon’s entertainment, with the High Flying Bhajis’ Jonny Stewart impressed with the turnout.
“It was great to see so many folk out to support a good cause,” he said.
“We’re thankful to everyone who came to see us play. We really enjoyed it and hope to be involved in the next one.”
Over at the Scalloway Boating Club, Lonnie Paton of Fully Licensed was similarly chuffed with the Sleepless Circus experience.
“It was a great atmosphere in the Marlex in the afternoon,” he said.
“The perfect little warm up event, for what was an ecstatic night in the Scalloway Boating Club.
“We felt very privileged to be a part of the event and helping contribute towards the fundraising for the charities.”
Regan said the aim of the event – as well as raising money for charity – was to “give bands an outlet” to play.
“We want to give small bands a chance to play, to give them that opportunity,” he said.
“It’s a big risk for them to take on the cost of their own events.
“There’s a lot of talent playing across all different bands up here, we want to showcase that.”
Regan, Scott and Peter are now turning their attentions towards the next one, which Regan says will probably be in May next year at the earliest.
“We want to do three of these sizes events every year, and smaller ones in between,” he added.
Of their chosen charities, Regan said he hoped the Shetland Foodbank would “appreciate a big donation” at this time of year.
And their contribution to Macmillan Cancer Support comes at the end of a year of fundraising from Regan, who ran the Edinburgh Marathon in May in aid of the charity.
He thanked David Bisset and Magnus Stout for their help with the sound mixing over the weekend, and Lakota Clubb for taking photos at the event.
The Sleepless Circus organisers also thanked their sponsors – L A Simpson, Kelvin Anderson, Aquatech Mechanical Solutions, ZETLand-scape, Art Machine, Da Marlex and Ocean Kinetics – for allowing them to put extra money to charity by supporting them.
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