Rising North ‘buzz’ on the horizon as festival prepares for return
MONTHS of preparation, organising and constant WhatsApp messages are set to reach a climax in the next fortnight as the Rising North music festival returns for its third year.
The event is taking place in Lerwick between 13-16 August, with headliners Ash and Pale Waves among the visiting performers.
A slew of local acts are also set to be showcased over the four days, from the likes of First Foot Soldiers and The Plonkys to Ten Tonne Dozer, The Revellers, No Sweat and Rack n Ruin.
A key message emanating from festival chairperson Anthony Peart as Shetland News sits down for a chat with just two weeks to go is that the months of hard work will all be worth it when the Rising North buzz returns to the town.
He is not shy in saying, however, that the pace of sales for the ticketed nights at the Clickimin on Friday and Saturday have been slower than the previous years – something which has been reflected in other events not just locally but nationally too.
Allied to this is higher costs for Rising North this time around – not just inflationary, but in booking bigger headline acts.
Ash, for example, have topped the UK charts in the past and have performed at major festivals including Glastonbury and Reading/Leeds, while Pale Waves have racked up three top ten albums in the UK and recently supported ex-One Direction man Louis Tomlinson on an arena tour.
“To get those bands up, it’s a bigger risk for us, but also our costs are going to go up every year – it’s as simple as that,” Peart said.
“But it’ll be exciting for us to have bands of this stature up.”
The message is clear though that Rising North – led by a committee of nine organising the event in their own time – needs the “public and the punters behind us so we can keep doing this”.
Peart reveals that the committee has discussed the idea of moving the festival, which first took place in 2024 in a smaller format, to every two years, or cutting it back to one night at the Clickimin.
“The work that goes on behind the scenes is ridiculous – it’s every day,” he said. “We have a meeting once a week, but our WhatsApp is just constant.”
But Peart stressed that none of the organisers “begrudged” the workload – with the pay-off being seeing folk enjoying the live music on offer.
“When you see the hall bouncing, it’s fantastic,” he said.
Preparations for the 2026 festival began around one month after last year’s event, with the team first looking at the availability of possible visiting headliners.
From then on it is all about organising all the other acts – which this year includes some bands from Orkney and the Highlands too – and the venues, the tickets, the technical elements, the promotion, the sponsorship.
Things will start to feel real, however, when the stages and sound gear in the Clickimin start being set up in the bowls hall and main room in the days leading up to kick-off.
This includes a team of technicians from south heading to Shetland with a PA for the main hall, and security workers who are also travelling north.
As with previous years the first night on the Thursday will see a range of free gigs taking place in Lerwick as something of a warm-up to the Clickimin, with Mareel, the Thule, the Lounge and Trench all hosting live music.
Folk can drop in and out of the events, but the only ticketed gig – the all-ages one in Mareel – has already sold out.
On the Friday night doors to the Clickimin will open at 6.30pm, with DJs performing an afterparty at Mareel into the early hours.
As per previous years, the Saturday will open in the Clickimin at midday, offering punters a feast of music through the whole day across two rooms.
The afternoon is open to all ages, with the night gig 18+ – as is the Friday night.
On the Sunday there will be something of a warm-down session in the Mareel cafe/bar.
There may be a natural spotlight on the visiting headliners but at the heart of Rising North remains a showcase of Shetland’s contemporary music talent – many tens of acts spanning a range of genres from indie and metal to house and bluesy rock.
The organisers also see the festival as a way of giving local bands a chance to gain experience of sharing a stage with visiting headline acts.
The festival was created off the back of the popular 2023 Tall Ships event, which set minds towards thinking about a recurring festival, while inspiration has also been taken from the Orkney Rock Festival.
The first year saw a spree in the pubs on the Friday followed by a night in the Clickimin, before visiting headliners were then drafted in for year two as the festival expanded, which was always part of the plan.
To try to keep things fresh the committee has tried to recycle local bands when it comes to their spot on the line-up, with some potentially playing a pub one year and Clickimin the next.
Among those graduating from pubs to the main event this year are Marackled, Distinctly Mediocre and Black 8s.
With the last two festivals going with a bang, Peart says the committee was “spoilt” when tickets sold out quickly.
“The weekend over the last couple of years has been so good,” he reflects.
“It’s brought the town for life, it’s probably been huge for the pubs, and for the Clickimin themselves it’s a big weekend.
“When you’re in there, you didn’t realise you were in the Clickimin, it was good as anything you’d see south, and it sounds amazing.”
Peart said last year the committee needed around a week to recover – like getting the body back to normal after Up Helly Aa, but even more intense.
For now though it is all about the last push towards the finishing line. “We’re all very excited about it,” Peart added, “and we’re keen for it to kick off.”
Tickets for the Clickimin events can be bought online through the Rising North website, while tickets for the Friday afterparty can be found via the Shetland Arts box office.
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