The chairman of the Isle of Bute Jazz Festival has brushed off suggestions that the forthcoming closure of Rothesay Pavilion will force the cancellation of the festival.
The Pavilion, the main venue for the festival since it was established in 1988, will close at the end of September for major regeneration work worth more than £8 million and due to last until the summer of 2017 - forcing all the building’s regular users to seek alternative homes for their events.
The beginning
The Isle of Bute Jazz Festival began in 1988 and has been staged annually on the first weekend of May ever since – this year’s event will be no exception.
The first Festival was a small affair with only six bands, and the organisers held their breath to see if anyone would come to a small Scottish island with little tradition of jazz (although big dance bands certainly played regularly at Rothesay Pavilion in the 1950′s and 60′s).
Happily enough fans turned up that first year to encourage another venture the following year, and the Festival has continued to grow in reputation and stature ever since.
Some very well known jazz names featured on the programme over the next few years – Acker Bilk, Monty Sunshine, Martin Taylor, Tommy Smith, Andy Sheppard, Carol Kidd, The Temperance 7, and The London Community Gospel Choir amongst others, and the Festival continues to attract top class UK and international bands in mainly the Traditional New Orleans idiom.
Getting There
The Festival is a great supporter of young musicians who feature prominently in the annual programme.
The five-day Isle of Bute Jazz Festival is held over the first weekend of May.
Bute is easily accessible from the mainland. There is a regular train service direct from Glasgow Central station to the ferry port at Wemyss (pron. Weems) Bay.
The wee ferry at the north end of the island brings you across the 470m wide Kyles of Bute from Argyll.
Hotel and B&B accommodation is booked up fairly quickly every year; however, we are delighted to be able to refer you to good quality self-catering accommodation.
For advice regarding Travel, Accommodation please contact: Isle of Bute Discovery Centre (Tourist Information).
