Interview with Yvonne Murray Director/Booker of Brew at the Bog and other Bogbain Farm activities.
Yvonne’s office is a buzz of activity with visitor’s calling, emails arriving and telephone calls to be fended. It is no surprise that it took us both about 3 months to find a mutually convenient time for this interview. With this in mind, I asked Yvonne if she feels vindicated in moving Bogbain away from the child and family activities they had run for a number of years? Yvonne is clear, “Yeah, absolutely. It is hard, and still is hard, the perception is changing slowly. With last year’s Brew at the Bog we did an ok job. We are getting there. We do get complaints from parents wanting to take the kids to Brew at the Bog this year but I am quite steadfast in keeping it over 18s.”
Strictly over 18s. Is that to do with the image of Brewdog? “Yeah, and also we do the Inverness Whisky Festival and that is over 18s as it is basically no music, just drink! I think it had more to do with Bruce is just fed up with the kids stuff, it didn’t bother me at all as I wasn’t here working on the kids stuff but I know Bruce got pretty fed up and he wanted to move away from that so I was more than happy to help him.”
But its not all for the adults as Yvonne explains about Truckness which will be held on 27th July. “It wasn’t something that we instigated. It was a guy who approached us to use the fields. That’s going to be a crazy one!” Yvonne does hint that next year Brew at the Bog may have a change in policy and may allow over 16s next year. “It’s just a case of a wristband. We might change it, not over 14s, probably over 16s. Getting the fifth and sixth years and the older fourth years coming would be good. I don’t know if we need them in terms of numbers” as Yvonne draws comparison with 2012 and a comment she posted on Facebook “I can’t believe we went ahead with the event last year.”
Was it ever in doubt last year? “No! And I don’t understand why! Bruce says we must have been freaking out before the event secretly, or between us, but last year we had only sold 125 tickets.” With numbers well in excess of last year, Yvonne admits she has a concern. ”When I was comparing this year and last year I was saying to Bruce I am feeling more nervous about this year.”
This was a puzzle, greater numbers, and a nervousness. Was this the large number of festival goers that you have to entertain? “Exactly! There are more people coming, I know definitely there are. Last year we must have been freaking out thinking nobody was coming, and this year we know there are people coming, but I’m still freaking out about everything that all festival organisers worry about. The site was set up for 1000 last year. It will be interesting to see how it copes near capacity. We have a three year licence from the Council but we can move within it, but not too much, not into the fields.”
So it’s the same layout as last year? “Exactly the same – no change – maybe a few feet back for the stage. The stage is different, it’s the same stage that Belladrum had in their first year. It’s half a marquee; the stage is built into the back end of it. There is no marquee covering the people, basically that kind of structure, just to save on costs. There is a decent saving doing it that way.
What proportion of camping tickets have been sold? Yvonne has the figures at her fingertips. “About 150 camping tickets have been sold. It’s mainly day tickets and there are more out of towners. Skiddle give you a map of where people are buying from. There is a lot from Inverness, but Perth and Glasgow are really big and a couple in Aberdeen and Edinburgh, but the big blotches are Inverness, Perth and Glasgow. I think the people who were here last year, bands and the like, when they realised we’re not that far from Inverness they are booking into hostels and hotels, and not necessarily camping.”
I vaguely remembered something about buses running back into town at the end of the night last year so thought it best to confirm if there were similar arrangements this year. “From 11 to 1.30 there are shuttle buses with Spa Coaches. That’ll be good. Last year they weren’t well advertised so we are going to try and change that so that the buses are full.”
But there is more to it than just tickets and buses, but the bands. I asked Yvonne about who did the bookings. “All my choice! It was a similar method to last year, as in not having a method! Just kind of listening to stuff and and emailing and realising that I’d booked way too many! “
Similar to last year? “Very similar to last year. I have a scattergun approach to it all, but it seems to work! The biggest issue that I had wasn’t trying to fit everybody onto a stage, it was the same as last year: programming. Making sure that it all flows really well. I got all the bands that I was asking for, apart from one, an American band that I wanted to get but they’re not over until the end of summer. I was really lucky. I always said that I was not booking anymore bands and somebody else would come along! And then there was Prides. Apparently I had drunkenly said to Ally MacRae (who suggested adding them) in the Brewdog Bar a few weeks ago that was no problem and when he emailed saying that what was happening with Prides I said “I don’t know!”. And when I listened to Prides I was… oh! definitely! and I’ve booked them, and I’m really satisfied with the line-up now. Certainly the night time is really good, and I’m really looking forward to it.
So what can you tell us about this year’s acts? “Earls of Caithness are opening, then Verse Metrics who we heard at the Market Bar, and we booked them on the spot. Then there is Adam Holmes and the Embers. The guy has an absolutely amazing voice, one of the best. He is a folk singer and really, really good. Stagger Rats are a really funky kind of band, and we have Fake Major, Randolph’s Leap, Donald MacDonald and The Islands, 3 Blind Wolves, Little Kicks, The Whiskys, Discopolis, Prides and Fatherson. The barn, in the evening, is more electronic so we have Found, Homework and Miaoux Miaoux.” Yvonne explains, “This is the kind of music that I listen to, most of the stuff that I kind of like. Bruce is really folky and was involved in the booking of Adam Holmes and also Eilidh Hadden.”
There is also the Bothy stage which hosts an eclectic collection of acts. Yvonne enthuses, “The bothy is a mix of really rowdy loud, thrashy like Captains, Seznec Brothers, really folky and unusual, a bit like the Groanbox Boys, Seven Summits from Ireland and a mix of other acts. It’s all go!”
And the Welsh contingent are back? “They asked nicely so I said yes!”
So no Charlotte Church rumours this year? “I did say that Biffy Clyro were coming. I said that they were working behind the bar! But we are having a festival video made and it’s the guy who does Biffy Clyro live videos who is doing it, and I’m really looking forward to seeing it. It will maybe be ready 6 weeks after the festival.”
So all we need is good weather? “I’ve been looking at the long range forecast on the met and it said that it would dry up, but not sunny! There will however be heaters in the barn, the ones that we use for the weddings! I didn’t feel the cold last year until i went to bed. I was literally, like, could not control the shakes. That was all the adrenalin disappearing from my body!”
Yvonne went on to explain the change towards weddings and how it was an unexpected route for them. “A couple came in, and said, ‘Oh my god, we love it!’ ‘Really!’ was my reaction. They had a particular style which so suited the venue.The photos were so complimentary. As soon as I put them on line, which was in October, it was absolutely mad. Having the weddings, the Whisky Festival and Brew at the Bog, it has been really, really mad, having to deal with it all. I’ve had to put an autoresponder on my emails as I just can’t keep up. I definitely need an admin assistant! Since October we have had 42 weddings booked.”
42 weddings! That’s some number. “It’s unreal, my brother’s is the first this year, well we had a wedding dance, but they are getting married in June.” This wedding is a major pressure for Yvonne but as she says, “It’s an island wedding so the store room will be heaving!” But it doesn’t stop there. “Then there is one every weekend until November. The weddings are really cool and the kind of couples that we attract are really nice, relaxed kind of people, creative and not wanting the corporate hotel stuff.” But that doesn’t leave much time for music. “Can’t do any gigs for all these weddings! The gigs are really hard to sustain. We had already said to ourselves because the weddings were doing so good we would just book bands that we really wanted to promote and not putting them on for the sake of having them. It depends on who gets in touch with us, we’re not going looking for them.”
So dates must be limited? ”I know, but maybe some people would want a midweek date if they are going (on tour) elsewhere.”
So now it is all set for Brew at the Bog. Caterers have been organised, less than last year, the rationale as Yvonne puts it being “going for less so they do well and are busy”. Beer prices have been set at £4 a pint. “Keeping it reasonable, last year we were a wee bit too reasonable! £4 a pint for craft beer, they are £3.95 in the bars.”
Finally, Yvonne reflected on the last year. “I can’t believe that we are still here. We’re going in the right direction, fingers crossed anyway. The more that we do, the more that people approach us to do stuff. That’s good as well. We’re not instigating everything ourselves. It’s good to get other peoples ideas.”
You can still buy Brew at the Bog tickets, win Brew at the Bog tickets, read our preview of Brew at the Bog 2013 or just read Yvonne Murray’s interview from 2012.
