RockNess#2010
{{Short description|Music festival}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox music festival |
| name = Rockness Festival
| image = File:RockNess logo 2013.svg
File:RockNess 2012 MainStage.jpg
| location = Dores, Highland, Scotland
| founders =
| years_active = 2006–2013
| dates = Second weekend in June
| genre = Alternative rock, dance, electronic, hip-hop, indie rock
| website =
}}
RockNess was an annual music festival which took place in Scotland at Clune Farm, Dores, on the banks of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. The festival was known as "the most beautiful festival in the world" and "the only festival with its own monster" due to its scenic location at Loch Ness which is the alleged home of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster. Despite the festival's name, it was not a rock festival exclusively, often showcasing dance, electronic, and hip-hop music.
The inaugural Rockness festival took place on 24 June 2006. In June 2008, AEG[http://www.efestivals.co.uk/news/08/080613a.shtml Promoter AEG takes over Rock Ness, eFestivals, 13 June 2008] took over as the main promoter of the festival. The festival grew in size each year until its final edition in 2013.
Beginnings
File:Crowd at RockNess 2006.jpg
Fatboy Slim took his 'Brighton Beach Party'{{cite web|url=http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/rockness/2006/ |title=Rock-Ness 2006 |publisher=eFestivals.co.uk |date=2006-04-07}} to the shores of Loch Ness to create the first festival which was held on Saturday 24 June 2006. All of the 20,000 tickets were sold at price of £32.50. The festival had two stages, a main stage and big top, which were active throughout the day. It started at midday and both stages hosted different dance acts about every hour and a half. Acts included X-Press 2, Stanton Warriors, Scratch Perverts, Linus Loves, Cagedbaby, Audio Bullys, Slam, Mylo, Carl Cox with Fatboy Slim headlining.{{cite web|url=http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/rockness/2006/lineup.shtml# |title=Rock-Ness 2006 line-up and rumours |publisher=eFestivals.co.uk |date=2006-04-07}} The following year in 2007 the festival was greatly increased in size to accommodate over 35,000 festival goers over two days. It was in 2009 that the festival became a three-day festival.
Lineups
| class="wikitable sortable" | width=100% |
| Edition
! Year ! style="width:8em"| Dates ! Tickets sold ! class="unsortable"| Headliners ! Full lineup |
|---|
| 1
|2006 |24 June |10,000 |
| 2
|2007 |9–10 June |35,000 |The Chemical Brothers, Groove Armada, |
| 3
|2008 |7–8 June |40,000 |
| 4
|2009 |12–14 June |35,000 |
| 5
|2010 |11–13 June |35,000 |
| 6
|2011 |10–12 June |35,000 |
| 7
|2012 |8–10 June |35,000 |
| 8
|2013 |7–9 June |30,000 |
File:Rockness 2008 main stage and Loch Ness.jpg
It was named best small festival at the NME Awards in 2011 and 2012.{{cite news |url=https://www.list.co.uk/article/40792-rockness-named-best-small-festival-at-2012-nme-awards/ |title=RockNess named Best Small Festival at 2012 NME awards |first=Amy |last=Anderson |work=The List |date=1 March 2012 |access-date=23 December 2021}}
Cancellations
On 19 March 2014 organizers of the festival announced that "due to the addition of a number of events alongside the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games" there would be no Rockness held in 2014.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/OfficialRockNess/posts/10152668728308765 |title=RockNess - We'd like to thank you for your support over... |publisher=Facebook |access-date=2014-08-09}}
Despite hopes of a return in 2015, organisers confirmed in January that the festival would again be cancelled.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/OfficialRockNess/posts/10153508754443765 |title=Following recent speculations, we regretfully confirm that RockNess will not take place in 2015. |publisher=Facebook |date=2015-01-23 |access-date=2015-01-26}}
A new festival, Groove Loch Ness, was held in the same venue on 22 August 2015. This was described as a "back-to-basics dance festival", with a single stage, headlined by Groove Armada. About 4,500 people attended the one-day event.{{cite web|title=Groove Loch Ness held on loch's shores|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-34021744|publisher=BBC News|access-date=24 August 2015|date=23 August 2015}}
Media sponsors
UK new music station, XFM was the official radio broadcast partner for the festival coverage[http://www.xfm.co.uk/article.asp?id=557826 X-clusive: RockNess 2008 line-up and tickets, XFM, 24 January 2008] until 2009 when the BBC took over radio rights and also provided internet services.
Channel 4 broadcast highlights of the 2008 festival weekend on national television, bringing highlights of each band's set live. They also provided television coverage for 2009.[http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/entertainment-news/2008/03/14/rock-ness-lands-channel-4-tv-deal-86908-20350262/ Rock Ness Lands Channel 4 TV Deal, 14 March 2008]
In January 2010, Rockness confirmed BBC Radio 1 as the official media sponsors, providing live coverage over the weekend as well as full TV Coverage.
In addition to the official media sponsors as of April 2010 employment website Monster.co.uk was a sponsor for RockNess 2010.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|RockNess}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070216022537/http://www.rockness.co.uk/ Official Website]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/rockness RockNess on the BBC]
{{Coord|57.386|-4.334|region:GB-HLD_type:event|display=title}}
{{Anschutz}}
{{Scottishfestivals}}
{{Major British Music Festivals}}
Category:Music in Highland (council area)
Category:Music festivals in Scotland
Category:2006 establishments in Scotland
Category:Recurring events established in 2006
Category:Electronic music festivals in the United Kingdom