JENNIE MACFIE finds herself walking in a summer wonderland

A LOVINGLY handcrafted festival with its own distinct style, Belladrum is big on fancy dress. The 13,000-strong crowd was liberally peppered with Mad Hatters, Red Queens, and March Hares, accompanied by a sprinkling of dormice, large and small, a surprising number of men in Victorian drag, and one Alice, Tenniel-perfect in blue dress and pinafore.

Though both the main headliners (Feeder on Friday, Amy McDonald on Saturday) delivered polished, crowdpleasing (and in the case of Feeder, eardrum-piercingly loud) sets, neither shone as brightly as Friday's true star, surprise guest KT Tunstall.

Bounding onto the Grassroots stage like a kid let out for the school holidays, she launched full tilt into songs from her new CD and maintained an astonishing level of energy and pzazz all the way through to well-worn favourites, closing with 'Suddenly I See'.

From KT to KC; the Grassroots pipped the main stage to the post again on Saturday, closing with an irresistibly, infectiously joyful set from King Creosote which had everyone in the vicinity grinning from ear to ear after 'Cod Liver Oil and Orange Juice'. Clad in a baggy, beige old-man stylee cardigan, Kenny Anderson's an unlikely sex symbol – as he sang in 'Saffy Nool', he "was past 35 years of age before my face made that much sense" - but he was hitting all the right spots with the female audience.

One of KC's other bands, The Burns Unit, an eclectic supergroup which includes folk songstress Karine Polwart, ex-Delgado Emma Pollock and Orb collaborator MC Soom T, had earlier turned out to be the To Be Announced band on the Hothouse stage. Alas, despite their impressive lineup and consequently high expectations, they somehow failed to imake an impact.

A succession of bland 70s-pop-tinged songs turned out to be a serious waste of Polwart's divine voice; maybe it perked up later, but Candi Staton on the Garden Stage suddenly looked like – and indeed was – a better way to spend the time.

Never mind, there were lots of other twinkly, shiny moments to remember. The slight drizzle early on Friday afternoon was banished for the whole weekend by the Orkestra del Sol's sizzling set on the Garden Stage, which included a recreation of the old music hall favourite and Egyptian parody, The Sand Dance.

Stornoway and The Levellers both filled the Hothouse tent, while the Seedlings tent was bursting at the seams for Woodenbox With A Fistful of Fivers. In the Venus Fly Trap Palais, the curvaceous Kennedy Cupcakes danced to a small but very appreciative crowd, while in the Potting Shed, a long list of American or Americana-inspired musos laid down some impressive funk grooves.

Mother's Ruin, the purpose-built optimistically outdoors DJ dance area, did good business all day long, but really let loose once mystery masked men The LED took over the decks, spooling out lovingly crafted remixes.

Orkestra del Sol's Marcus and Oli showed off the carnival paces of the snappily-titled Highland Youth Street Band Collaboration in the Venus Fly Trap on Saturday. The Scottish Highlands are becoming a nursery of young musical talent; the Seedlings stage hosted one fresh, sharp young band after another in an impressive rollcall of up and coming talent.

Names to watch? Copperdrift, Julia and the Doogans, Kitty The Lion (outstanding) and Rachel Sermanni, who had been promoted to the Grassroots tent after her impressive showing at Go North! last month. Another Go North! success, Dingwall's The Side, had been elevated even further to a slot on the Garden Stage. They must have been force-fed a diet of best quality rock with their mothers' milk, which is why, though unsigned, they were picked as support band for Bon Jovi's O2 Arena gig a couple of months back.

More mature locals The Lush Rollers have been absent from the scene for a few years; connoisseurs of the melodic country rock of Gram Parsons and The Eagles, the Everly Brothers' close-knit vocal harmonies and the songwriting craft of Lennon and Macartney welcomed them back enthusiastically in the Grassroots tent.

"Their best gig ever," said another local resident, Wolfstone founder, Duncan Chisholm, who later told the cheering Garden Stage crowd, "It's been a real homecoming gig for us" before their wild pipes and fiddles ended a skirling, stirring set with 'Highland Cathedral'.

Bella's not just about genre-spanning music. There's something to keep the wolf of boredom from every door; this year's diversions included a Flea Circus, Madame Fifi's Dance Tent, a hairdressing salon and the bungee trampolines. There's always masses of great Highland food – who could resist Cullen Skink, Highland Hog Roast or Bumble's iPud ("gigagbytes of sticky toffee" – it was pretty easy, however, to resist the Haggis Dog and Chutneep...).

Kiltarlity Village Hall ran a very civilised tea tent with award-winning homebaking and a Dairymaid competition which had children queueing to learn to milk a (model) cow. Certified dairymaids could find plenty to keep themselves amused in the Tigh nan Ogg area. And Highland drink, too, with malt whisky from Tomatin and beer from the Black Isle.

On a more serious note, Co-operative Society-sponsored debates in the Verb Garden included David Heyman talking passionately about his charity, Spirit Aid, and its projects in Malawi and Afghanistan to Newsnight Scotland's Iain McWhirter. "I love Belladrum!" first-timer Heyman interjected suddenly, a sentiment which was greeted by loud applause.

"We do, too", said the couple next to me, ensconced in comfort on a large, squashy sofa and grinning happily over a cup of Fair Trade coffee, adding "they call it Bella but really it ought to be Bellissima!".

© Jennie Macfie, 2010

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