Perth students selected for Belladrum opportunity

Students from Perth College UHI will be showcasing and developing their skills at this year’s Belladrum festival. Music and hospitality students have been selected for opportunities offered through the University of the Highlands and Islands’ careers and employability centre and music department.

Seven students have secured work experience placements at the festival. Audio engineering students Christine Heriot and Erika Schweighofer will be working with the production team, while music business students Lauren Patterson, Christopher Glynn and Kitt Carr will take up roles as press and site assistants. Ruth Stewart, a technical theatre student will develop her experience as a lighting assistant with Limelight Event Services and popular music student Stuart Duncan will work as an artist liaison.  

Speaking about the opportunity, Stuart Duncan (23) from Aberdeen, said: “I’m really looking forward to joining a strong team dedicated to creating a brilliant experience for event-goers event-makers alike. As it’s my first time, I am thrilled to have been selected for artist liaison and I’m ready to build my best self for this.”

Student band The Purple Felts, meanwhile, will showcase their talents with an appearance on the XpoNorth Seedlings stage. The Perth-based six-piece, made up of students from the university’s BA (Hons) popular music course, will open the stage at 11:30am on Saturday with a set of original funk and high-energy ska.

The Purple Felts drummer, Matt Walker from Kirkcaldy, said: “We’re really excited for what we hope to be one of our biggest shows to date, which comes just after the launch of our debut EP! The show comes at a good time for us as it will be an opportunity to get our music to a bunch of fresh ears. Plus, we can't wait to experience the festival!”

Joe Gibbs, the festival founder, said: “Perth College UHI’s BA course consistently nurtures talent and provides students with industry standard skills. We have a great relationship with the team who look after the course and welcome new students each year to the festival for experience, many of whom impress so much that they return to the event to work in subsequent years.”