The Wickerman Twins with Lake of Stars

One of Scotland’s most diverse and exciting music events, The Wickerman Festival, announces a twinning agreement with an international, award-winning festival that takes place in the heart of Africa. 

vinspired Lake of Stars, in Malawi, has been pledged a sizable donation by Dumfries & Galloway’s Wickerman Festival to help them secure a Scottish headline act: the aim is that the festivals will work together to promote Scottish and African arts, culture and tourism, with bands from both continents having the opportunity to perform on an international stage.  

Taking place from 15 to 17 October, vinspired Lake of Stars was created in 2004 to raise much needed funds for the developing economy, help promote Malawi as a tourist destination and give international and local artists a platform on which they could perform side-by-side.  

This supports the ethos behind Scotland’s Wickerman Festival, which takes place on 23 and 24 July. Now in its ninth year the festival annually brings in £2.5million for the local economy while offering  British and international visitors renowned acts and up-and-coming musicians with a  mix of rock, indie, punk, electro, techno, drum & bass, reggae and folk music across eight stages.  

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Jamie Gilroy, land owner and Wickerman Festival director, said: “A twinning partnership is something we have thought about for a long time – through careful consideration and research we are delighted to commit our support to vinspired Lake of Stars. This is an amazing festival which not only provides a much-needed boost to the local economy but showcases some of the most inspiring artists in the world. We are looking forward to working with them.” 

Will Jameson, vinspired Lake of Stars festival founder and director, said: “Given the historic partnership between Scotland and Malawi, it makes sense for our first festival twinning to be with the fantastic Wickerman Festival.” 

This partnership has the backing of the Scottish Government, as Fiona Hyslop, Minster for Culture and External Affairs, comments: “Scotland has a unique and historical relationship with Malawi, and the Scottish Government already has strong links with Malawi through our international development work. Our Co-operation Agreement with the Government of Malawi identifies priority areas for development funding and it gives a commitment to work in the key areas of Civil Society and Governance, Sustainable Economic Development, Health and Education. The new partnership between The Wickerman Festival and vinspired Lake of Stars provides an exciting opportunity to further strengthen our relationship with Malawi through arts and cultural exchanges.” 

Kenneth Ross, chairperson of the Scotland Malawi Partnership, adds: “'The Scotland Malawi Partnership (SMP) is extremely excited about the prospective collaboration. Scotland is proud of its historic partnership with Malawi and today there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of separate grassroots links between the two countries. However, there have been few high profile popular culture links as large and ambitious as this proposed partnership between two of Scotland and Malawi's largest music festivals.” 

Local to Dumfries is Malawi-born Mizeck Chagunda, who is a researcher for the Scottish Agricultural College. He adds: "As a Malawian living in Dumfries & Galloway, and also as someone who works for an organisation that has links with Malawi, I am delighted to see that the Wickerman also has links to the country.  This is very exciting that Scotland-Malawi linkages not only have an agricultural and scientific dimension but also a very strong cultural dimension.” 

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