THE world’s biggest Burns night returned to the Loreburn Hall on Saturday with star-studded line up for Burns Night Live.
As the cornerstone event for the Big Burns Supper festival the evening of music and merriment saw hundreds of people attend to celebrate the 266th birthday of Scotland’s national bard.
The stage was set for the celebration and the hall was lined with splendidly decorated tables before Dumfries darling Tattie Von Haggis welcomed everyone to the party and introduced the evening’s hostess with the mostess singer and broadcaster Michelle McManus.
As the audience began tucking into their haggis, neeps and tatties, Grant Dinwiddie said ‘Tae a Haggis’ bringing a bit of tradition back to night.
The ‘queen of Burns’ herself Eddi Reader took to the stage for her set which included many of the bard’s best as well as songs inspired by Burns himself and few Eddie Reader including ‘Patience of angels’ and ‘Perfect’. When asked by Michelle McManus why she keeps coming back to Burns, she said: “I think he’s wan’ ay us and I love that wan’ ay us can be as smart as him, as loving as him, as descriptive as Scotland as him and all the characters that he puts into his songs, and we still have got them with us today. And I love that of all the great writers in the world from John Steinbeck, David Bowie, Bob Dylan they all love Robert Burns.”
Audiences from across globe came together via the power of YouTube to enjoy the full spectrum of what Burns Night means to a whole host of communities. Countries represented included Scotland, England, Ireland, Australia, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Canada and America
Another highlight of the evening was Scottish traditional musician of the year, Claire Hastings who captivated the audience with her acapella version of ‘Ye banks and braes’ and her own arrangement of ‘Posey’ on the ukulele.
The evening continued with performances from Mellow Party featuring Dumfries Community Choir before being joined by the rest of the performers to sing Auld Lang Syne to bring the live event to a close.
