MugStock has found a new home at Strathallan Castle. MugStock 2020 will take place on the castle’s estate over the weekend Friday 31st July – Monday 3rd August.
MugStock takes its name from Mugdock Country Park, where the festival began life in 2015. We’ve absolutely loved our time there, and we would like to give huge thanks to Stirling Council, East Dunbartonshire Council and the Mugdock staff team who have supported the festival so enthusiastically since its inception.
The move allows us to greatly enhance festival goers’ experience by utilising the considerable infrastructure left as a legacy of T in the Park, which took place on the estate from 2015-16. With a capacity of 1500, MugStock’s audience will be around 2% the size of its predecessor, and whilst you probably shouldn’t expect a similar array of stadium filler headliners, visitors are certainly promised a more intimate, relaxed family friendly festival experience.
Director of planning Alan Govan said:
“From the festival’s inception we wanted to ensure that MugStock was a festival for all ages. Nearly a third of our audience have been 12 and under every year, and we offer discounts to over 60s, and many other concessions, because we believe that the more inclusive we can be the more fun everyone will have. MugStock’s mission is to make people happy. We have always set out to create a safe, authentic, and uplifting environment to be enjoyed by and inspire a diverse audience. We’ll be taking our name, our ethos, and hopefully our wonderful audience with us when we move. Our expansive and stunning new site allows us to offer almost everything audience members have ever asked for: being able to camp near the car park, and a site that is nicely spaced out for noise, ambience and atmosphere, but close enough together that it’s easy to find each other, and to enjoy as many bands and attractions as possible.”
Musically, MugStock’s will continue to prioritise showcasing the very best of Scotland’s established, emerging and under-discovered talent, but our reach will continue to be international, with acts booked from USA, Russia, South Africa and Italy in recent years and this trend set to continue in 2020. MugStock is a festival ran by musicians for music lovers, and the festival’s expansive programme reflects the broad tastes of its organisers. Ticket buyers can expect a highly eclectic programme without strict adherence to any particular genre. The hand-picked line-up will include hidden gems as well as a few better known names. In recent years Roddy Woomble, Malcolm Middleton, Stanley Odd, Bombskare, Beats Antique, Emma Pollock, Rachel Sermanni, BMX Bandits and Asian Dub Foundation have all graced our stages, and we have some exciting irons in the fire for 2020.
Since hosting T in the Park, Strathallan Castle has continued to build its profile as an events venue, and has also been used as a filming location for Outlander. We plan to use the 13th century castle as a dramatic backdrop to our new main stage. Of course we’re no strangers to castles, having had 2 at Mugdock Country Park, and having organised an impromptu game of musical hide and seek with the lovely Orkestra Del Sol at Mugdock Castle during the first MugStock in 2015, one of the “Extraordinary Occurrences” which help make MugStock feel so special:
Organisers would love to hear from anyone with any ideas of how we can follow previous happenings like 2015’s kazoo playing conga world record attempt, and 2018’s giant human peace symbol in support of Scottish CND.
A festival with a social conscious, MugStock operates on a not for profit basis, and is a registered charity, led by volunteers and employing a small but dedicated team of events professionals. Whilst hundreds of contributors collaborate to create an unforgettable weekend, planning the festival is a year round endeavour through which we aim to create a strong community of volunteers, performers, contributors, staff and visitors, all united by our appreciation of creative talent and the great outdoors.
MugStock regulars can expect the same features they have come to love, such as refined beats at the Glade, An open air main stage, eclectic new music on the Chameleon stage, reasonably priced bars featuring locally produced refreshments, an extensive families programme, elaborate site decor, roaming performers, talks, workshops, “extraordinary occurrences”, and SmugStock: an area where festival-goers can get a massage and waiter service in a comfy spot in front of the main stage. New for 2020 we plan to take advantage of our more luxuriously proportioned site by adding a healing area, open air theatre, jam tent, cinema and a gigantic kids area.
Another new addition is a Monday cool-down session with some carefully chosen acts to help you transition back to the real world in comfort and style. Take Monday Off!
Super Early Bird Tickets are on sale now, with a weekend camping ticket costing just £85 (rising to a final price of £125), and a range of day tickets and discount tickets for kids, teens, displaced people, those in receipt of benefits, and over 60s.
See you at Strathallan!
Some photographs of our new site:
