A capacity crowd descended on Park Farm, Dumfries on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 June for the UK’s largest free youth music festival.
An audience of around 40,000 over the course of the weekend were entertained by fantastic performances on the Main Stage, Second Stage and Dance Stage. The Youth Beatz Festival Main Stage featured performances from well-known UK acts Saint Phnx, Cascada, Jonas Blue, Alice Deejay, Sigala and Talia Mar, as well as some young up and coming performers from across Dumfries and Galloway.
The Second Stage, ran in partnership with DMC (Dumfries Music Collective) featured performers from across Dumfries and Galloway and the rest of Scotland including Reece Williamson, Connie Ewart and Megan Black. The Dance Stage featured performances from dance acts from across the region, including Stranraer, Newton Stewart, Dumfries and Lockerbie.
Over the weekend, social media has been full of posts, tags and comments – with some of the acts also getting involved in posting content.
Saint Phnx shared multiple videos and photos to their Instagram stories showcasing their Sunday night performance as well as thanking the crowds in Dumfries.
Alice Deejay shared on Instagram “Thank you for all of this weekend’s energy, love and fun! We had a blast on stage.”
Sunday performer Sigala shared content on his Instagram stories showing his journey to Dumfries as well as videos from his action-packed slot as Youth Beatz 2024’s final Main Stage act.
THE TOON youth drama production is a major feature of Youth Beatz and is designed to be a hard-hitting and shocking way of providing information to young people aged 14 to 25 about current issues that may be affecting them or may affect them in the future.
The interactive experience was host to over 2400 young people on the Youth Beatz Festival weekend – that is on top of the schools shows and preview performances to young people in the week leading up to the festival weekend. Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Youth Work Service, together with partners, support a group of young volunteers to deliver the interactive youth zone by attendance at issue-based training plus performance and production camps. The Toon invites groups of young people to experience issues focussed on domestic abuse, knife crime, drugs and alcohol, mental health and bullying in short interpretive scenes.
Some of the comments from young people who went through The Toon were:
“Information presented through the Toon is relatable because it’s been designed and delivered by young people for young people.”“The Toon really opened my eyes as to what young people today go through and the challenges they face, it’s good to know you are never alone with how you’re feeling and the support that is available.”
“The Toon young volunteers have done a fantastic job again in delivering their drama production, a huge well done to them all.”
Other attractions on the weekend included a wide range of activities from youth information to giant inflatables. Youth Work partners promoted their services alongside partners from local and national community organisations within the youth information marketplace. The Kids Tent was non-stop all day, featuring performances from Road Runner, Tell Together Tales by Renita Boyle, and Double Trouble, and transforming into a huge children’s party each night with BJ Children’s Entertainer and Sophie Stardust.
A Dumfries and Galloway Council spokesperson said: “Dumfries and Galloway Council is once again delighted with the high-quality event that has been delivered in our region. As the UK’s largest free youth music festival, Youth Beatz has highlighted what our region has to offer and this would not be possible without the help and valuable inputs of all the dedicated staff, Events Team and volunteers both youth and adult, and we are incredibly appreciative of all of their fantastic efforts.
“Youth Beatz is more than a music festival, it allows young people to broaden their horizons and to try new things, and we already can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2025.”
One young person attending the festival over the weekend said: “Thank you for the best two nights of my life.”Another festival goer said: “Very well organised and a wonderful weekend for all ages, thank you for all the hard work and effort that goes into this event!”
Families and young people travelled from across Scotland for the event. One said: “Came down from the central belt and are so happy we came down, was plenty for the kids to do and see! Thank you to all of the organisers for the obvious hard work that goes into this event.”
Another key feature of the festival is the Youth Beatz Fringe, which runs in the lead up to the event, and this year featured events in each Ward area of our region. The events that featured were all well attended by members of the local community, and included silent roller discos, urban adventure nights, outdoor games and challenges, inflatable sessions, dance nights and family fun days.
The award-winning event was managed through a partnership led by Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Young Peoples Service in conjunction with the Oasis Events Team and Event Scotland. Funding for the event has been secured from Young Start, Awards for All, Alcohol and Drugs Partnership Dumfries and Galloway and Dumfries and Galloway Council.
Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland Director of Events, said: “EventScotland is proud to have supported Youth Beatz through our National Events Programme. As Scotland’s largest youth music event, it is an important part of Scotland’s annual portfolio of annual events, providing young people from across Dumfries and Galloway and the rest of Scotland the chance to connect, enjoy and share a memorable experience.
“Events play an important role in our communities and I’d like to congratulate the Youth Beatz team on delivering another outstanding, sold-out event. They provided the perfect stage to celebrate the diverse talent and endless potential of young people from across Dumfries and Galloway in a safe and friendly environment.”
The Council’s Youth Work Service would like to thank all partners involved in planning the event and hopefully look forward to building on the success in the future. To view pictures of the event, head to the event social media channels and the website www.youthbeatz.co.uk
