Party at The Palace 2018 Preview

With Scotland currently basking in glorious sunshine and the outdoor music festival season now in full swing, it’s time to look forward to what promises to be one of the highlights of the entire summer. Although Scotland isn’t exactly short of brilliant music events and festivals, you generally have to travel to Glasgow in the West or Edinburgh in the East to reach them. However, since it’s debut in 2014, Party at The Palace has quickly established itself as a worthy alternative to the best of them.

Set in the spectacular grounds of Linlithgow Palace, this award-winning, family-friendly music festival is perfectly located for music fans across the Central Belt of Scotland and beyond. We’ve been fortunate enough to cover PATP since it’s debut and it has never failed to be anything other than spectacularly good. Every year we head home from PATP wondering how the hell the organisers could possibly top that show the following year, yet every year they somehow manage to do just that. Happily, after reading through 2018’s line-up, I reckon the organisers have done it yet again!

Featuring over 60 bands across three stages, PATP18 is headlined by indie rock legends James on Saturday 11 and the awesome Texas on Sunday 12 August. This is actually the last gig Texas will play for a while, in order that singer Sharleen Spiteri can have time to recover from a crippling back injury. As if there wasn’t already good enough reason to go along to this year’s event! The top end of this year’s running order also includes Gabrielle, Cast, Imelda May with Spice Girl Melanie C and fashion guru Gok Wan performing DJ sets.

PATP has always been a platform to showcase both established and emerging Scottish talent, and this year welcomes back Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5 to crank up the party atmosphere a notch or ten. Their brilliant blend of music, dance and crowd participation will have the entire audience singing and dancing along in no time. They may not yet be a household name, but if the object of going to a concert is to have a good time and to leave with a smile on your face, then there are few bands out there who can touch them.

One of the many things I’ve loved about PATP over the years is that sometimes there’s a hidden gem of an artist or band tucked away in the heart of the lineup. And this year is just such a year. Peter Hook & The Light might not be a name which is instantly familiar to absolutely everyone out there – especially for those of you under 30 years old. But just in case you didn’t know, Peter Hook was the bassist for not one, but two era-defining bands in Joy Division and New Order. And he’s gonna be performing here. Think about that for a moment…

All in all, PATP’s lineup is stronger and more diverse than ever. If you want to party this summer, this is where it’s at!

As usual, PATP will have a myriad of concessions selling everything you need to have a great day out. For me that generally means the beer tent! But beer aside, there’s always a really impressive array of food sellers and lots of stalls where you can buy silly hats and all the other souvenirs you only ever seem to buy at music festivals. And being family friendly, there will also be plenty of attractions to keep the little ones entertained away from the bustling main stage area.

So! There you have it. Party at The Palace 2018 is shaping up to be the biggest and best yet. It truly is a festival with something for everyone, regardless of age or musical taste. And best of all you can take the family along too! We hope to be there to bring you live updates throughout the weekend, as well as publish a full review soon after. But since you have taken the trouble to read our feature this far, you should probably go the whole hog and follow the link to buy tickets for yourself. Don’t hang about though, they’ll more than likely sell out! And please note Party at The Palace DO NOT give tickets to secondary sites, so please use one of the official outlets.

Be there!

Tickets available HERE