Primal Scream headline festival celebrating ‘amazing’ V&A Dundee

Scots rockers Primal Scream have hailed the “amazing” V&A Dundee as they headlined a festival to celebrate the opening of the new museum.

Thousands of fans turned out on Friday to see the group top the bill on the first night of the two-day 3D Festival in the city’s Slessor Gardens.

Sets from singer-songwriter Tallia Storm, Dundee’s own Be Charlotte and BBC Radio 1 Brit List artist Lewis Capaldi kicked off the free, ticketed event just hours ahead of the museum’s doors being thrown open to the public on Saturday.

Mid-way through the gig, Primal Scream lead singer Bobby Gillespie told the crowd: “It’s great to be here tonight and amazing you have this new V&A museum. I hope you make great use of it.

“Hopefully it will inspire a new generation of artists to come to Dundee, that’s what we want, right?”

The band performed a non-stop set of hits including Movin’ on Up, Come Together and Loaded.

Festival-goers were already looking forward to visiting the V&A and seeing the benefits it is bringing to the city.

Shirley Webb from Dundee, who lives in Australia, said of the building: “It’s absolutely amazing, beautiful. I haven’t been back for three years and already I can feel the vibe is different here, so much more vibrant compared to what it was.”

Gordon Low, who was born and bred in Dundee, said: “I think it’s a fantastic thing for Dundee, and not only Dundee, internationally as well. I think it brings a whole lot of creativity to the city.

“People will spend the time coming to this wonderful city and visiting not just the V&A but the surroundings. It’s a fantastic place to visit.”

One Dundee-based festival-goer, who did not want to be named, added: “It’s going to make quite a dynamic impact visually and I think that’s great for the city.

“It would be nice if (the economic benefit from the museum) extended right across the city, I think that would be really nice.

“I definitely will go and visit it. When it was first publicised that the museum would come, they spoke about the David Bowie exhibition coming and maybe the Alexander McQueen exhibition. I think that would be brilliant and would draw in crowds big style.”

The two-day festival continues on Saturday with a day dedicated to celebrating creative talent from the Dundee area. It is free and un-ticketed.

Organisers expect up to 20,000 people to attend over the two days of the festival, a key event in Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018.

The £80.1 million Kengo Kuma-designed building, which officially opens on Saturday, is the striking centrepiece of the ongoing £1 billion regeneration of Dundee’s waterfront.

Entry over the opening weekend is reserved for those who have pre-booked tickets.