The lure of Inverness and the Highlands is strong this year, with a host of huge musical acts being drawn north to entertain us.
Inverness welcomed in the New Year with a musical bang, with a fantastic free party featuring live music from The Elephant Sessions, Scooty and the Skyhooks and Skerryvore.
The rest of the year is shaping up to be equally spectacular with a host of huge names from the world of music making their way north including the legendary Status Quo, The Beach Boys, Bryan Adams, Olly Murs, Ali Campbell, Sophie Ellis-Bexter, Franz Ferdinand, KT Tunstall and Sandi Thom to name but a few.
It’s going to be a star-studded year, but one of the most poignant concerts will be when Status Quo play a stripped back show at Inverness Leisure Centre on June 20.
The legendary rockers, who have scored nearly 60 top-40 hits, will be led by Frances Rossi. Fellow frontman, Rick Parfitt, who died recently, was not due to appear in the Highland Capital, due to medical grounds, but will no doubt be honoured by the hundreds of fans who are expected to attend and enjoy a set packed with hits new and old from their extensive back catalogue which will be stripped back and given an acoustic twist.
The show is being organised by LCC Live who are responsible for bringing The Beach Boys, Olly Murs and Bryan Adams to the Highlands this summer.
LCC Live director Les Kidger said: “It’s been a life-long dream of mine to bring Bryan Adams to Inverness for an outdoor show, so I’m absolutely thrilled to be staging his only Scottish show in 2017, in Inverness. He’s a legendary musician, having sold millions of albums worldwide, and sounds absolutely superb live, so we expect tickets to sell fast.”
The Canadian rocker will star in an outdoor show at the Bught Park in Inverness on Sunday, July 16, as part of his Get Up tour. He said: “I’m delighted to be continuing my tour and heading up to Inverness next summer.
“It will give me an opportunity to perform tracks from my latest album, Get Up, as well as some of my earlier classics. It’s going to be a special show and I hope my fans are able to join me.”
Olly Murs, who became an overnight sensation after appearing on the TV show X Factor, is now a superstar who fills stadiums in his own right. He’ll also be performing at an outdoor show in the Bught Park, this time on Saturday, July 22.
He was the second artist to be announced by LCC Live to be performing in the city this summer, as part of Live in the City, and comes hot on the heels of the Beach Boys who appear at the city’s leisure centre on Saturday, May 27.
LCC Live’s production manager, Bob Reid, said: “It’s going to be a superb summer of music in Inverness and we hope you can join us.”
At the Ironworks, there’s several hot dates to look forward to including One Night of Queen on Friday, September 15, and featuring Gary Mullen, who shot to fame when he appeared as Freddie Mercury on the TV show Stars in Their Eyes. His concerts are legendary; the resemblance is uncanny and tickets for his show sell like hotcakes, so although it’s still nine months away, early booking is recommended.
Other hot tickets at the Ironworks include Hayseed Dixie on April 29; a St Patrick’s Day Party featuring The Rogues, The Johnny Cash Duo, Norman & Ruairidh (Drums & Box set) on Friday, March 17; A Madchester Saturday on Saturday, February 11 featuring The Complete Stone Roses and Definitely Oasis; a visit from songbirds Sandi Thom on February 9 and Sophie Ellis-Bexter on February 21 while Torridon will take part in a special Burns weekend party at the popular city centre venue on Friday, January 27. 
Another big name event heading to the Highland capital is the UB40 Grandslam 2017 Tour, featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue backed by a fantastic eight-piece reggae band and playing their inimitable blend of reggae and pop greatest hits.
They will be joined by special guests Level 42 – also performing a host of their greatest hits – The Original Wailers, featuring Al Anderson, and introducing Raging Fyah at a show in the Northern Meeting Park on Friday, May 19.
Meanwhile plans are well under way for both the Belladrum and Hebridean Celtic festivals.
Glasgow rock band Franz Ferdinand will be the headline on the Saturday night of Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival (August 3-5) when they’ll play their only Scottish festival gig this year, while Scotland’s KT Tunstall will support them on Bella’s main stage.
Formed in 2002, Franz Ferdinand have won a multitude of awards including the Mercury Price, Ivor Novello and Brit and NME awards among others. The second of their five albums to date, You Could Have It So Much Better, charted at No 1 in the UK. KT Tunstall, from St Andrews, also a Mercury Prize nominee and multi-award winner, has released five albums.
Bella patrons will need a three-day ticket to see Sister Sledge headline the Garden main stage on the Thursday night. The Philadelphia sisters have charted in the UK since 1975 with hits like We Are Family and He’s The Greatest Dancer, working successfully with Nile Rogers and Chic. Also announced for the main stage are Glasgow’s Col Mustard & The Dijon 5.
Dougie MacLean, one of Scotland’s most revered singer songwriters, will make a return to the Heb Celt festival this year, more than two decades after he helped launch the event, which has become one of Scotland’s most successful music festivals.
He will be joined at the event by Skerryvore, recently announced as Live Act of the Year at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards; the Peatbog Faeries, Imar C. Macleod (formerly known as The Boy Who Trapped The Sun) and the Luke Jackson Trio.
HebCelt, which will be held from July 19-22, has already announced headliners The Waterboys as well as former X Factor contestant Lucy Spraggan, and Tide Lines, a Scottish band with strong traditional influences who launched last year.
For news of all music and event listings, plus interviews with the biggest stars, look out for the free Your Weekend supplement each Thursday in the P&J.