Scotland has never seen anything like it, nor, come to that, has the rest of Britain, because an event that brings together music, snowsports, mountains, world-class DJs and adrenalin-fuelled stunts has never taken place in this country before.
Groove Cairnorm promises to be fantastic and it’s certainly a cutting-edge concept from the people who brought the hugely successful Groove Loch Ness to the Highlands last year. The festival takes place this weekend, between tomorrow, Friday, March 11, and Sunday, March 13, and will be hosted in conjunction with CairnGorm Mountain Ltd, in Aviemore.
As well as regular snowsports, the event will take place over the same weekend as the Scottish Freestyle Championships, so festivalgoers can enjoy viewing some of the UK’s top riders during the day. Following the snowsports and entertainment each day on the mountain, there will be apres-ski events, with live music and world-class DJs until the early hours at Badaguish Outdoor Centre on Friday and Saturday in a big top.
The line-up for artists on the mountain will feature a mixture of DJs and acoustic acts performing on the slopes, at the park and in the highest restaurant in the UK, The Ptarmigan. Headliners for the apres-ski big top are the legendary DJ and hip-hop star Grandmaster Flash, the man who brought the genre of scratching to the masses, and renowned musical tastemakers Hot Chip, who will be playing a DJ set.
Also appearing over the weekend is one act guaranteed to get any party started, Highland festival favourites The Cuban Brothers, along with The Lafontaines, DJ YODA, Glasgow synth pop act Prides, BBC Radio 1/1Xtra’s underground electronic tastemaker DJ Monki, and Eton Messy, who are regarded as digital leaders in pushing the latest forward-thinking electronic music.
Homegrown entertainment comes from Skye’s Niteworks, with their fusion of electronic and traditional sounds, Spring Break, winner of the Scottish Alternative Music Awards “best hip-hop group”, and a Highland-based band that are rising stars of the music scene, The Elephant Sessions.
Following the huge success of the inaugural Groove Loch Ness last summer, Groove is very excited to be expanding, launching the UK’s first resort based-snowsports festival in 2016.
“We’re bringing snowsports back to their spiritual home. After the success of the inaugural Groove Loch Ness last summer, we just couldn’t wait a whole year for our next party, and we are very excited to be partnering with CairnGorm Mountain to be delivering this fantastic event,” said Sam Barker, one of the Groove founders.
“Badaguish is a magical spot hidden in the woods halfway between Aviemore and the Cairn Gorm mountain. We really wanted to make sure that we found the perfect space to host the musical acts in the evening, and are confident that this is it.
“Cairn Gorm mountain has been given a facelift since it was taken over by Natural Retreats in 2014. The endless work they have been doing in the summer months has a huge impact on the conditions in winter, which stay better for longer. We want to celebrate that and give snow-riders the opportunity to enjoy a snowsports festival weekend on home snow that doesn’t break the bank.”
Natural Retreats CairnGorm Mountain, one of the most popular snowsport destinations in Scotland, is located within the Cairngorms National Park and has been offering snowsports for more than 50 years. The mountain has 30km of ski runs, 11 lifts, including the UK’s longest mountain railway, a fully maintained freestyle park and an onsite snow school that caters for all levels and ages.
There are routes and runs suitable for beginners, intermediates and experts, and the slopes are also home to a collection of fun freestyle areas for the more advanced. In the summer, Natural Retreats CairnGorm Mountain offers a number of activities including mountain biking, hiking and birdwatching: www.cairngormmountain.org
Free shuttle buses will be provided for festivalgoers between Aviemore and the Cairn Gorm mountain for the snowsports during the day, along with free shuttle-bus transport from the mountain and Aviemore to and from Badaguish. Shuttle buses will also be operating between Inverness and Badaguish for those who want to attend the music element only. These will depart Inverness from 3pm and return from Badaguish at 1am each day, costing just £15 for a return bus ticket.
There are a number of ticket options on offer, ranging from music or snowsport-only tickets to full three-day passes which include mountain snowsports and apres-ski big top entertainment. Prices start from £25.50 for a mountain pass and £35 for a big top pass, rising to £140 for a three-day mountain and music pass. These can be purchased from www.skiddle.com. For further details visit www.groovecairngorm.co.uk
Meanwhile, it has been announced that Groove Loch Ness, heralded as a nightclub under the stars, is due to return to the iconic location on the banks of the loch for its second outing on Saturday, August 20, 2016.
Event organiser Dougie Brown said: “We are delighted to be bringing Groove Loch Ness back for 2016. Without doubt, we have one of the most stunning festival locations anywhere in the world and the party atmosphere proved we also have probably the best audience too.”
Tickets for this festival are available from www.groovelochness.co.uk and via www.skiddle.com