The founder of Elgin’s MacMoray has revealed the popular festival will end next year.
The event takes place twice a year at Cooper Park, after being started in 2022 by Andy Macdonald who wanted to ‘bring music to Moray’.
Since then, acts such as Peter Andre, Atomic Kitten, Cascada, Sandi Thom and B*witched have performed for around 100,000 music lovers.
Now, Mr Macdonald has revealed he is “tired” – and will be bringing the festival to a close when his licence for MacMoray expires next year.
‘It’s been a pleasure’
In an emotional post online, Mr Macdonald said he wants to spend more time with his family, including a new baby due to arrive in September.
He reflected on his first ever festival and the tragedy that surrounded it.
His “first true love”, Sarah, fell ill two weeks before the show and sadly both she and their unborn child passed away shortly after .
He continued: “Following this, I moved back to my home town where my small team and I have had the pleasure of entertaining well over 100,000 customers, with a majority being this year alone.
“Organising one of Scotland’s greatest independent festival for near on half a decade has been absolutely exhausting but it has been great running multiple successful events and feeling like we have made lasting memories for not only attendee’s but also for our team, our acts, as well as the huge impact it has had on the local economy & community.”
He revealed that he and his partner, Angela, are expecting a baby girl, Macie, in September and he wants to be there as much as possible for her.
“With each year, my priorities have shifted, and I know more than most how important the special things are in life, especially family and loved ones,” he said.
“I dedicated the past five years of my life to MacMoray and I’m satisfied with all we have accomplished, but I’m tired.”
MacMoray festival organisers ‘giving away close to £1,000,000 in tickets’
Mr MacDonald said the past few years “calls for celebration” and that he wants to make the final festival the best yet.
MacMoray Easter 2025 will be the last event and Mr Macdonald – who says he wants to give back to the people who have supported him – will give away free tickets for it to anyone attending the 2024 summer festival.
He added: “I realise that I’m unnecessarily giving away close to £1,000,000 in tickets but you know what… the remaining two MacMoray’s, both The Summer Special & Easter 2025 will be absolutely incredible, and I wouldn’t be in a position to do this if it wasn’t for the amazing support we have received over the years.”
He added that MacMoray Easter 2025 will be the biggest line-up ever, and wants fan favourites to return for one “final hurrah”.
He said: “We will be finding out everyone’s favourite artists over the past years and we will be bringing them back, along with some new artists too – ensuring Easter 2025 will be better than ever.
“I will personally guarantee this.”
Conversation