Episode 251: Katch Holmes and Knockengorroch Festival

Persistent and Nasty

Elaine chats with Katch Holmes Creative Producer and Programmer and steerer of Knockengorroch Festival. We chat everything from the beginnings of the festival, finding your North Star, music and how it makes you feel and much more. KNOCKENGORROCH FESTIVAL 22ND -25TH MAY 2025 TICKET LINK Link to hear Kuchke Knockengorroch and The Green Gathering Two of the UK’s longest-running grassroots festivals – Knockengorroch and The Green Gathering – are joining forces to create a pioneering partnership celebrating Celtic music, land, and nature. Launching at a time when independent festivals are under increasing pressure, Meet Us by the Fireside is a symbol of resilience and unity, offering festival-goers a unique opportunity to experience both events at a discounted rate. Green Gathering Tickets Knockengorroch Festival Knockengorroch Festivals were born from a love of the land, excellent roots music and celebrating the good times. We present unparalleled music, arts and workshops in a beautiful mountain riverside meadow. For us location is key. We are one of the most beautiful and unique festival venues in the UK. Our festival commemorates and celebrates the history and the people that once lived in our valley, in former times an entire village… We are a festival run by a family, for families, in the very broadest sense of the word. We support rural regeneration in the Uplands of Scotland, creating local business and enterprise, and attracting visitors to a still surprisingly relatively unexplored region of Scotland, our ‘Hidden Gem’. In times long past the native hills and streams of Scotland shaped its music. Stream becomes river, rural track becomes urban street, the musical landscape of today’s global village is diverse, both urban and rurally inspired. But all music speaks a universal language. Knockengorroch establishes progressive linkage between sounds indigenous to its natural amphitheatre venue and the now far-flung Celtic diaspora, once rooted in such homely places. We promote multi-cultural forms and musical genres, highlighting the connection between roots music and the lands and people that created it. Music from all continents is presented alongside the best in Scottish talent to showcase music in both traditional and contemporary fields. It is Knockengorroch’s unique remit not only to celebrate cultural diversity and fusion, but to make the music home amongst the hills once more, and give it up to the people. Katch Holmes Katch is a Creative Producer. She conceives of, synthesise and deliver international cultural activity, having worked in the sector for over 20 years. She programmes and steers the Knockengorroch music festival which takes place in the Southern Uplands of South West Scotland. Katch produces further creative projects that highlight people, landscape and heritage. For more details you can browse the projects page.She presents and represents exceptional music through my agency Off Site Productions. As a professional coach (Relational Dynamics ILM Level 7) she coach creatives to help achieve their goals. Katch is a director on the board of the Scottish Music Industry Association. She is a Clore fellow, having taken part in the Clore Cultural Leadership programme in 2012/13. Enjoys being a mum of a small human and a small dog. OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk Persistent and Nasty join the CEC community to create a safe space & build a community for those who are marginalised in any way in the arts. Link for our Zoom meeting with Creative Entrepreneurs Club https://creativeentrepreneursclub.co.uk/ IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES Equity Toolkit: Link Stellar Quines: Link Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership Email – [email protected] Instagram - @persistentandnasty Twitter - @PersistentNasty