Bonfest 2025

Cast your mind back to 2022 when my sister, niece and I walked Mayar and Dreish. We stopped in Kirriemuir on the way home and learned of Bonfest. With many a great evening spent at Rock Night as students, Susan and I decided we must join the Bonfest fun one day. 2025 was our year! There are two key questions here: why did it take us so long? When can we return?

Friday Night Fun

It was a sharp exit from work on Friday to hit the road. First time festival goers, neither of us had packed particularly light but we had the luxury of space having booked a bell tent. Arriving in Kirriemuir we had no idea where to go (as we hadn’t really read the emails) and had to ask for directions on Bellies Brae; turned out it was pretty much a straight line from here and we very soon saw the tents.

Checking In

Arriving on site we stopped and showed our tickets to the car park attendants who chatted away giving us initial information. We parked and checked in for camping, again met with friendly folks; this feel good welcome set the tone of the weekend. Everyone we met was engaging and social, a lovely atmosphere throughout the town.

A few trips from car to tent, we unpacked a few essentials to feel at home and had a wee wander to check out the facilities, then headed off in search of the fun.

Anyone For Tea?

The local Rotary Club had a stall selling soft drinks, teas and coffees, and pies, so this was one of our first stops after picking up our pre-ordered merchandise. Susan was chuffed with her gift of a Bonfest t-shirt and I was equally delighted with mine; always good to get ladies fit t-shirts!

We headed into the tent and quickly realised that our festival earplugs would most definitely be an asset over the weekend. While Susan had taken care of practicalities such as bringing water and a few snacks, I’d bought us some Alpine Tune earplugs. These turned out to be a great purchase, very much allowing us enjoyment of the music while also protecting our ears, avoiding that horrible post gig feeling of ringing ears for hours or days!

Having enjoyed some music, the sun still very much out, we headed back outdoors, stopping at the bar for a pint and then ordering delicious pizza from Woodburns. Given the volume of orders they were dealing with, service all round was very slick. Susan got chatting to folks sitting beside her and we picked up a tip for the Town Hall – go to the balcony for a seat as there’s enough standing in the evening; this proved invaluable as the weekend went on.

Over the course of the evening we were entertained by Lovetrain, The Karma Effect and Hardbone. The atmosphere was great, enough room to be comfortable, a fabulous start to the weekend. We felt very much at home despite not having the ‘uniform’ of the majority.

Susan and I are so rock and roll! Rather than hitting the bar, we hit the Rotary stall once more, another cup of tea setting us up for the headline act of the night, AC in DC then set a high bar for the rest of the weekend, throwing out all the AC/DC classics and very much getting us in the mood for a great weekend of rock!

The Glamping Experience

We’d hired a bell tent, a step up from camping as we had mattresses to separate us from the cold ground, a bit more space than your standard tent, and we were close to the facilities. These were great! The toilets were ‘proper’ toilets as opposed to portaloos – there were plenty of these outside the festival tent – and there were lovely, individual shower cubicles! Bonus – hot running water 24 hours a day!

I’d taken a torch, envisaging darkness at night; turns out they have floodlights at festivals so we were never in true darkness. I guess this made it less of a shock to the system when daylight did arrive!

Friday night was a little noisy due to our proximity to the ‘welfare tent’, folks having congregated there after the bands ended, but it didn’t bother us too much.

Paying Homage to Bon

Saturday morning saw me up and contemplating Forfar parkrun. I decided against it as it was easier to run locally and then spend time with Susan again. A few miles around Kirriemuir got me some decent ascent. I headed back in plenty of time for a breakfast roll and cuppa from the catering van.

Showered and dressed we set off to visit the legendary Bon Scott, stopping at Pathhead Farm for coffee on route. This was a great wee stop, The Garden Café having lots of delicious offerings and a very friendly dog!

Long Way to the Top

Thereafter, we made our way up to the town centre to await the open top lorry, AC in DC taking the ‘stage’ to play their way around the town, recreating the original video for ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top’. The crowds were massive, locals and festival goers alike lining the streets to await the spectacle!

Finally we heard the sound of guitars, drums and pipes! The lorry came into view, AC in DC rocking out on the open top, followed by hoards of people. It was worth the wait!

Band over, we enjoyed a blether with the local constabulary as we planned our next steps.

Power Nap in the Town Hall

Following the parade we decided to visit the Town Hall. Earplugs in, we followed the recommendation of the couple we’d met on Friday night and headed upstairs to the balcony. It was warm and comfortable, and after a while, much to Susan’s amusement, I was caught having a wee power nap! Still vaguely conscious of the music, it refreshed me enough to party on for the rest of the day without being grumpy!

The band playing was Heatseeker, they were decent so my nap is no reflection on their talents!

Leaving the Town Hall we enjoyed a leisurely wander back to the campsite, stopping for snacks on route. We then enjoyed an hour of relative peace before heading out to the main stage in the tent for the evening bands.

Sticking to my plan of taking it easy, I decided to have a cup of tea. Little did I realise it would take forever by the time I’d walked through security and tents to reach the bar / tea stall and return!

Saturday Night

The sun still out and a chilly night ahead, we opted to stay outdoors for as long as possible. Debating food, we were contemplating cheesy chips with Jack Daniels sauce and got chatting to a couple of guys who were enjoying theirs; turned out they were our tent neighbours and also from our neck of the woods in everyday life.

Massive portion of chips, the cheese congealed on top as they cooled, we both admitted defeat before we finished!

We saw three bands: These Wicked Rivers, Girlschool (I’d never heard of them, but our ‘neighbours’ were excited to see them and Bruce seemed to recognise them from the past when I returned home to share my tales) and finally Sin City.

If I’m honest, by the end of the night I was feeling tired and there were one or two AC/DC songs I’d heard enough of! At the back of 10 pm we sat down for a short time, grateful of the benches at the back of the tent, as we were done.

Campsite Shenanigans

Going to bed, once again there was some chatter and buzz from the welfare tent. Unlike the previous night though where I’d zoned out and slept, this time Susan fell asleep and I got more and more annoyed by it. By around 1 am I was raging! As there was no response to my bluster from my tent companion – she was zonked – I got up and wandered over to the toilet.

On the way back, still furious, I paused to contemplate my next step. One of the security folks came out to ask if I was okay and I politely shared that I couldn’t sleep due to the noise and enquired if there was any way she could request the folks in the welfare tent tone it down a little. She (quite reasonably) said that they usually chase folks to bed around 2 am as it is a festival. While understanding, I must have looked slightly unhinged with my unruly bed head, hat, pyjamas and fleece, so she kindly said she’d speak to them rather than having me go in; who knows what I might have uttered!

Thankfully the noise did settle and the voices became more hushed. Susan woke to hear my return and was highly amused / affronted by my rage when we reflected in the morning.

Sunday Lie In

We enjoyed a bit of a lie in and a lazy start to the day. I had a quick run around the town before showering and heading up to The Garden Café at Pathhead Farm for a proper coffee and breakfast. We were warmly welcomed again and it was great to see so many Bonfesters supporting the local businesses. I was also delighted to see the dog, Obi, once again to get my doggy fix!

The Plunk Stage

Smaller bands play at the Plunk Stage throughout the morning. We stopped off to see what was going on. Less crowds here, the majority were probably still coming to after a lively Saturday night!

There were also various stalls here; I felt sorry for the one poor lady whose racks of merchandise kept blowing over in the breeze! I’d have given up and gone home!

At the Plunk Stage I realised I’d forgotten my earplugs so we walked back to the tent to pick them up. Sufficient time having passed since breakfast, we stopped at the Pathhead Café yet again as they had divine looking cheesecake that we had to taste! It didn’t disappoint!

Afternoon Nap

Once again, the Town Hall saw me sneak in an afternoon nap, particularly impressive given the volume that the band were playing at!

Campsite Banter

The folks volunteering at the campsite were great! Super friendly, they always had a chat with folks coming and going. One of them shared a top tip with Susan: don’t wear all your clothes to bed, instead stuff them around you in your sleeping bag to create warm air pockets. Handy tip for later as the temperature dropped overnight.

Keen to see all of the Sunday night bands, we didn’t hang around the site for long before heading out for the evening.

Super Sunday Night

For me, Sunday night was the best! We kicked off with Silveroller, my observation that they were a band when we spotted them in the Pathhead Café being correct.

I was super excited to see the next band, The Virginmarys, as I’d loved their tracks on the BonFest soundtrack. They didn’t disappoint!

We managed to cram in a pizza between bands, then had a great performance from The Wildhearts. Another band I’d never seen but was very impressed with!

Interestingly, I noticed over the course of the evening that many people around us were wearing earplugs of some description. It appears that we were not alone in looking to avoid ringing ears for days! We’d both recommend the Alpine Tune earplugs; having fitted them for size, they stayed put, allowed us to hear one another speak (providing we spoke into the good ear!) and enabled us to enjoy great sound quality from the bands.

Last but definitely not least, Back ‘n’ Black played out the evening with some cracking AC/DC tunes. I could have rocked on for quite some time yet, not ready to finish the evening or weekend.

We had such an amazing weekend! It’s astounding to think that Bonfest is organised by volunteers to support the local charity, DD8. Truly outstanding work!

Chilly Night

Colder than previous nights, Susan stuffed her sleeping bag and I slept with my hat on. We woke up to morning sun again after a more peaceful night, everyone aware of the need to be fit for travelling with some having a long way to go. The only noise we’d heard, and I’d zoned out quite happily from, was the banging from the main stage as the lighting rigs were dismantled.

Susan and I, not having far to travel, opted to pack up the car and then hoof it up to the café at Pathhead one last time.

Suitably caffeinated, we hit the road, headed for home. Bonfest, you were everything we’d hoped for and more! What an experience! We will definitely be back!