Arts / Boppapalooza back bigger than ever for third festival
THE ALL-DAY, multi-venue music festival Boppapalooza is to return bigger than ever for its third year this May.
This year’s main event will be held at the Mareel auditorium for the first time as standing gigs at the venue make a much welcome and long-awaited return.
Glasgow funk and soul group Tom McGuire and the Brassholes will bring the curtain down on the 2025 festival, marking the first time Boppapalooza has been headlined by a band from the mainland.
Joining them on the bill for the Mareel late-night gig are home favourites The Dirty Lemons, The Fiction, The Black 8s, Sheer and The One-Man Disco Band.
One of the festival’s organisers, Lyall Halcrow, said the festival – which showcases original music – had gone from strength to strength across its two sold-out years so far.
Boppapalooza gets its name from The Bop Shop, the not-for-profit record shop on Lerwick’s Harbour Street, whose music-loving volunteers run the event.
Halcrow said that involved everything from designing the posters to picking up bands from the airport – and cooking their meals for them all weekend.
As well as the standing gig at Mareel on Saturday 24 May, there is a free family friendly event in the Mareel cafe/bar during the day from 12pm.
Then there is an over-18s rock gig at Trench Bar from 4pm for the metal-heads.
Halcrow said the all-day format of the festival had worked well for them, with people getting to move around and see different bands throughout the day.
Boppapalooza’s first year culminated at Islesburgh, and last year the Lerwick Legion was the venue for the headline concert.
Just a day after the 2024 sell-out festival, Halcrow said they had already earmarked the returning Mareel auditorium as the ideal venue for a bigger and better 2025 offering.
Standing events have been in very short supply at the venue in recent years amid a lack of certified security staff in the isles – but a recent local training scheme funded by surplus Tall Ships Races money looks set to bear fruit.
Boppapalooza’s Mareel auditorium gig will be brought to a close by the energetic eight-piece Tom McGuire and the Brassholes, who Halcrow described as being an “absolute powerhouse of funk and soul”.
He said they were an incredible festival band that he is confident will be perfect for a Shetland gig.
More bands will be announced by The Bop Shop for the afternoon Mareel and Trench gigs in due course.
Tickets for the Mareel auditorium part of Boppapalooza 2025 went on sale this morning (Thursday) through the Shetland Arts box office.
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