Peat & Diesel’s Black Isle Belter 2025 – A Highland Hoolie for the Ages
All images © Alan Cruickshank
Black Isle Belter, curated by Stornoway’s riotous folk-rockers Peat & Diesel, this year’s festival wasn’t just a gig in a field—it was a full-blown Highland hoolie that roared across the Black Isle Showground with unapologetic energy, spirit, and soul.
Now in its second year, Black Isle Belter 2025 didn’t just match the buzz of its 2024 debut—it cranked it up to eleven. Over two days (3–4 May), the festival delivered a line-up that blended raucous local talent with indie icons, set against a stunning Highland backdrop and powered by an army of loyal music lovers.
Saturday night saw RuMac warm up the early evening followed by Trail West, who injected their signature west coast ceilidh-rock to get feet moving.
Then came Alabama 3 delivering a gritty, swaggering set, laced with beats, satire and gospel groove. But the real eruption came as the hometown heroes themselves, Peat & Diesel, took the stage. The trio whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
Sunday brought a more family-friendly tone with Valtos adding a cinematic quality with their genre-bending blend of trad and electronica, while The Farm brought singalongs and ’90s nostalgia. Scouting for Girls were polished, playful, and perfectly pitched for the multi-generational crowd.
Then came Peat & Diesel—again. No complaints. In fact, Sunday’s set may have even topped the night before.
Black Isle Belter 2025 was loud, proud, and gloriously unpolished in all the right ways
