ORGANISERS of a family friendly music festival planned for the grounds of Gosford House have insisted the show will go on – despite being dealt a blow.

Sister Sledge, Glasvegas, The Futureheads, Clean Bandit and Tinchy Stryder were announced as headliners for Out East, which is due to take place on August 6 and 7.

However, despite not winning over a group which scrutinised the safety of the proposed event, the team behind the festival told the Courier they were confident it would go ahead – but have not responded to our requests for more information.

Discussions took place between the organisers and the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), which involves not only various East Lothian Council departments but also the emergency services.

The SAG’s decision not to back the festival is not legally binding but does present problems for the organisers, who describe the event as a “fun-loving festival for the carefree, the intrepid and the brave”, offering a “glorious blend of music, arts and culture, wellbeing, incredible food and open-air dancing”.

A spokeswoman for East Lothian Council told the Courier: “The two-day Gosford House Performance Arts Festival, ‘Out East’ event, proposed to be held on August 6 and 7, was not supported by the SAG after significant concerns on safety were raised by Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, East Lothian Council and other agencies.

“Whilst the decision of the SAG is not binding, and the organisers may choose to continue to make preparations to run an event, the concerns raised within the SAG process may very well impact on licensing, insurance applications and/or gaining the support of various agencies during the event itself.

“The SAG decision provides clear guidance to event organisers who can choose to modify parts of their event plans for re-submission if appropriate and agreed with by all agencies attending the SAG.”

Disco divas Sister Sledge are among the headliners for the opening day, alongside Scottish indie rockers Glasvegas, who had two top 20 hits – Geraldine and Daddy’s Gone – in 2008.

The Futureheads and Musselburgh’s Callum Beattie are also set to perform on the Friday.

The following day, Clean Bandit – famous for hits such as ‘Rather Be’, ‘Rockabye’ and ‘Symphony’ – will take to the stage with Tinchy Stryder and Ministry of Sound, a 34-piece orchestra performing iconic dance classics, completely rearranged and reinterpreted for 2021, also performing.

Gosford House, between Longniddry and Aberlady, previously welcomed Hot Dub Stein Machine music and an Oktoberfest-themed beer festival in October 2018.

Unfortunately, it ended in tragedy when a festival-goer, 23-year-old Scott Calder from Edinburgh, was found unconscious on the beach near Longniddry Bents No. 1 car park by a member of the public at about 7.45am the next morning and later died.