Plenty of music festivals claim to be green, but RockNess is truly lush. Staged in a bucolic natural amphitheatre, it's a backdrop that can brighten even the soggiest performance. Judged by headliners only, the seventh instalment looked like a segregated indie/dance/rock triptych with an eye on day-ticket buyers. But the reality was far more fluid, with an insistent electronic pulse permeating the lochside site for three days and nights. The only downbeat moment came on Sunday morning, as news spread around the site about the apparent drug-related death of an Edinburgh teenager.
Friday headliners Mumford & Sons were confident enough to debut some new songs amid their blockbuster vagabond folk, but the first true lift-off moment of the festival came halfway through Ed Sheeran's set, when the affable Brit winner speed-coached an overflowing second-stage tent into an unexpected but effective gospel choir. Even earlier, Odd Future offshoot the Internet seduced a more modest crowd, the sprite-like Syd Tha Kid crooning curse words over a surprisingly soulful backing, while padding around in her socks.
On Saturday, the Rapture were perhaps bemused to find themselves the de facto warm-up act for an Olympic torch handover on the main stage. The cheers seemed louder when the sun made a similarly unadvertised appearance a few hours later, considerately overlapping with Hot Right Now during DJ Fresh's daffy drum-and-bass assault. Later, some absurdly extravagant visuals demonstrated exactly why Deadmau5 deserved his headliner status. Lop the ears off Joel Zimmerman's distinctive headgear and he'd be a ringer for Pac-Man, and that retro videogame aesthetic informed every aspect of his maximalist house extravaganza. Whether by accident or design, the lighting rig behind him also strobed in the shape of an enormous St Andrew's flag.
For cast-iron hits per cubic inch, no one could touch Nile Rodgers and Chic on Sunday, who delivered a slick soul revue with detours into Duran Duran and Madonna. But fans also freaked out for festival closers Biffy Clyro. For a while, it looked like the View might run off with the weekend; after overcrowding torpedoed their Saturday slot, the Dundee band reconvened on Sunday for an even rowdier set. But while the View have energy to burn, they lacked Biffy's gold-medal poise and passion.
