An Lanntair is delighted that Mumford & Sons decided to include us in their Scottish tour playing “intimate shows” in small venues. We, like the promoter and the band themselves, were very surprised by the phenomenal demand for tickets, although the situation in Stornoway was certainly not on the scale experienced by other venues as in Inverness or Orkney.
Although it was great to see so many dedicated fans camping out on what was, for the most part, a very civilised, if somewhat chilly, Saturday morning we are very disappointed that a small minority decided to behave unfairly. We had hoped that in a small town like Stornoway local people would not behave in such a manner towards one another. The promoters decision to only sell tickets in person was intended to give local people more of a chance to see the band. It is a shame that this small minority felt inclined to act in this way towards their neighbours.
Unfortunately, demand for all these gigs was very high and was always going to leave many more people disappointed than happy. We hope that Mumford & Sons, as they have said on their website, will come back again as soon as they can.
To the best of our knowledge all the people in the queue were there of their own free will and could have left at any time. An Lanntair staff did not take headcounts, however, even after the tickets had been sold out more than 75 people insisted on staying behind and being put on a reserve list. As to the size of the venue, that was a decision taken by the band and the promoter as they wanted to play “intimate shows”.
