Fatboy Slim will make his first Highland festival appearance in 14 years when he headlines Belladrum next summer, returning to the area where he helped create some of the most memorable moments in Scotland’s festival history.
The Tartan Heart Festival returns to Belladrum Estate near Inverness from Thursday 29 July to Saturday 31 July 2027, with James opening the weekend, Fatboy Slim taking over on Friday and Amy Macdonald closing the festival on Saturday night.
For Fatboy Slim, otherwise known as Norman Cook, the booking represents a genuine Highland homecoming after an association with the area stretching back more than two decades.
In 2006 he brought his legendary beach party concept to the banks of Loch Ness for a 20,000 capacity event which became the first RockNess, before returning to headline the festival in 2008 and 2010 and appearing as a Very Special Guest in 2013.
His return comes after more than three decades at the forefront of dance music, with tracks including Praise You, Right Here, Right Now, The Rockafeller Skank and Weapon of Choice becoming some of the most recognisable of their era.
Belladrum Festival Producer Dougie Brown said:
“We said earlier this summer that we had booked our biggest headliner ever, and it’s been incredibly difficult keeping this one quiet.
“To finally reveal Fatboy Slim alongside two other incredible headliners in James and Amy Macdonald feels pretty special, three very different artists, but each with an incredible connection to our audience.
“This is only the beginning, we think 2027 is going to be a very special weekend.”
There is unfinished business for James too, with the band returning after frontman Tim Booth was struck down with laryngitis in 2026 and they were forced to withdraw on the day they were due to headline.
Their appearance will come exactly 20 years after James first headlined Belladrum in 2007, with the band having subsequently become one of the most requested acts in the festival’s audience survey following this year’s cancellation.
Amy Macdonald completes the trio and will return as a Scottish festival exclusive, with her own Belladrum story also stretching back 20 years.
She first appeared at the festival in 2007 during the early stages of a career which would make her one of Scotland’s most successful artists, before returning as a headliner in 2010 and again for Belladrum’s 15th anniversary in 2018.
Her Saturday night appearance also comes one day after the 20th anniversary of the release of her debut album This Is The Life, which reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and helped launch her international career.
The three headline bookings arrive with demand for next year’s festival already running strongly, after Belladrum’s Early Bird tickets sold out in just 16 minutes following an event in 2026 which finished just short of a complete sell out.
Belladrum has grown considerably since beginning as a one day event for 2,000 people in 2004, with the festival now welcoming up to 24,500 people each day and more than 300 artists appearing across 14 stages.
Further names are still to come, but with James returning to finish the job, Amy Macdonald celebrating two decades since the album which changed her life and Fatboy Slim heading back to the Highlands after 14 years away, Belladrum has given itself quite an opening act for 2027.
Tickets are on sale now via: https://tartanheartfestival.gigantic.com/belladrum-tickets
