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Overall, a very pleasant set from the amiable Mr MacLean, but I can't help wishing Ralph McTell had been in this slot as he was last year (which I missed) ; that would've been an ideal curtain-raiser for the Saturday evening Fairport marathon.

Missed him . :(
Drinking. :D
Sorry. ::)

I liked him. Didn't know any of his songs but it didn't matter, just right for that slot.

Never seen him before.
Never heard any of his songs.
Really enjoyed him. Very entertaining bloke.

Unfortunately it coincided with the toast etc, but I liked what I managed to hear.

I was impressed, clearly understood the job he had to do, great stage presence and a warm, engaging set.

DW

He was one of the names I was excited about seeing when the line-up was announced, hence I missed the toast (sorry, folks!), and he was as good as I had hoped he would be.  He could have maybe done a little less of getting people to sing along, and fitted another song or two in, but that's a minor complaint.  Would love to see him again sometime.

My thoughts too

When I didn't look at the stage I thought I was listening to Dick Gaughan? :-\ ???

He's a great bloke and a great singer/songwriter. I'm sad I missed Caledonia due to excessive Toasting at the Bar.

"When I didn't look at the stage I thought I was listening to Dick Gaughan?  :-\ ???"

Dick Gaughan Lite, maybe   ;)

An excellent set. Melodic tunes, well delivered lyrics and an amiable personality who engaged the crowd. What a pleasing contrast to the shambolic Marillion set! Maybe it's because we're from the folky end of the spectrum but this was one of the highlights of our weekend.

A true professional, as always, but I felt that he struggled with the size of the crowd. I really enjoyed his set, and the inbetween dialogue, but I think he would have done better if he'd not tried to get the crowd to sing along to every single song.

I really would like to see him again at a smaller venue, maybe a theatre.

That's the thing. He's used to audiences who have come to see him and only him, so he expected people to sing along and to know the tunes - and the lyrics!

Having seen him on BBC Alba on Dec 31st one year, I can testify that, with the audience as above, he came across as brilliant.

He was very good, anyhow.

Saw him on his own a few years back, and with a captive audience to engage with he was much more at home. Still enjoyed his set though.

Agree that smaller audience comments but songs with great melodies and words. Relief after previous hour or two

Same for me and would've liked to have been at the toast just to introduce myself as I've no idea who I'm conversing with on this site! Unfortunately I also missed hearing Caledonia as I had a desperate need for a pee at that precise moment  :-[

I've never seen him or heard him before but I thought he was great.  I was at the front of the stage for most of his set and thought he was very engaging. A bit of proper folk in the middle of a load of other mind-boggling and generally wonderful stuff!

I thought he was ideal for this time. Luckily I had managed to get my tea during a previous act, and saw all of his set. Not heard his music before, but I was soon signing along. Great warmup for Fairport.

Paul

 After the posturing of the previous two acts (and I love some prog rock) it was good to be reminded that a well-written and well-performed song can just go arrow-straight to one's emotions  [;-)

He was top of my " Who do you want to see " list a few years back, so I was delighted to see him live after listening to his music for over 20 years !! A wonderful performer, beautiful songs/tunes and great fun. Thank you for booking him !!

Thoroughly enjoyed him. The singalong got a little tiresome but it didn't matter. He sang some lovely songs and I hope to see him in a much smaller venue one day.

If you listen to "Live from the Ends of the Earth" CD, the set he played at Cropredy this year is virtually the same as on that CD albeit the CD takes tracks from various concerts but the inter-song ad-libs are also the same as he said on Saturday. That said I still thoroughly enjoyed his set.

Wonderful. Warm, engaging..... and that beautiful voice.

Pretty good, but rather too much time spent getting us to sing along imho. Could have got more material in instead.

In theory I should love him, and even tried to book him for our music club (how much!?) but actually glad we didn't go to the expense as he seemed out of his depth with a mainly English audience and lacked the musical depth I might have expected. We did sing along to Caledonia, very loudly, though, which made up for any misgivings.

Me too. Adding, he seemed as comfortable in front of that huge crowd as he would in a club with 200 people.  

Incessant urging to sing along gets on my nerves.

Yes especially if it's not a song generally known, or a fairly complex one.

On,on Mrs Box, I thought you were a big progster?
Complicated, should be meat and drink to thee.

I'm fine with music young Jimbo - it's words I struggle with. They don't come easy...!

As far as I know, I've not come across Dougie before, but, as is my habit, I was down the front for his set in order to be there for Fairport, which is why I've only ever attended the Toast twice.
I didn't know any of his songs but I really enjoyed it, some nice tunes, and unusually for me, I enjoyed his lyrics too - I'm not a listener of wordage usually, but if the musical part is just a guitar or piano, it's easier for me to focus on them. The sing along bit didn't bother me one jot as I was surprised by the lovely Sophie Watson spotting me and joining me down there and she supplied some beautiful harmony singing, even before Dougie asked people to join in, as she is a big fan. Of his, that is.
The last time I watched a show with someone singing along to EVERY FLAMING WORD was at the Rainbow show last year. As we were were sat sideways to the stage, he was bellowing directly into my ear through the entire set, and as the set included Child In Time, you can imagine how annoying that was. This was so much nicer. She warned me that if Dougie sang a particular song - I've no idea which one - she would blub all over me. He did and she did, we had a big hug and she went off to join her posse and I stayed down the front for the big finale.
All very nice indeed.