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Ewan McVicar shares BBC mini-doc about Pavilion Festival, Back Tae Ayr: Watch

The documentary traces McVicar’s journey to bring the rave back to his Scottish hometown

Screenshot of Ewan in the countryside in Ayr taken from his BBC documentary, Back Tae Ayr

Ewan McVicar has shared a BBC mini-documentary, Back Tae Ayr, about the creation of Pavilion Festival. Watch the 15-minute video below.

Produced in collaboration with BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 1, the mini-documentary follows McVicar’s lifelong mission to create the first electronic music festival in his Scottish hometown, Ayr.

Sharing the news on Twitter, McVicar wrote: “Stepped into the world of film & did a documentary with @BBCScotland & @BBCR1 about the story of bringing it all back to ma hometown and the 10+ year dream which is now ma wee baby Paviliom Festival.”

A regular DJ in the town’s legendary clubs Club De Mar and Furys growing up, McVicar explained how he had a life-long vision to “resurrect the local rave scene” and “play to a sold-out crowd of thousands against the iconic backdrop of the historic Pavilion.”

“Making it through adversity has since become the story of Ewan’s life and so taking on the challenge of putting Ayr on the map for electronic music is just a small part of Ewan’s life mission to bring hope and music to those who need it most,” the description reads.

The first Pavilion Festival took place on 29th April 2023 at Low Green, Ayr. A huge success, the event featured a stacked line-up including Hayley Zalassi, Posthuman, Skream, KETTAMA, and Optimo, alongside a homecoming set from McVicar himself.

Last year, McVicar dropped his latest EP, ‘Heather Park’, on Technicolour, which touched on nostalgic memories of growing up in Kincaidston, Ayr. “Heather Park is the street I grew up in. I shared a room with my two brothers and we grew a family bond in this house like no other," McVicar said on the track.

McVicar is currently rumoured to be working with Calvin Harris on a track for his new album. Speaking in an interview with BBC Scotland Ewan shared how he has huge respect for fellow Scot who has topped the charts with hits like ‘We Found Love’ and ‘Summer’.

Ewan said: “I’m writing an album right now and me and Calvin Harris have got a track on it right now. We both play different music but the amount of respect I have for him, for everything he's done and the fact he's Scottish as well is just insane.”

The Back Tae Ayr mini-documentary is available to watch via BBC iPlayer here.

In 2021, Ewan McVicar won the Best of British Best Track award for his chart-topping Trick anthem, 'Tell Me Something Good'.