Scottish harbour to turn into 7000-capacity outdoor music venue

A Scottish harbour and freight yard will undergo a transformation to become one of Scotland’s biggest outdoor music venues this summer.

Peterson Seabase at Port of Aberdeen will become a 7000 capacity venue hosting top acts for The Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025.

The event will also feature food stalls and bars from July 19 until 22.

The event, billed as Europe’s largest free family event, is expected to draw 400,000 visits over its vibrant four-day programme, making it Aberdeen’s biggest event “in a generation”.

The concert programme will feature three nights of ticketed events with major headline acts. Artist announcements and ticket details will be released soon.

Peterson Seabase will also host a free events programme, featuring Scottish headliners on Sunday night and a schedule of daytime, family-friendly entertainment. Highlights will include performances by local artists, ship bands, traditional sea shanty groups, and more.

The site is ordinarily used by supply chain solutions company Peterson Energy Logistics – an associate sponsor of Tall Ships Aberdeen – for the movement of goods, managing 1000 lifts and 50 vehicles each day for clients in the oil and gas and renewables sectors. Operations will move to one of the company’s other Aberdeen locations to accommodate the Tall Ships celebrations.

Chris Coull, joint UK managing director at Peterson Energy Logistics, said: “As a proud Aberdeen and maritime business, we are delighted to have been able to make this space available for the city and its visitors so the Tall Ships can host these fantastic entertainment events. 

“Many of us will remember the iconic Tall Ships events in the nineties and it is wonderful that as a city we are once again having this opportunity to showcase our region to the world.”

Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesman, said: “We are very grateful to Peterson for giving us the opportunity to provide a first class concert venue at the very heart of the festival..

“The yard will become a fantastic spectacle in its own right offering facilities and features for visitors of all ages as well as hosting nationally and internationally famous bands who we will be announcing very soon.”

Originally published by TheNational.Scot on 11th february 2025. SOURCE