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Jimmy Page's daughter 'hits right note' with portraits

Alexandra Rosbotham
BBC News NI
Getty Images Jimmy is wearing black, his guitar is red and black and behind him is a stage with drums. He has white long hair tied back and is smiling at the camera with his hand on his heart. Getty Images
Jimmy Page performing at the 38th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony in New York in 2023

Music photographer Scarlet Page has said capturing a portrait of her father - Led Zeppelin's guitarist Jimmy Page - put her under more pressure than her standard snaps.

Scarlet is showcasing her portraits of 33 legendary guitarists at Ards International Guitar Festival this weekend.

The Resonators project first exhibited 10 years ago and features the likes of Jack White, Chrissie Hynde and, of course, her famous father.

"I've never really gone in going, 'Do you know who my dad is?' It's really not my style but for this particular project obviously it made sense," she said.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, she said that exhibiting her work at Ards Art Centre was a "great opportunity to mark 10 years, and get to come over and spend time in Belfast with family".

As Scarlet says, "it totally made sense to have it displayed at the festival".

That's because Newtownards, in County Down, has a long-standing association with the guitar.

A factory in the town which made the instrument inspired the beginning of the Ards International Guitar Festival almost 30 years ago.

'It's something to celebrate'

Emily Crawford has been the director of the festival for the past 19 years.

"Not everybody knows that there is a guitar factory in Newtownards," she told BBC News NI.

"Going back 30 years ago, it was the Lowden guitar factory, it was later taken over by Avalon which is still there today.

"Then, it was a real cultural and economic driver to have the festival and let people know Newtownards was somewhere that world class guitars are made, and still are today.

"It's something to celebrate."

Emily is standing in front of two portraits of guitarists - the left one has two bald men with a yellow and black guitar and the right one has one man with a black and brown guitar. Emily has long blonde hair and blue eyes. She is wearing a gold necklace with a circle on it.
Emily Crawford said it's an opportunity to bring new visitors to Newtownards

Emily says the festival gives local musicians opportunities to share a stage with international artists.

"We're not Belfast or Dublin, so it can be difficult to convince an audience to come to Newtownards rather than go to Belfast, but we have such a wealth of talent right here on our doorstep," she said.

Being able to bring musicians such as Ricky Warwick, of Thin Lizzy, back home to Newtownards is "inspiring", she added.

"It shows people insight into a local boy who's made it on a an international stage," she added.

Blues music

Tom has white short hair and a white moustache. He is wearing a navy and white polo neck and standing in front of a blue car outside, opposite what looks like a church building in the distance.
Tom said he's looking forward to hearing blues music at the festival

Tom Adair has been a big fan of the festival's events over the years.

"I'm a big blues music man, I was brought up listening to that music," he told BBC News NI.

"It's been great to be able to go down the Arts Centre when it's on and see some fantastic blues artists that are both local and international, and have them on our doorstep."

Ian has grey hair, bushy grey eyebrows and blue eyes. He is smiling a the camera in front of his bar which has a clock and three different types of whiskeys on display.
Ian Falls hosts some of the events at his bar

As the owner of The Ivy Bar, Ian Falls hosts some of the festival's events in his pub. He said it is "well loved" by his customers.

"We've always had live music in the pub, and when the guitar festival started almost 30 years ago we were more than happy to host," he said.

"We get families coming, old faces, new faces. It's so great for the community to just get together and appreciate great music and fantastic guitarists."