Scots and Scousers cemented centuries-old ties while seizing the glory at the historic West Lothian venue.
This year's Party At The Palace was a slightly smaller affair back at its original site at Linlithgow Palace's back door, but an impressive depth of quality remained on offer.
Tribute band Definitely Oasis and ska exponents Porkpie got the party stared early doors, before noughties chart-topper Sandi Thom brought an air of calm to the loch-side venue.
The Aberdeenshire performer may have enjoyed a relatively low profile in recent years, but she proved she still has plenty of offer across a measured acoustic set mostly comprising original material, also including laid-back covers of Guns N' Roses' November Rain and Fleetwood Mac touchstone The Chain.
Thom's dreamy soft rock offerings certainly provided contrast after the day's earlier shenanigans, while her own crowd-pleasing banger I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker showed she's no one-trick pony.
Rianne Downey is in the sort of place in her own career now that Thom occupied 20 years ago. One of the most highly regarded of the young Scottish songsmiths to have emerged since Covid, she's been working closely with Beautiful South legend Paul Heaton since 2023.
Here, tartan-clad Rianne got the crowd onside straight away with a stunning rendition of folk standard Wild Mountain Thyme that spotlighted her timeless vocal qualities.
Songs from her 2025 debut album The Consequence Of love featured prominently, with Sunblind, Good In Goodbye, Lost In Blue and, she told us, "a song about someone showing you the light again after so long in the dark", namely the stunning Angel.
Her faithful cover of Kitty Wells' It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels proved an interesting diversion, while her own The Song Of Old Glencoe was pure folk-pop perfection.
Downey's choice of alternative Scottish national anthem Caledonia was spot on for the occasion, and her closing salvo Home - like King Of The Road with added swoon factor and mischievous fiddle - proved beyond any doubt that country can be cool in this charming performer's hands.
If the North Lanarkshire talent's set opened more than a few eyes, new discoveries probably weren't expected from the UK Foo Fighters. In fairness, though, the six-piece captured the spirit of Dave Grohl's hard-rock heavyweights, unleashing hit after hit.
Their frontman Jay Apperley showed he has Grohl's mannerisms down to a tee and was an energetic presence during a lengthy set.
For their part, Cast wasted no time in getting mucked in when their moment arrived. The alt-rock veterans opened with a rousing version of Free Me, before going further back into the '90s with Sandstorm and a euphoric Finetime.
A few derogatory remarks from frontman John Power in the direction of the ancient ruin Linlithgow Palace could easily have dampened the crowd's fervour but the psychedelic strut of Poison Vine quickly brought them onside again.
Another number from last year's Yeah Yeah Yeah album, Calling Out Your Name, proved as rousing as anything the Liverpool outfit have done, but didn't do the slow-paced and relatively weak Live The Dream any favours in coming after it.
Much better was Walk Away, one of the few songs from the often bombastic Britpop era that can still bring a tear to a glass eye, while the newish Free Love inspired an impassioned turn from Power and his long-time cohorts Liam "Skin" Tyson, Keith O'Neill and Jay Lewis.
A powerful performance from the 50-somethings concluded with the vintage anthems Flying, Guiding Star and Alright, with the latter in particular sounding as fresh and stirring as it did back in the era of Tamagotchi and cargo trousers.
PATP headliners Peat And Diesel had to hold their fire as technical issues delayed their appearance by half an hour, but when they eventually arrived it was all worth the wait.
The Stornoway three-piece have found a niche by melding folk music with their own brand of Celtic punk and it was clear that this was what a huge swathe of the Linlithgow revellers had come along for.
Considering the late start especially, it was a massive crowd that assembled in front of the stage to welcome Boydie MacLeod, Innes Scott and Uilly MacLeod.
Accordionist Scott was happy to do the talking in between the music, with the snarling Western Isles and Country Boy, with its lyrics about "scoffing magic mushrooms", firing their followers up.
Scott's weaving reels set amidst the seated Boydie's chopping guitar riffs made for a unique exchange as the latter barked out his growling vocals, while Uilly's beats kept the up a breakneck momentum.
A bouncy take on Ewan MacColl's Dirty Old Town served as a lusty tribute to the influence of The Pogues on Peat And Diesel's quirky brand of Western Isles insanity.
Picture credit: Shotbyagunn Photography
