There was little in their published material to suggest a problem.

The Argyll Gathering website was stylish and professional, complete with a nicely judged promotional video.

Neither did the proposal for a first full scale music festival for Argyll lack ambition. “We hope you will join us to, eat, drink, dance, laugh, and experience some of the finest musical and creative expression Scotland has to offer” ran their initial pitch.

And the line up they unveiled delivered on all of those promises with top flight acts like Donnie Munro, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Treacherous Orchestra and Federation of the Disco Pimp in a lengthy list of some of Scotland’s favourite bands.

They’d also lined up Argyll Foods and locally sourced produce from companies like Loch Fyne Oysters, The Real McKay Stovie Company and Scozzeze Pizzas.

So what went so far wrong that local born and highly experienced impresario James Windebank and his team had to pull the plug on the highly anticipated event barely three weeks before the off?

In their statement they say that low advance ticket sales gave them little option, and such is the way of these things leaving the cancellation any longer could have been very expensive. The nearer you get to events, the more of the upfront costs you still have to pay. As it is they’ll have to re-fund whatever has been ordered.

And there will be losers too amongst the smaller hoteliers, B&B’s and rented properties who will struggle to fill suddenly unwanted rooms, and among the punters who had booked beds with hoteliers not required to refund given that there was no camping available.

Judging by the shocked reaction there had been a great deal of interest from folks who hail from well furth of the Burgh.

The thread under the Argyll Gathering facebook posting announcing the bad news had two main themes, the first of which was genuine sorrow that such an exciting addition to the Helensburgh calendar wasn’t going to happen.

The second talked of high prices – though at somewhere around £70 for a day ticket it wasn’t massively different from the usual music festival ask.

I imagine nobody will be making a more forensic examination of what went wrong than James Windebank himself, who will be personally well out of pocket.

It may be that for a first attempt at a Helensburgh based festival he and partner Nick Lawrie tried to pack in too much given the collective cost of a line up which ran to some 30 acts.

Perhaps they should have put a toe in the water with a single day bash as a tester rather than two.

That the ticket sales were poor may make them re-think whoever they commissioned to look after the PR and marketing if they have the stomach to try again next year. And, as I well know from other ventures, there is a maddening reluctance of buyers to commit in advance to cultural events in any field.

But the folks from Helensburgh itself have to take a long hard look at themselves.

They didn’t have an accommodation worries. They had a major summer attraction brought to their doorstep, and brought by someone born and bred in the town.

All festivals take time to build – but the building blocks are enough punters willing to support and commit to genuine efforts to enhance the entertainment offer.