TMSA Aberdeen hosts ‘The World’s Room’ … with Steve Byrne

Posted on September 9, 2022 by MUSIC NEWS Scotland

Showcasing the talents of the finest traditional singers in the country, Aberdeen Branch of the Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland (TMSA) are delighted to host The World’s Room in Aberdeen on Friday 9 September.

This is the second event in Aberdeen – following in the footsteps of The World’s Room in Edinburgh – in bringing the finest traditional singers from Scotland and rest of the UK to perform.

The format of these evenings is the guest singer opening and closing each half with a song from several of the attendees in between, this leads to a fine mix of song and a feeling of everyone being involved in the evening entertainment. The Branch are looking to host 3 or 4 World’s Room per year. 

On this 9 September they are pleased to have as their guest Mr Steve Byrne. 

Steve hails from Arbroath in Angus. He is best known for his work with award-winning Scots folksong band Malinky. A graduate of the School of Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh, in his time he has been Traditional Arts Officer for the city of Edinburgh; song cataloguer for the landmark Kist o Riches/Tobar an Dualchais sound archive project; and co-founded the Hamish Henderson Archive Trust to help secure the papers of the Scottish poet and folklorist. With ‘Local Voices’ he runs public folklore workshops in communities around Scotland. In 2017, he worked as folk singing coach for Netflix’s Robert the Bruce epic, “Outlaw King”. He is a devotee of the works of Violet Jacob and her fellow Angus poets, following in the tradition of the late great Jim Reid. In 2019, Steve was voted Citty Finlayson Scots Singer of the Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards. 

The event will be held at the Airyhall Community Centre, Countesswells Rd, Aberdeen AB15 8AD at 8.30pm with the doors open from 8pm. Entry is £7 paid at the door on the night. Bring your own refreshments. More details@  www.facebook.com/AberdeenTMSA

TMSA Aberdeen Branch have an active event programme with a monthly singing session, Competitions Day and Ceilidh in March, the World’s Room evenings, 2 Doric Concerts in October and a St Andrews Ceilidh in November.They also partner with other organisations such as SCaT to run workshops for young people and recently with TMSA Keith Branch to present the ‘Trad Time wi TMSA’ programmes aired on Keith Community Radio – available on 107.7fm or online at http://www.kcr.fm – details of these are posted on their Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/AberdeenTMSA

Thank you to the Scottish Music Centre for sponsoring our ‘Latest News’ blogs, discover their valuable work for the Scottish music industry @ www.scottishmusiccentre.com

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Nine-day feast of Highland music, culture & language kicks off as Blas 2022 begins

Posted on September 3, 2022 by MUSIC NEWS Scotland

Scotland’s top musicians will tour the Highlands & Islands with Blas Festival, 2-10 September

The Highlands & Islands will see a flurry of musical and cultural activity over the next few days as the Blas Festival hits the road for the 18th year, visiting village halls and concert venues across the region, as well as an extensive online programme of events.

Musicians and singers including Norrie MacIver, Rachel Walker, Gillebrìde MacMillan, Mànran, Mary Ann Kennedy, Kim Carnie, Paul McKenna and Sian will take to the stage in venues from Stornoway to Ballachulish as the Blas Festival returns with its annual celebration of Gaelic music and culture.

Highlights include Staran, a formidable collection of some of Scotland’s most sought after artists, who will play at the impressive Dornoch Cathedral on 4th September; Shinty aficionados, Gary Innes and Hugh Dan MacLennan, will be at the Highland Cinema, Fort William on 9th September to celebrate 100 years of the West Highland Museum, home to important shinty artefacts, with stories, songs and craic; and Julie Fowlis, Anna Murray, Christine Primrose, Catriona Macdonald, Allan Macdonald, Maighread & Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill and many more will join forces with singer and tradition bearer, Mary Smith, to celebrate her 80th birthday in style at An Lanntair in Stornoway on the final night of the festival, 10th September.

Nine of the concerts will also be livestreamed including Essie Stewart @ 80 and Chloë Bryce’s commission, The Summer Walkers; Tomhas, a new collection of Gaelic songs by Calum Munro performed by Kim Carnie and Norrie MacIver; Capercaillie’s Charlie McKerron with his Badenoch Suite; and A’ cuir seinn ri seanchas featuring Allan Henderson, Margaret Stewart and others. On the final night of the festival, Welsh youth group, AVANC, will be joined by Cèilidh Trails from across Scotland. These livestreamed events can also be booked via the Blas website – http://www.blas.scot.

With 43 concerts and cèilidhs taking place in venues across the Highlands & Islands, there is also a full programme of online workshops and livestreamed events, for all members of the family. The youngest members of the family, age 3-6, will be able to take part in Action Songs with singer Clare Frances MacNeil (in Gaelic & English) on the 3rd September; on the 5th September, Skipinnish front man, Norrie MacIver, will be teaching your favourite Runrig songs; Dàimh piper, Angus Mackenzie, will lead an adults workshop, teaching tunes from the new Coigach & Assynt Collection on the 10th September; a children’s Puirt a Beul workshop with Mànran singer, Kim Carnie, also takes place on the 10th September as well as an opportunity to learn some of the music from Chloë Bryce’s commission, The Summer Walkers. All of the workshops are taking place online and are free of charge, but must be booked on the Blas website. In addition, Fèisean nan Gàidheal has organised music sessions and drama performances in Highland primary schools.

Blas, which means ‘taste’ or ‘sample is organised by Fèisean nan Gàidheal in partnership with The Highland Council with funding from Creative Scotland, Bòrd na Gàidhlig and the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund.

Cllr Calum Munro, Chair of the Highland Council Gaelic Committee said: “The Council is delighted that the Blas Festival is returning in full swing, after the pandemic restrictions. The online programme is extremely exciting as it includes many events which will be live-streamed, workshops, and Gaelic song sessions. A number of the events will be taking place in halls and centres across the Highlands from Kilmuir to Boat of Garten”.

“It will be great to see so many talented musicians and artists performing live in venues and also virtually. I hope the performers receive warm greetings from audiences from both across the Highlands and internationally, I also look forward to seeing some of you at the festival.”

Shona MacLennan, Ceannard, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, said: “The Blàs Festival is a highlight of the Gaelic year and this year’s programme demonstrates the range and quality of musicians and artists working in Gaelic. We recognise the importance of Gaelic song and music in attracting people to the language and to increasing the use of Gaelic through enjoyable events, and the contribution that these make to people’s wellbeing after the challenges of COVID-19.

“Fèisean nan Gàidheal is to be congratulated for organising such an attractive programme and for creating opportunities to participate in a packed programme.”

Livestream schedule :: These livestreamed performances can be booked via http://www.blas.scot.3rd September, 7.30pm BST – Essie Stewart @ 80 + The Summer Walkers
3rd September, 7.30pm BST The Badenoch Suite by Charlie Mckerron
4th September, 7.30pm BST Staran and Làirig in concert
5th September, 7.30pm BST Itheamaid is Òlamaid: Food and Drink in Gaelic song
6th September, 7.30pm BST “Tomhas” + Iain MacFarlane & Ingrid Henderson
7th September, 7.30pm BST Eliza Ross Collection
8th September, 7.30pm BST Talamh Beò | Living Land
9th September, 7.30pm BST Cuir Seinn ri Seanchas | Sing Me a Story
10th September, 7.30pm BST AVANC & Fèis Cèilidh Trails

The full programme of events can be found at http://www.blas.scot along with details of how to purchase tickets.

http://www.blas.scot
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http://www.facebook.com/blasfestival

Thank you to the Scottish Music Centre for sponsoring our ‘Latest News’ blogs, discover their valuable work for the Scottish music industry @ http://www.scottishmusiccentre.com

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Paisley’s ‘The Spree’ festival returns for tenth edition

Posted on September 1, 2022 by MUSIC NEWS Scotland

The thrilling 10-day programme of events at this year’s The Spree will take place at the iconic Spiegeltent in the town’s Bridge Street from Thursday 1 – Saturday 10 September.

Shows featuring Scottish folk rock favourites Tide Lines, pictured above, (1 September), Ocean Colour Scene legends Simon and Oscar (2 September) and Norman Blake, Bernard Butler and James Grant (5 September) have already sold out.

The opening Saturday (3 September) will see an all-day festival-within-a-festival in the Spiegeltent as local charity LNP Promotions stage the popular ModStuff, featuring live music and the spectacular scooter ride out.

‘Desert blues’ pioneers Tinariwen bring their blend of Hendrix-influenced guitar and West African music to Paisley for their only Scottish show of 2022 (4 September). The Spiegeltent will also host a Sunday Jazz Brunch with Rose Room.

There’s a fab night in store when The Bootleg Beatles recreate the much-loved hits of the most famous band of them all (6 September).

Long-time friends Barbara Dickson and Rab Noakes come together for an eagerly- anticipated evening of old songs, new songs, happy songs and blue songs (7 September).

Singer-songwriter Horse McDonald will perform a special acoustic show for festival-goers (8 September).

Scottish new wave band Altered Images celebrate the release of new album Mascara Streakz – their first for almost 40 years – with their UK tour beginning at The Spree (9 September).

This year’s festival comes to a close (10 September) with afternoon comedy from the fantastic Susie McCabe and an evening show from exciting Manchester indie outfit The Slow Readers Club.

There’s still time to get your hands on the last remaining tickets for shows at http://www.thespree.co.uk or in-person from the festival box office at InCube Shop, 9b Gilmour Street, Paisley.

Clare Grogan, lead singer of Altered Images, said: “Having spent much of my youth at the Bungalow Bar, Paisley, watching and playing music, I can’t wait to finally return to this amazing town to do my thing alongside the other incredible artists taking part at The Spree. It’s certainly been a while but it’s going to be worth the wait – I’m thrilled to have been asked.”

Organised by Renfrewshire Council, The Spree is one of the flagship events in the area’s annual programme. The festival is programmed once again for 2022 by Regular Music.

Music fans can also enjoy Spree for All fringe festival events in Renfrewshire towns and villages across 1 – 11 September. Live music and open nights will take place at venues in Paisley, Renfrew, Johnstone, Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch alongside the main Spree festival programme.

The popular Wee Spree programme of events for kids and families will take place from 15 – 23 October to coincide with the school holidays, including a number of free workshops and activities. Tickets for all events at the Wee Spree are available now.

For ticket information and more on The Spree, Spree for All and Wee Spree, visit the links below.

http://www.thespree.co.uk
http://www.twitter.com/SpreeFestival
http://www.facebook.com/thespreefestival

Thank you to the Scottish Music Centre for sponsoring our ‘Latest News’ blog, discover their work @ http://www.scottishmusiccentre.com

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Born To Be Wide Returns With The Launch Of Edinburgh’s Greatest Hits

Posted on August 22, 2022 by MUSIC NEWS Scotland

Born To Be Wide is set to return with a special evening celebrating the Scottish capital’s music scene, both past and present. Taking place at the Fruitmarket Gallery on Monday 22 August, it will begin with the book launch of Edinburgh’s Greatest Hits, which charts the city’s musical history.

Co-authors Jim Byers and Fiona Shepherd will be in conversation with Born To Be Wide founder, Olaf Furniss, and will be signing copies on the night. They will highlight some of the featured stories, how the book was conceived and how the music scene can continue to thrive. Members of the audience will also be encouraged to share their own recollections and perspectives.

Following the conversation, guest DJs including individuals featured in the book and pillars of today’s music community, will play their favourite records by Edinburgh acts.

“We are really looking forward to bringing together many of the people who have helped make a scene over the decades, along with those who are its dynamo now,” says Furniss.

“Edinburgh has an incredibly varied musical lineage, from the Bay City Rollers, to The Exploited, Shirley Manson, Young Fathers and one-off chart-topper, Aneka. In the 70s it hosted Eurovision, as well as the many punk bands who were banned from Glasgow. And the legacy of its pioneering club nights in the 80s and 90s continues today with two of the UK’s biggest electronic music festivals, Terminal V and The Fly.”

Supported by Creative Scotland’s recovery fund and hosted in partnership with the Fruitmarket Gallery, Fringe Central and EHFM, the evening also provides an opportunity for anyone visiting the city to connect with the local music community.

Co-author Jonathan Trew, who along with Alison Stroak completes the team behind the book, has welcomed the opportunity to host a launch, which was originally due to take place in 2020.

“We wrote Edinburgh’s Greatest Hits to celebrate the city’s quirky, less well-known musical stories as well as its more famous names,” he says. “This Born To Be Wide evening will give an insight into what makes the capital’s music scene unique and how we can promote it in the future.”

Born To Be Wide started life in 2004 as an informal social night for the Scottish music scene and soon began attracting interest throughout the UK, with leading music industry figures and local scenesters invited to play self-indulgent DJ sets.

The organisers have a long-track record of hosting one-off events during August. These have included a panel discussion in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament, as well as the Edinburgh Nights, which would present ten local acts playing ten-minute taster sets.

Born To Be Wide has also hosted several talk shows at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, featuring authors of music-based books, including journalist Sylvia Patterson, artist manager Simon Napier-Bell and broadcaster Stuart Cosgrove.

Ticket money from the forthcoming evening will be donated to the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) and Attitude Is Everything. The former provides an extensive range of health services for musicians and the latter aims to improve access to live music for deaf and disabled artists, industry professionals and audiences.

The Fruitmarket Gallery is wheelchair accessible and the venue has three accessible toilets. Full access details are available at http://www.fruitmarket.co.uk/accessibility.

If a guest is unable to attend without the support from a personal ticket/companion, then a free companion ticket can be provided upon request. Every effort will be made to provide a BSL interpreter if requested in advance. Please contact hello@wideevents.co.uk

EVENT DETAILS

Fruitmarket Gallery, 45 Market Street, EH1 1DF

Tickets – £6/£4 from http://www.borntobewide.co.uk

Monday 22 August

19.30 Doors open

20.00 in-conversation with the authors Jim Byers and Fiona Shepherd

21.15 Guest DJs (names TBC) play their favourite tracks by Edinburgh acts

23.30 Close

ABOUT BORN TO BE WIDE:

Born To Be Wide started life in 2004 as an informal social night for the Scottish music scene and soon began attracting interest throughout the UK. In 2008, co-founder Olaf Furniss began adding panels featuring key music industry figures, who were also encouraged to partake in self-indulgent DJ sets. Any songs are allowed, except tracks by the Morrissey, The Smiths and Joy Division.

In addition to hosting over 100 panels and in-conversations in Edinburgh, the evenings have also taken place in Dundee, Glasgow and on one occasion, Mexico City.

Born To Be Wide has a long-track record of hosting one-off events during August including a panel discussion in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament and the Edinburgh Nights which would present ten local acts playing ten-minute taster sets.

It has also organised several talk shows at the Edinburgh International Book Festival featuring authors of music-based books, including Sylvia Patterson, Simon Napier-Bell and Stuart Cosgrove.

Born To Be Wide events have been held in partnership with numerous organisations and companies including the Association of Independent Music, the Festival of Politics, the German Consulate, the Musicians’Union, Edinburgh International Book Festival, EmuBands, the Entertainment Retailers Association and Heart Of Midlothian FC’s Big Hearts Community Trust and the Scottish Music Industry Association.

Parent company, Wide Events CIC, also hosts the award-winning Wide Days convention,  the Off The Record youth days and bespoke workshops for other conferences, festivals and organisations.

http://www.borntobewide.co.uk

http://www.twitter.com/borntobewide

http://www.facebook.com/borntobewide

Thank you to the Scottish Music Centre for sponsoring our ‘Latest News’ blog, discover their work @ http://www.scottishmusiccentre.com

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RETURN OF ORKNEY FOLK FESTIVAL A RECORD-BREAKER!

Posted on May 28, 2022 by MUSIC NEWS Scotland

After three long years, the Orkney Folk Festival returns to a full-scale live event this weekend, and in triumphant style – breaking all previous ticket records.

For the first time in the event’s 39-year history, over 7,000 individual concert tickets have sold in advance of the Stromness-based festival’s opening, today, with 17 of the festival’s 32 shows sold out.

In addition to record-breaking live audiences, folk fans at home can also tune into this weekend’s festivities, with the addition of three recently announced live-streamed festival concerts. Dubbed ‘Virtually Orkney Folk Festival’ the festival’s inaugural hybrid edition builds upon the success of the previous two years’ online editions, bringing audiences around the world to Orkney in real time.

One of Scotland’s longest-running folk festivals, the Orkney Folk Festival is set to welcome over 50 acts and over 250 musicians to the festival once again. Musicians and singers from throughout Scotland will join artists from England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, USA and India in appearing alongside scores of home-grown Orcadian artists in venues throughout Stromness and the Orkney mainland, over May 26-29.

This year’s live festival is the first since 2019, and follows two highly successful digital editions that brought a worldwide online audience to Orkney during the pandemic. A number of artists who were originally scheduled to appear in 2020 – some of whom featured on-screen in 2021’s Virtually Orkney Folk Festival – have been rebooked and will finally take to the stage for eager audiences this weekend.

Leading Scottish artists Karine Polwart, Skerryvore and Blazin’ Fiddles will join international favourites this weekend, including Canadian duo Madison Violet and Norwegian/Swedish firebrands SVER, as well as globetrotting Orcadian artists Fara, Gnoss, The Chair and Saltfishforty performing on home soil.

Festival audiences are set to enjoy a programme of stellar Scottish talent this year, including trailblazers Talisk, four-time Scots Singer of the Year, Siobhan Miller, celebrated West Highland champions Dàimh, BBC Radio 2 award-winning Gaelic smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul, and Scottish Americana troubadour Dean Owens with his new band, The Sinners.

Shetland fiddler Kevin Henderson will appear in a new transatlantic partnership with celebrated US pianist Neil Pearlman, whilst James Yorkston, Jon Thorne and Ranjana Ghatak’s groundbreaking fusion of Scottish song with jazz and Indian classical sarangi will also bring acclaimed international collaborations to Orkney Folk Festival stages. Amongst Scandinavia’s most virtuosic folk musicians, Denmark’s Helene Blum and Harald Haugaard Band are set to return to Stromness, as are further festival favourites including Yorkshire-based singer-songwriter Edwina Hayes, and The Peter Wood Shetland Dance Band.

Completing the bumper Scottish contingent are two exciting groups new to the festival; freewheeling trio The Langan Band, who embrace Celtic, Roma, bluegrass, flamenco, swing and punk influences, and contemporary fiddle, accordion, song, guitar and harp four-piece Tannara.

For almost four decades, the Orkney Folk Festival has been famed for presenting the islands’ own folk musicians and singers alongside world-leading visiting artists, with further Orcadian acts including the piano and fiddle pairing of Jennifer Austin and Eric Linklater, Orkney song duo Sarah Jane Gibbon and Emma Grieve, famed English accordionist (now resident in Orkney) Karen Tweed alongside Shetlander Margaret Robertson, and celebrated fiddle player Erika Shearer.

Award-winning Orcadian fiddle and mandolin player, Graham Rorie is set to be joined by an all-star band in staging The Orcadians of Hudson Bay; a suite of music inspired by islanders who travelled from Stromness to The Hudson’s Bay Company in Northern Canada during the 18th and 19th centuries. Following a sell out debut at Celtic Connections 2020, the show makes its way home to the Orkney Folk Festival 2022.

A highlight of the festival in recent years, the festival’s all-Orcadian multi-generational collaboration, The Gathering will return, celebrating a decade at the heart of the festival programme, whilst the annual Fiddlers’ Rally – hosted by the West Mainland Strathspey and Reel Society – will return for its 39th Sunday afternoon outing. As is tradition at the festival, tonight’s Opening Concert in the Stromness Town Hall will be piped in by the town’s very own Stromness RBL Pipe Band.

As well as 22 shows taking place in multiple venues throughout the festival’s hometown of Stromness across the weekend, a further 10 concerts are also set to take place in Birsay, Deerness, Finstown, Harray, Holm, Kirkwall and Sandwick as the voluntary-run event makes its long-awaited live return.

In order to stage such a large event, particularly on the back of two fallow years, the festival gratefully receives generous support from public bodies and corporate sponsors, from throughout the local and national business communities. This year’s principal supporters are Orkney Islands Council, Creative Scotland, EventScotland, NorthLink Ferries and Lost Orchards Cider, alongside many individual event sponsors.

The festival also benefits from many thousands of hours donated by hundreds of volunteers, who give their time freely to bring the world-renowned event together. From the twelve-strong year round management committee, and five-person board, to those who might work on just one event in their local community hall, each one of the festival’s community team is vital to its long standing, continued and increasing success.

Orkney Folk Festival Producer, Bob Gibbon said: “I really can’t believe that it’s here – and it’s going to be better than ever. There have been dark times, quiet times, but now we are really going to go for it. We can’t wait to welcome audiences back to Stromness and the festival in person, and to receive funding support to allow us to do some parallel live streams is brilliant – we are so grateful to the funding bodies who have helped make this a reality. We got so much good feedback from our Virtually Orkney Folk Festival last year, it is great that we can keep this side of the festival going alongside the live event. Being able to reach out to those who can’t get to Orkney, or who find it difficult to leave their home for whatever reason is a real step forward in accessibility and we’re pleased to be taking steps forward to becoming a far more inclusive festival. Come away in!”

Orkney Folk Festival Chair, Eileen Cromarty added: “There’s real excitement in the air to have the festival return in such great style this year. All our local and visiting acts are thrilled to be taking to the stage again, and I’m sure audiences will be particularly enthusiastic to see them.

“It’s been a tough time for the music industry and festivals in particular, but we’ve had the opportunity to learn from our virtual efforts in 2020 and 2021, and the feedback was overwhelming positive in terms of giving those folk who can’t make it to live events the opportunity to watch online. We’re really pleased to be offering the chance to view some of the festival live-streamed again this year to a global and local audience.
So whether you’re listening to a spontaneous session in the new festival bar at the Stromness Community Centre, or enjoying a livestreamed concert from the comfort of home – there’s opportunity for everyone to support the festival and celebrate Orkney’s amazing musical showcase.”

Siobhan Anders, Music Officer at Creative Scotland said: “Orkney Folk Festival is an important highlight in the Scottish festival calendar, and it’s so exciting to welcome live activity back again. By hosting a hybrid event they can nourish that international audience and those who may not be able to travel to the islands while still hosting a fantastic in person event across Orkney. Audiences and artists alike look set to enjoy a weekend of amazing music from local, national and international acts, embraced by a welcoming community.”

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland Director of Events, said: “We are delighted to support Orkney Folk Festival through our National Events Programme and look forward to seeing visitors return to Stomness this May. The folk music festival will bring economic and social benefits to the local community and contribute to the wider recovery of tourism and events in Scotland.

“Orkney Folk Festival joins our exciting portfolio of events happening across Scotland this year and having these events in our calendar further strengthens Scotland’s position as a world-leading events destination and reinforces Scotland’s place as the perfect stage for events.”

For further information, head to http://www.orkneyfolkfestival.com and follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. A sampler playlist of the 2022 festival line-up is also available on Spotify.

http://www.orkneyfolkfestival.com
http://www.twitter.com/OrkneyFolkFest
http://www.facebook.com/orkneyfolkfestival

Thank you to the Scottish Music Centre for sponsoring our ‘Latest News’ blog, discover their work @ http://www.scottishmusiccentre.com

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