Musicians and community groups across Scotland will take part in the first ever Scottish Folk Day on 23 September, helping to promote and celebrate the country’s vibrant and varied folk scene and traditions.
The exciting new project has called for musicians of all backgrounds and abilities across Scotland to stage live performances and workshops throughout the day, in what will be a country-wide celebration of folk music and culture.
Organised by Scotland’s Traditional Music Forum (TMF), Scottish Folk Day is running in tandem with European Folk Day, which has been conceived and coordinated by the European Folk Network.
The initiative aims to offer a networking platform for musicians and artists at all levels to showcase their talents, while giving folk fans across Scotland and Europe the opportunity to connect with a wider, like-minded community.
Concerts across the country include vocalist and fiddle player Mairi McGillivray and guitarist and fiddle player Katie Allen performing a selection of traditional tunes including Gaelic and Scots favourites at Edinburgh’s Holy Cross Church.
Award-winning Edinburgh roots duo Dowally will mark the day with a performance at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. Rachel Petyt and Dan Abrahams will host and collaborate with a showcase of incredible musicians from Scotland and across the continent, including virtuosic Hungarian violinist Janos Lang (Ando Glaso), Eastern European female vocal ensemble Davno, Flamenco vocal and guitar duo Ivan Martin and Tomas De la Rosa and Scottish accordionist Magnus Turpie.
Award-winning singer, Hannah Rarity is set to put on a special show at the Traverse Theatre at 8pm on September 25th. Hannah has made a lasting impression since being warmly embraced by the folk world, winning BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2018 and recording and touring with top acts Blazin’ Fiddles, Rura, Niteworks and Cherish the Ladies.
Down the road, Scots Music Group will host a come and play workshop featuring tunes from all over Europe at Greyfriars Charteris Centre. Sarah Northcott will take participants on a whistle-stop musical tour of mainland Europe from Brittany to Bulgaria and Sweden to Spain, while the capital’s Waverley Bar will see Joss Cameron lead an inclusive afternoon of singing the ballads of beloved Scottish folk singer Jeannie Robertson from 5pm.
On the afternoon of September 24th, Leith Depot will host an Edinburgh Scandi Session, with musicians coming together to play tunes from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
David Francis, Director at Traditional Music Forum, said: “It has been brilliant to see such enthusiasm from artists, schools and communities across the country to get involved in the first ever Scottish Folk Day. The passion and eagerness of musicians, clubs and community groups to participate and network together is a testament to our love and appreciation of folk music as a country. All of us at TMF can’t wait to see what people put on on Saturday 23 September and we are so thankful for their support of the initiative.”
All folk fans are encouraged to record and share a musical performance online using the hashtags #ScottishFolkDay and #EuropeanFolkDay to showcase the breadth of activity taking place across the continent.
For further information on how to get involved, visit: https://europeanfolkday.eu
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