Towards the end of November ’23 as the temperature dropped and the rest of Glasgow was beginning to feel Christmassy, I found myself running from chemist to supermarket trying to find factor 50 suncream and a good mosquito repellent. I was heading back to India for some more concerts, after an incredible trip there to … Continued

“Artistic activities vibrate between nationalism and internationalism. The one is as necessary as the other is indispensable.” Internationalism in Music, The Musical Quarterly (1925), Guido Adler and Theodore Baker As the nights draw in and belts are tightened a temptation is to batten down the hatches and posit a false dichotomy between celebrating the local … Continued

📷 by Orla Stevens Our album ‘Fragments in Time’ has been out for just over a month now, which after three years in the making, is still quite hard to fathom! We took the very first steps towards the project way back in May 2020. A couple of months into the first of the Covid-19 … Continued

As cuts to culture funding continue to hit the headlines it’s worth reflecting on the importance of the traditional arts to communities and to Scottish culture in general.  Folk arts are the source of human creativity and value worldwide, but the living flow of traditional song, music, dance, and story enjoys a prominent place in … Continued

📷 by Hamish Macleod “Digging into the Politics and Poetry of Ayrshire Mining Communities.” Fixed Assets is an album collaborating with Lallans Scots poet Rab Wilson and explores the lives of Ayrshire coal miners. The idea for the album came about in 2016 after I was commissioned by Celtic Connections to write a piece of … Continued

📷 by Chris Scott for Hidden Door Festival I will be playing Bayan-accordion and possibly some other instruments at the Bulgarian-Scottish fusion dance and music event Thistles and Sunflowers on 22 August at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. As an enthusiast of Bulgarian musical culture, being involved in this event is extremely interesting for me. Like … Continued

Land of Eden – Debut Album Released 16th June 2023 📷 by Justyna Krzyżanowska For years I have dreamed about recording a solo album but never could I have told you that it would turn out like it has! Land of Eden is the fulfilment of past visions and dreams, and the beginning of new … Continued

📷 by Nicky Murray This year life took a turn as I won BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2023 award. Fresh out of RCS last June, the time leading up to the competition was spent juggling working in a pub, teaching and working on music projects. Just a week before the … Continued

📷 by Somhairle MacDonald Kōterana When the Rev. Norman McLeod set sail on the Barque Frances Ann from Ullapool heading to Cape Breton in 1817, he couldn’t have known that he would end his long life in New Zealand having led one of the nineteenth century’s largest privately organised emigrations. I came across his story … Continued

📷 by Euan Robertson My name is Joy Dunlop and I’m a Scottish Gaelic singer and broadcaster. I grew up in the small village of Connel, outside Oban. I was brought up immersed in the traditional music scene of Argyll but also, listening to pop music on Radio 1 and Atlantic 252! I think that … Continued