Scotland’s music will take centre stage in Brittany, France this August at Festival Interceltique de Lorient, Europe’s largest Celtic music festival.  The Festival – set to attract an audience of 750,000 from 4-13 August –  offers an unprecedented opportunity to highlight the diversity and quality of Scotland’s finest musical talent on the international stage. Traditional … Continued

What’s the origin of the name, Clouds Harp Quartet?   The first piece I wrote for the Quartet was about different cloud formations when I was walking in the Scottish Borders with my Dad under an expansive sky. It was what brought us together and made me realise that this combination of instruments can be really … Continued

Professor Josh Dickson, Head of Traditional Music at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is delighted to announce a landmark conference on the future of traditional music learning  – Pedagogies, Practices and the Future of Folk Music in Higher Education – to take place from 18-20 January 2018. Josh writes, “The year 2016 marked the twentieth anniversary of … Continued

The BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year finalists, making up the TMSA Young Trad Tour 2016 group are setting out on the road, visiting their home locations around Scotland, beginning with a concert in Helensburgh on 30 May. The line up for this Tour is: Mohsen Amini: Concertina (2016 winner), Claire Hastings: Song (2015 … Continued

Cultural Connections are back with another historical drama with music for this year’s Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival.  Dumfriesshire’s African Explorer is written and directed by Ayrshire’s Craigie Folk Club joint organiser Dave Dewar who has teamed up with esteemed folk musicians. The musical director is singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ian Walker who has written nine songs … Continued

Once again, TradFest folk will be taking part in the Edinburgh May Day parade. This event is less about massed Labour movements than it was, and it is trying to develop as a new force for bringing together progressive organisations, political, social and cultural. Everyone is warmly invited to join the TradFest part of the … Continued

The Adam Sutherland School of Fiddle returns to Sloans in Glasgow city centre on April 22nd and 23rd 2017. Join Adam for a weekend school that emphasises creativity, tune writing, technique and fun! Adam has years of experience working with fiddlers of all ages and ability.  This course is suitable for intermediate and advanced fiddle players. All tunes … Continued

Following on from discussions at Celtic Connections and Tradfest on Gender Inequality across Traditional Music, Eileen Penman has shared with us her reflections and concerns on this issue published in 1983 in Edinburgh Folk Club newsletter. You can read this HERE Eileen has been a longstanding champion of women’s rights, women’s issues and has been … Continued

Trad Talk is the annual gathering of the Traditional Music Forum, its members and all interested in traditional music. Our most recent one which took place on March 11th at the Tolbooth in Stirling has ‘Shaken the Tree’.  A write up of the discussions will be posted soon. But in the meantime thanks to Jen Hill for … Continued

Tens of thousands of people in Scotland, the equivalent of thirty secondary schools, are learning traditional music in Scotland. Those are the findings of a report, compiled by the Traditional Music Forum. The report also finds that community organisations deliver great value for money. However, much of the activity is supported by thousands of volunteers … Continued