Sensing Stories – Finding Scotland’s Stories and Voices

This month we are delighted to host 3 live events under the banner of Sensing Stories, which is the culmination of a series of workshops and discussions to inspire new stories waiting to be told. We are passionate about ensuring all voices and stories are heard and encouraged in Scotland. Our stories are the threads … Continued

Spotify adds Scots as a Language

Award-winning folksinger Iona Fyfe led the campaign which saw Spotify adding Scots to its list of languages. Scots is one of Scotlands three national languages with over 1.5 million speakers (2011 census) and is recognised as a language by the European Charter for Minority Languages. Iona noticed that despite Spotify listing every other UK Minority … Continued

Traditional Arts Mentoring Programme

TRACS is delighted to be assisting Creative Scotland and other partners in delivering a pilot programme of Traditional Arts Mentoring, building on work undertaken by the Traditional Music Forum. The aim is to exchange knowledge, skills and experience between the generations. The programme is aimed at early or mid-career practitioners in Scotland. Successful applicants will … Continued

Michael Biggins Wins BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician 2021

The winner of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2021 Michael Biggins (Photo by Alan Peebles) Pianist Michael Biggins has been named BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician for 2021. The 23 year-old, originally from Newcastle but now living in Glasgow, accepted the award from Gareth Hydes, Commissioning Editor, BBC Scotland, … Continued

Between Islands Project Online

Despite some challenging circumstances in the past months, An Lanntair’s Between Islands project has now placed the majority of its activities online, with a range of short films, musical performances and three separate museum exhibitions now available to view on the dedicated website www.betweenislands.com. The project, which is funded by LEADER, links arts and heritage … Continued

Getting to know you… Bernie Hewitt

Bernie Hewitt –   TDFS Secretary   It is now over three years since I first joined the board of the TDFS, and more recently was asked to take on the role of secretary and treasurer.   As all the minute taking and record keeping is done very efficiently by our full-time staff member, my emphasis has … Continued

Supper with Robert Burns Goes Online – David Campbell and Friends Bring Burns Night to Homes

TRACS and the Scottish Storytelling Centre present an entertaining take on the life of Robert Burns with poems, stories, songs and music this Burns Night, devised by storyteller, author and presenter David Campbell, as an alternative to Burns Suppers with formal speeches. The popular annual live event now goes virtual to offer a convivial evening … Continued

MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards announces 2020 winners

2020 saw the annual MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards broadcast on BBC ALBA on Saturday 12th December at 9pm in a special programme named Na Trads 2020. The usually live annual event was this year broadcast in a vibrant programme put together and aired exclusively on BBC ALBA. Hosted by Alistair Heather and Mary … Continued

Bird On A Wire – Free Online Songwriting Workshops with Boo Hewerdine & Findlay Napier

Songwriting virtuosos Boo Hewerdine and Findlay Napier have announced the launch of ‘Bird on a Wire’ masterclasses that will take place in 2021 and will be free to attend to a limited number of artists. This series of new songwriting workshops is available to musicians who have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Applications … Continued

Being cooked in India over the lockdown

The Scottish Storytelling Forum (SSF) is a membership organisation, dedicated to keeping the art of live oral storytelling alive and growing in Scotland – a diverse network of storytellers and individuals supporting Scotland’s vibrant storytelling community.  It’s facilitated by Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland (TRACS) and based at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. The SSF blog … Continued