📷 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

📷 by Elly Lucas “Dialogues” – Debut Solo Album release – December 2022 Having been a professional musician for 30 years, many people have asked me why it has taken me so long to make a solo album. Quite simply, playing solo has never been my thing…I like playing with other people and collaborating. I … Continued

📷 by Somhairle Macdonald January 2020 and rehearsals had begun for my second studio album ‘The Dawning’ in the living room of my Glasgow flat. The music was coming together nicely, the studio was booked and I had finally cracked the availability code of five extremely busy musicians. And then we know what happened… Fast … Continued

📷 by Camille Lemoine ‘Soaring’ –– Debut Album Release: 20th January 2023 When I see birds soaring effortlessly across the sky I am filled with awe and envy – to me, they embody absolute freedom. This is why I decided to title my debut album ‘Soaring’. I wanted to capture and explore the overwhelming sense … Continued

The mentoring program was as important to me as learning to read. I have dyslexia. Storybooks as a child were alien to me but it was Glen Campbell’s “By the Time I get to Phoenix, she’ll be rising”, that opened up story through songs. These songs created pictures in my head which allowed me to … Continued