We are delighted to announce the return of our Pomegranates festival – sowing the seeds of international traditional dance across Edinburgh this spring. Initiated and curated by the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland, the annual festival will once again mark UNESCO’s International Dance Day on 29 April 2023. The second iteration of our festival weekend … Continued

It’s August—must be time for the Edinburgh Festivals! Only this year it isn’t. But don’t despair because A Mad God’s Dream brings you lust, intrigue, backstage drama, plot and counter-plot from the Edinburgh Festival. Ossian, the mainstage festival drama—is it a nationalist epic?—comes direct to your ever smaller screens. Donald Smith’s wicked novella summons up the … Continued

The Scottish Storytelling Centre, supported by Scotland’s Winter Festivals event fund, honours the legacy of Robert Burns through a series of cross-generational celebrations, bringing people together home and away. Whether it’s ringing in the New Year with “Auld Lang Syne”, book titles, pop music, or featuring on banknotes – the ploughman’s poet as he’s often … Continued

Tell us an interesting feature of traditional storytelling in your country. I live in the city of Toronto, one of the greatest crossroads cities in the world. It’s in the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee people, the First People to live here before others came. The Toronto Storytelling Festival, which began in 1978, has become … Continued

Name of your show: (Can This Be) Home How would you describe your show in one sentence? Poetic and musical journey through the personal impact of Brexit so far. Is this the first time that you are performing at the Fringe? It is for Kolbrun, she usually doesn’t perform but writes or directs, but as … Continued

Name of your show: The Night With… Evenings How would you describe your show in one sentence? An evening of interesting, new classical music mainly by Scottish composers and performers. Is this the first time that you are performing at the Fringe? No, I presented The Night With… Wooden Elephant last year who performed string … Continued

May Day, known as Beltane in Gaelic, marks the beginning of summer in the Scottish Calendar. Yet some still argue that the Scots are a pessimistic nation… Whatever the weather, traditionally life moved outdoors on 1 May after the long dark days of winter and TRACS is marking the celebration this year in traditional and … Continued

The past, present and future of traditional music Visit Edinburgh Tradfest site Edinburgh Tradfest has a rich story. With its longer tap roots in the Edinburgh Folk Festival, it was launched by Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland (TRACS) in 2013 to provide a distinctive platform for folk arts in the capital city. Edinburgh is a … Continued

From Best New Group “The Livies” at Live Ireland Music Awards 2016, Conor from Connla answers some quick questions ahead of the bands gig at Summerhall this evening. What does Connla have planned for 2017? We are fortunate enough to have a very busy end to 2017. We have several trips to mainland Europe planned, … Continued

Tell us about your collaboration, Redwood Mountain, and your plans for 2017? Redwood Mountain came together by accident really. A friend of mine sent me an old book called The Book of American Folk Songs by Alan Lomax. He’d been telling me about this book for years. Shortly after gifting me a first edition copy, … Continued