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
ReadThe countdown is on – with only three weeks to go, find out what those involved in bringing the Festival together have their eye on from the rich programme. Daniel Abercrombie, TRACS Programme & Events Manager I love the variety that TradFest offers, so there’s three differing picks for me. I could listen to Gaelic … Continued
ReadCelebrating traditional culture in all its forms with a feast of flavours, TradFest launched its programme of over 100 events in celebration of Scotland’s 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology at Summerhall this morning. Festival participants and guests were joined by Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop and Creative Scotland’s Head … Continued
ReadThe finalists for Battle of the Folk Bands have been announced by Hands up for Trad. With impressive entries from 24 collectives, competition was tough so the final five promise an exciting and enticing evening of entertainment when they take to the stage on Sun 7 May as part of the finale for Edinburgh’s TradFest. … Continued
ReadNominees have been released for this year’s Scots Trad Music Awards, with a fantastic selection of Scottish traditional musicians, organisers, venues and events all in the running. Among the nominees are many past TradFest Edinburgh performers! The shortlist for Album of the Year, one of the most hotly contested awards, features a whole host of … Continued
ReadLeif are Eoin O’Brien and Conor O’Sullivan, an acoustic duo from the Southwest of Ireland. Blending traditional, contemporary and original folk music, Leif will leave audiences captivated by the storied music of songs old and new. Conor answered a few of our questions before Tell us about your most recent album. We were booked to … Continued
ReadThe ‘traditional arts’ are often referred to as ‘The Voice of the People’, but what do we mean by ‘the people’ and do they speak with one voice? In a Scotland now comprising an ever-shifting population, made dynamic by global processes of dislocation and relocation, how are the traditional arts to be defined? Who participates … Continued
ReadBoth a singer and a writer, Amanda MacLean combines two passions in The Flax Flower, a novel based on one of Scotland’s greatest ballads. Find out more about the book and Amanda’s musical influences before she presents the book in a unique performance blending music, readings and conversation on Friday 29 April. Tell us about your … Continued
ReadWith a total of 90 events taking place all over the capital, the TradFest programme features a huge range of talents from Scotland and beyond. Before the feast of folk gets underway tonight, we dug up a few facts about some of this year’s performers… 1. The foreword to Fiona Ritchie’s book Wayfaring Strangers was … Continued
ReadRaised on soul, swing, rock n roll, puppetry and some Gaidhlig song, Scottish singer-songwriter Ewan Macintyre has spent much of the past year in Canada recording his first solo album, You Probably Look Better Naked Anyway, which will be launched at the first TradFest club session on Thursday 28 April. Here he tells us more … Continued
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