Live Music Music

Hit The Road 2018 – open for applications

karen
15/01/2018
0

Hit The Road is looking for young performers across Scotland. If you’re between the ages of 14 and 19, living in Scotland and want to take your music out into the real world, then take a look at what Hit The Road has to offer.

Hit The Road is a touring project for 14-19 year old aspiring performers who are at an early stage in their music making. It’s run by the Scottish Music Centre and is open to acts across all music genres. Across the year, Hit The Road organises five tours, themed by music genre. Participants are offered training workshops with industry professionals covering all aspects of the reality of touring. There are also training opportunities for young people wishing to try out support roles such as sound engineering and stage technicians.

Online registration is now open for those who are:

aged 14-19

living in Scotland

involved in any kind of music making

interested in learning about and developing their own musical career

To find out more and apply please visit: Hit The Road

Live Music Music

MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2017

calum
12/12/2017
0

Now in its 15th year, the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, this year held in Paisley, once again presented an incredible selection of wonderful performances from a wide range of hugely talented artists. The event itself was held in the Paisley Lagoon Centre which, along with the very impressive lighting and sound, provided a spectacular, glitzy venue for the evening.

The event kicked off with a powerful performance by The Shee Big Band, on great form with beautiful harmonies in their opening song followed by a foot-stompin’ instrumental set.

 

Lori Watson, with a stunning vocal performance, confirmed just why her imminent new album “Yarrow Valley Sessions” is so eagerly anticipated (it’s in production now and will be available soon – honest!!).

 

It was lovely to see the enthusiasm and talent shining from all the young folk of Fèis Phàislig who earned a highly enthusiastic ovation from the crowd in the hall.

 

Ross Ainslie was the only solo act to take to the stage on the night, but his performance was every bit as powerful as the other acts on show  – and made all the more powerful by the skilful and dramatic stage lighting.

 

Considering the number of awards she has now won, Scots singer of the year Siobhan Miller must surely be in the market for a bigger mantelpiece these days. Her performance towards the end of the night showed just why she is so acclaimed, and her rendition of Andy M. Stewart’s classic “Rambling Rover” certainly had the entire assembly find its voice.

 

 

The evening finished with a set by Inverness quintet Elephant Sessions, rounding off what has been an outstanding year for the band by getting the audience up on their feet to bring a great end to a truly special night.

 

Thanks and congratulations to Simon Thoumire and the Hands Up for Trad team for once again putting together an incredible line up for the awards ceremony and well done to all of the nominees who made it to the final lists.

 

2017 Winners

Album of the year ‘All We Have is Now’ by Elephant Sessions

Community Project of the Year – Tiree Songbook

Composer of the Year – Adam Sutherland

Live Act of the Year – Skippinnish

Scots Singer of the Year – Siobhan Miller

Up and Coming Artist – Ho-ro

Music Tutor – Emma Tomlinson

Gaelic Singer of the Year – Robert Robertson

Folk Band of the Year – Talisk

Dance Band of the Year – Duncan Black Band

Scottish Pipe Band of the Year – Inverary & District Pipe Band

Club of the Year – Edinburgh Folk Club

Instrumentalist of the Year – Gary Innes

Event of the Year – A Night For Angus (Shooglenifty at Celtic Connections)

Trad Music in the Media – BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards

Venue of the Year – Tolbooth (Stirling)

Creative Live Music Music

MG ALBA SCOTS TRAD MUSIC AWARDS 2017 – Voting closes 24th November

karen
20/11/2017
0

MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2017 – Voting closes 24th November.  A total of sixteen awards will be presented at a glitzy award ceremony on Saturday 2nd December, at Paisley’s Lagoon Centre as Paisley bids for UK City of Culture 2021.

Album of the Year nominations are:

Afterlight by Ímar

All We Have Is Now by Elephant Sessions

An Dà Là – The Two Days by Mànran

An Dàn – Gaelic Songs for a Modern World by Mary Ann Kennedy

Bere by Saltfishforty

Fiddle + Guitar by Ross Couper + Tom Oakes

Mac Ile by The Islay Sessioners

Room with a View by Old Blind Dogs

Ryan Young by Ryan Young

Strata by Siobhan Miller

Awards are also given for: Community Project of the Year, Composer of the Year, Live Act, Scots Singer of the Year, Up and Coming Artist, Music Tutor of the Year, Gaelic Singer of the Year, Folk Band of the Year, Dance Band of the Year, Scottish Pipe Band of the Year, Club of the Year, Instrumentalist of the Year, Event of the Year, Trad Music in the Media, Venue of the Year.

Good luck to all the nominees.

For more information on all the nominees and to buy a ticket for the event on the 2nd December please visit:  projects.handsupfortrad.scot

To place your vote please visit: TradAdwards2017.

Creative Digital Live Music Music

WOMEX 2017 was great!

karen
01/11/2017
0

WOMEX 2017 was great!

We’re back from WOMEX 2017 in Katowice, Poland and what a great experience it was. Four days of meetings, networking and watching! A truly multi-cultural, diverse feast of music and cultures – we loved every minute of it.

Our stand was visited by a huge range of artists, radio presenters, festival organisers, agents, and promoters from across the world including Canada, Morocco, USA, Switzerland, Hungary, Colombia, Germany, Poland, Armenia, Mozambique, Latvia, Chile, Sweden, Belgium and many more.

 

Our promotional CD Northern Lights was included in each of the delegate bags along with a copy of the WOMEX edition of fROOTS, which featured a 2-page advert, an editorial and an album download. We sent out regular tweets with some of them reaching the huge screens at the back of the WOMEX hall. For more information on the artists please visit birnamcd.com/northernlights.

 

 

We’ve already had notification from a radio station in Australia that they have played a track from the fROOTS download, which is part of the digital fROOTS edition, sent out just before WOMEX.

We had lots of discussions with radio presenters looking for music from across the world and were particularly interested in the range of music and artists we were promoting here in Scotland. We’ve now linked with a folk, blues and world music internet radio station which streams 24 hours a day from Vienna, connected with radio presenters from Germany and Hungary and set up links with a network of 45 radio presenters who all feed into the World Music Charts, as featured in fROOTS.

We held very positive discussions with a wide range of WOMEX delegates covering many different aspects of the music industry. Like us, many delegates were looking to establish positive partnerships which would support increased awareness and opportunities for artists and music in general.  We will be working on a few exciting developments over the coming months.

We had the pleasure of the company of TALISK who were there to do one of the showcase performances – a hugely significant accomplishment given that there were around 1350 applications for around 60 available slots. Their gig went extremely well, lots of very positive feedback and a queue of delegates looking to book them. They’re lovely folk and we wish them even more success in the months and years ahead.

 

 

We also had the pleasure of meeting a great bunch of folk from Catalonia – we’ve been thinking of them since we returned, and we wish them well for the future.

Just to finish, we’ll leave you with another two photographs. The first one is the indoor beach with hammocks and deckchairs. This area proved very popular later in the day when folk were getting weary.

The second photograph is our PARKING TICKET – all the way from Scotland to Poland and we managed to get a parking ticket on the last night!

            

Well, we didn’t have time to do any shopping, so it’s nice to have a souvenir…..

WOMEX 2017 was a hugely enjoyable experience and we’re looking forward to WOMEX 2018.

 

 

Creative Live Music Music

Help Musicians UK Fusion Fund

karen
25/09/2017
0

Advice and information about the new Help Musicians UK Fusion Fund

For all Scotland-based artists, have you got an innovative idea to expand your creative practice working collaboratively with other art forms or sectors? The Fusion Fund offers £2,000 – £5,000 towards developing and testing new work. The Scottish Music Centre are holding various advice sessions where you can attend in person, or, alternatively they can also offer advice over the phone or via Skype. The deadline for applications for Round 1 is 12th October 2017. To find out more visit Scottish Music Centre.

 

Creative Digital Live Music Music

Nurturing Talent – Time to Shine Fund

karen
11/07/2017
0

‘Nurturing Talent – Time to Shine Fund’

Young Scot and Creative Scotland’s ‘Nurturing Talent – Time to Shine Fund’

The fund aims to support young people aged 14-20 who are interested in developing skills in one of the following areas:

Drama – Dance – Music – Film – Visual Arts – Literature – Digital Arts

Who can apply – Anyone aged 14-20, living in Scotland. Both individuals and groups can apply for funding ranging from £50- £600.

The deadlines for applications are: 28th August 2017, 9th October 2017

For more information visit young.scot

Creative Live Music Music

Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2017

karen
12/06/2017
0

BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician 2018 – Open for entries.

The BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year opened for entries on May 25th. The annual music competition, established in 2001, aims to encourage and support young musicians who are pursuing a career in traditional music.

The award is open to individual musicians aged between 16 – 27 years who currently stay in Scotland. The closing date is Friday 7th July 2017.

Entrants must submit:

  • A 10 minute recording of themselves playing traditional Scottish music
  • A short written biography and
  • A short written paragraph about their interest in traditional music.

Entries are judged on Technical ability (intonation, rhythm, timing, ornamentation) and Performance skills (connection with the audience, choice of repertoire, balance of programme, pace, appropriate length of performance).

A panel of judges will review all entries and select a shortlist of 12 to take part in the semi- finals which will take place over the weekend 7-8th October. A panel of judges will select 6 finalists who will then be invited to perform at the final which will be held in Glasgow on 25th January 2018 as part of Celtic Connections Festival.

For more information and to apply please visit the event’s website.

 

Live Music Music

Scottish Jazz Awards 2017

karen
22/05/2017
0

 

We’re delighted to be sponsoring the Scottish Jazz Best Album Award. Glasgow International Jazz Festival in association with Hands Up for Trad will be hosting the 5th Scottish Jazz Awards during the closing evening of the 31st Festival on Sunday 25th June. Following an absence of 4 years the Awards are being revived with an aim to celebrate Scotland’s vibrant jazz scene and support acts and talent across the country.

A nominating panel comprised of press, media, and promoters from across the Scottish Jazz music scene were chosen to select the shortlist for each of the 5 awards. You can now decide the winner by voting for your favourite in each of the 5 categories below. The voting period runs until 5pm on Friday 2nd June. The winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony in City of Music Studio at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

Categories:

  1. Best Vocalist Award – sponsored by The Brunswick Hotel
  2. Best Band/Ensemble Award – sponsored by Glasgow UNESCO City of Music
  3. Best Instrumentalist Award – sponsored by ESP Music Rentals
  4. Rising Star Award – sponsored by Musicians’ Union
  5. Best Album Award – sponsored by Birnam CD

VOTE HERE

Creative Live Music Music

Hit The Road 2017

karen
10/05/2017
0

Hit The Road is a touring project for 14-19 year old aspiring performers who are at an early stage in their music making. Hit the Road will present five tours of Scotland, themed by music genre. Participants are also invited to training workshops with industry professionals covering all aspects of the reality of touring, while there will also be training opportunities for young people wishing to try out support roles such as sound engineering and stage technicians.

Each tour will take three acts on the road, with each act taking the headline slot to their home town crowd.

Online registration is now open for those who are:

  • aged 14-19
  • living in Scotland
  • involved in any kind of music making
  • interested in learning about and developing their own musical career

To find out more and apply, please visit Hit The Road

Creative Live Music Music Uncategorized

SAY Award – 2017

karen
13/03/2017
0

Scottish Album of The Year 2017

The 2017 SAY Award was launched on 1st March and is open until the 31st March. Artists, labels and the general public have the chance to submit albums for consideration. All genres and styles are welcome, from self-released albums to major label releases, from rock and pop to jazz and classical. Eligible albums must be commercially released between 1st April 2016 and 31st March 2017. For more details on the process and to register an eligible album, please visit www.sayaward.com.

The SAY Award is a prestigious and exciting arts prize produced by the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), the award celebrates and promotes the most outstanding Scottish albums released each year. The winner receives £20,000 and nine runner ups receive £1,000 each.