News / Gig planner
NEW Rope String Band will visit Shetland this summer as part of a farewell tour.
The dynamic group – who juggle folk with elements of circus and slapstick – will return to the isles for three dates in June.
They will play the Ollaberry Hall on 5 June before heading to the Walls Hall a day later.
Their final run of gigs in the isles will come to an end at Mareel in Lerwick on 7 June.
New Rope String Band, who will be familiar with Folk Festival gig-goers, quipped that they are quitting because they’ve come “to the end of their tether”.
The trio – who began life in 1988 – promise to bring “fish tanks, boiled eggs, fiddles, banjos, cardboard guitars, theremins, explosions, interactive films, drainpipes, mermaids, pink y-fronts, thrills, spills, tears and hilarity” to Shetland.
Tickets for the gigs have been on sale since Friday 1 May via Shetland Box Office.
Music lovers meanwhile can also buy tickets for this summer’s Fiddle Frenzy events.
The popular week-long event is taking place between 2-9 August and it’s again being curated by Jenna and Bethany Reid.
The festival will open with a gig from local musicians Bryan Gear and Violet Tulloch, whilst newly formed duo Trig Bag will also be on the bill.
Other events due to take place over the jam-packed week include acclaimed Scottish duo Angus Lyon and Ruaridh Campbell at the Garrison Theatre on 3 August and a Shetland Sets night at Mareel on 5 August.
Orkney’s Saltfishforty will return to the isles on 7 August whilst Fiddle Frenzy students, Birls Aloud and Mairearad & Anna will close the week at Mareel on 8 August.
Those outside Lerwick aren’t being left out, however, with other gigs planned in Aith and Yell.
Westside musicians Eart Kyent will be on the bill at the Aith Hall on 4 August alongside Fiddlers’ Bid’s Andrew Gifford, whilst Iain Williamson and Orcadians Jenny Keldie & Brian Cromarty will play the Cullivoe Hall on 7 August.
Lynda Anderson of Shetland Arts said: “Jenna & Bethany have again collated an exciting line up of tutors and concerts for the week.
“We’re delighted to have had the fastest ever sale of packages this year, with some classes already very close to full capacity, demonstrating the continuing strength of Fiddle Frenzy and the worldwide interest in Shetland fiddle.”
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