Paid for contentCountdown to Shetland’s annual accordion and fiddle bonanza
Here we are again! In a few weeks the 36th Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Festival will be under way with a great programme of music and dancing.
The programme which was recently released contains all the details of what will be happening, where, and very importantly, how to get your tickets! Details can also be found on the official web page here.
The Festival Hub as ever is in Islesburgh Community Centre, and this is where the official opening will take place on Thursday 9 October at 1pm. This year top local fiddler (and sailor extraordinaire!) Maggie Adamson will perform this duty and launch the festival proceedings.
The festival has always had as its main aim to provide top class music for both listening and dancing, and to take this entertainment all over Shetland. This year the concerts on Thursday and Friday will be in Aith, Dunrossness, Hamnavoe, Sandwick Social Club, South Nesting, Whiteness & Weisdale, and of course on both nights at the Festival Hub in Islesburgh.
Following the successful change last year, dances will be held at Aith and Whiteness & Weisdale and on both nights in Islesburgh. Anyone with Festival Hub membership is very welcome to return from the country concerts to Islesburgh and join in the dancing there which will be going on into the wee smaa’ oors.
Some of the most popular Scottish Dance Bands will be here this year, with Ewan Galloway and his Scottish Dance Band, the Wullie Scott Scottish Dance Band, Robert Whitehead and the Danelaw Dance Band, and Sandy Legget and the Carseloch Ceilidh Band.
They, along with seven local Bands, will ensure the floor at Clickimin remains full at the Grand Dance on the Saturday evening. This, as always, is one of the highlights of the festival, and especially so in recent years with many younger folk taking part. From the opening Boston to the final Boston there will be another 24 dances with something for everyone. A top-quality video of the Grand Dance will again be produced, and this can be pre-ordered from the Festival Shop in the Hub.
Apart from the bands already mentioned, there will be musicians attending from far and wide. Accordionists Nicola Braid and Gordon Haddow came to the fore during lockdown and now appear frequently at clubs all round the country as well as on Take the Floor. They are here this year as a trio.
Another box player who appeared regularly online was Murray Cowie who is making his first appearance at the festival. Others who have proved very popular in the past are accordionist Gary Blair, the Neil Galloway Trio, and the Michael Garvin Trio.
Coming from further afield we have fiddler John Daly from Ireland making a welcome return to the festival, accompanied this year by Connor Connolly. Another fiddler, from America this time, is Charlie Walden accompanied by his wife Pat. He is a many-times champion player who travels and plays all over the world.
From Norway there will be the Malm Accordion Club who comprise no less than 15 accordions as well as bass, guitar, and percussion, and are not to be missed.
To match this wealth of visiting talent, there is a vast turnout of local musicians, including fiddlers Bryan Gear and Maggie Adamson, and Young Fiddler of the Year Ami Grains. Accordionists include Bruce Peebles and Alan Small. The local country A&F Clubs are all represented, as well as many youngsters in the Youth Concert which takes place on the Saturday morning.
At last year’s festival there were almost 200 local players officially taking part, and this doesn’t include the very many others who just come long and join in the various sessions that take place in the side rooms throughout the festival. This must surely make it the most inclusive music festival!
After the Youth Concert mentioned above, there will be in an adjoining room the Youth Sessions which will include many of those who have played in the concert, and it is open to all youngsters.
Sunday, being the final day of the festival, is a more relaxing day, with two afternoon concerts featuring some of the most popular items from the festival. As the Garrison Theatre is unavailable due to on-going repairs, the concerts will take place at the Islesburgh Hub, and at the British Legion. They will take place simultaneously, with the artistes moving between the venues.
The committee are very pleased that as usual there are many visitors already booked to come to Shetland for the festival, musician, dancers, and music enthusiasts alike, and it is hoped that, with local support, friendships will be made and renewed and everyone will enjoy the 36th Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Bonanza!
Photo: Tom Jamieson
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