Northern Isles and Argentina to mix for musical event
THE CULTURES of Shetland, Orkney and Argentina will mingle this summer as part of a new series of live music performances.
Rumbo North Isles will bring musicians from the two Scottish island groups together with artists from Argentina for a creative exchange.
At the centre of the programme will be two events in Lerwick and Kirkwall.
For Lerwick, the gig will take place at Mareel on 1 August, with performances set to take place in the afternoon and evening.
Argentinian duo Lohdóh, who “explore songcraft through a contemporary urban aesthetic, blending rich vocal textures, electronic influences and poetic storytelling”, are on the bill.
They are joined by fellow Argentinian group El Guapo, who return to Shetland with their own take on Latin American musical traditions, mixing it up alongside rock, funk and jazz to create an “expansive, genre-crossing sound”.
Local pair Amy Laurenson and Norman Wilmore, who bring together piano and saxophone, will also perform, as will Skelpit, a new Shetland band celebrating the islands’ rich traditional folk heritage through fresh arrangements.
Orcadian folk singer-songwriter Kris Drever will also take to the Mareel stage, as will fiddler, singer and composer Catriona Price (Fara, Twelfth Day).
The events are being organised by Routes to Roots, an artist-led organisation focused on international collaboration.
Rumbo North Isles builds on the organisation’s first festival, Rumbo Oaxaca, which took place in Mexico earlier in 2026 and brought together musicians from different global backgrounds to collaborate and perform.
Price, who is founder and artistic director of Routes to Roots and hails from Orkney, said: “Rumbo North Isles will be a celebration of Latin and local collaboration, and we can’t wait to experience the joy, colour and creative energy that will emerge when our fantastic line-up comes together.
“Routes to Roots is an initiative I’ve been developing for many years, inspired by a desire to connect and collaborate with musicians from folk traditions around the world. 2026 – our first official year as an organisation – is shaping up to be a huge one.”
Price added that after performing across Orkney and Shetland with her Routes to Roots colleagues Joni and Juan over the past two summers, “it felt like a natural next step to create a Scottish edition of the festival in the North Isles”.
“We hope Rumbo North Isles will not only create unforgettable performances this summer, but also lay the foundations for lasting artistic relationships, future international exchange, and new opportunities for artists and audiences alike,” she said.
Creative director of Routes to Roots Joni Strugo, who performs in El Guapo, said it is a “real privilege” in particular to be welcoming Lohdóh to Scotland for the first time.
He added that the Northern Isles have a “unique creative spirit and sense of community that we’ve fallen in love with”.
“It’s a pleasure to share our Latin American-rooted original music with audiences here, and even more exciting to bring artists together through Routes to Roots,” Strugo said.
“We believe that when people from different cultures make music together, something truly special happens, and Rumbo North Isles is all about creating those moments of connection.”
Alongside the two main events, Rumbo North Isles includes workshops and community activity across Orkney and Shetland, giving audiences and participants opportunities to engage directly with the visiting artists.
Tickets for Rumbo North Isles are on sale now here.
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