Fullsceilidh Spelemannslag are a complete pain in all sorts of ways.

The Shetland Folk Festival Society are hosting a special one off concert on 14th August featuring prolific singer songwriter Eric Bogle and his long-standing sideman and fellow Australian Scot, instru­men­talist John Munro.

There was an official invasion of Shetlanders in Stromness at the weekend – but they were extremely well behaved. No late nights, no tunes, no drinking and just generally no craic.

Okay, I’m fibbing! Indeed, you have to admire the Orkney Folk Festival committee for being brave enough to invite Fiddlers’ Bid, Fullsceilidh Spelemannslag and…

Popular local band Scaldin Bragg took their distinctive uplifting mix of Irish, country and folk music to a new audience when they performed out of Shetland for the first time at the weekend.

They received an enthusiastic welcome in Orkney, playing a storming three-hour set, non-stop, to a very appreciative crowd at the Auld Motor…

Folk musicians from around the world gathered in the isles to perform 24 concerts before a collective audience of more than 5,000 people last weekend.

Received wisdom was that Toronto-based Ameri­cana group Madison Violet and Irish folk singer Cara Dillon, along with traditional Finnish-Norwegian act Frigg and Asturian roots outfit Felpeyu, were among the highlights…

THURSDAY – South Nesting

Canadian duo Madison Violet stole the show on the opening night at South Nesting Hall with a stunning performance of their bittersweet brand of Americana and tight, heavenly harmonies. In the process they set a high watermark for the weekend which – to this listener’s ears at least – was…

THURSDAY – Lerwick Legion

The opening concert at the Legion was, for me, a bit of a mixed bag, but a great start to the festival nonetheless.

Stand-in compere for the evening was New Rope String Band member Tim Dalling, who did a fine job of introducing the acts and kept the eager audience…

FRIDAY – Mossbank

No afore time! It has been nearly 20 years since the folk festival visited Mossbank Hall and the night was such a success that many will want it to happen again.

The packed to capacity hall – there was standing room only – reverberated for four hours to the sounds of…

FRIDAY – Cullivoe

There have been many memorable concerts during the history of the folk festival. One of them, by general consensus of opinion, was in the Cullivoe Hall nine years ago when Yell punters, and others, were treated to an evening with a wonderful Irish flavour.

On that night in May 2000 (it…

SATURDAY – Walls Hall

Sunlight was still gleaming through the curtains as the first artists on the bill were taking to the stage for one of the weekend’s more eclectic musical gatherings which, remark­ably for this year’s line-up especi­ally, featured just two fiddles between the five acts.

Kicking things off was local singer-songwriter Jordan…