Young musicians placed at heart of folk festival

Shetland Folk Festival Society has selected five young isles musicians for a project which will form part of the 32nd annual event, which kicks off in two weeks.

They are Danny Garrick (fiddle), Joe Watt (guitar/bass), Isaac Webb (percussion), Callum Nicolson (accordion/piano) and Liza Fullerton (fiddle). All are still at school.

Working in partnership with the Anderson High School, the Trad Seeds project will unite the five youngsters with some of the most celebrated folk stars in the country.  

From 30th April the students will be tasked with providing a 40-minute slot for the Friday night concert at Clickimin – despite never having played together before.

With tuition and support from four members of Scotland’s Treacherous Orchestra, the students will have to write, arrange, rehearse and eventually perform to hundreds of people on the festival’s largest and most profiled stage. The project is part of the festival’s youth programming and development remit.

Davie Henderson from the committee said: “The festival is always looking to develop new experiences for Shetland’s talented youngsters. Many of our young musicians get the opportunity to perform at our mainstream festival concerts and the youth event but this project will be particularly challenging due to the timescales involved.

“We know from our previous educational projects like Nordic Tone and SHOW that the students gain a tremendous amount of confidence and experience and we look forward to seeing how this group flourishes during the festival week and thereafter.”

Travelling to Lerwick five days in advance of their gig to lend them a hand are John Somerville (accordion), Fraser Stone (percussion), Adam Sutherland (fiddle) and Innes Watson (guitar/fiddle), all members of the 12-piece “supergroup” Treacherous Orchestra.

Also on the Friday night bill are Sprag Session from Cape Breton who are set to be one of Nova Scotia’s biggest musical exports with their dynamic mingling of beats and melodies.
Although many of the festival’s concerts are now sold out, there is still some ticket availability for this concert and the Clickimin on Thursday 3rd May which features a one-off gig with the hotly tipped rising band Admiral Fallow.

The shop at 5 Burns Lane opens for ticket sales on Thursdays 19th and 26th April between 6pm and 8pm and Saturdays 21st and 28th April between noon and 3pm. Tickets and memberships can also be purchased by completing and returning the booking form downloadable from www.shetlandfolkfestival.com.