Early Friday (7.30-9.30pm)

Sian

Dàimh

Late Friday (10pm-2am)

Mec Lir

First Foot Soldiers

Early Saturday, (7.30-9.30pm)

Riska Ceilidh Band

Late Saturday (10pm-2am)

Blue Giant Orkestar

Peatbog Faeries

All weekend

DJ Dolphin Boy

Artist info and video below:

SIAN Sian comprises three of today’s most exquisitely gifted young Gaelic singers – Ceitlin Lilidh, Eilidh Cormack and Ellen MacDonald. With direct connections among the singers to Lewis, Skye and North Uist, their arrangements match deep feeling for traditon with stunning, boldly imaginative harmony work, which has seen them likened to The Staves and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.  Their Fèis na Mara performance will feature an exclusive collaboration with Dàimh, plus students of Fèis Òigridh na Mara and Mallaig High School Music Department.

DÀIMH Forging the sound of the New Tradition, Dàimh are West Highland Music’s proudest exponents. Dàimh, the Gaelic word for Connection, perfectly describes the electrifying musical interplay between the individual band members and portrays the interaction with audiences attending their breath-taking live shows around the world. It also translates as the connection to the deep musical well from which they draw their inspiration. On the Scottish music scene the name Dàimh has come to represent a sound of a time and place and a musical integrity that many strive to emulate. Formed 25 years ago the band have embodied the current wave of resurgence in Gaelic culture; the current line up includes younger musicians that have progressed through the thriving Feisean movement and Gaelic medium education system and joined the 3 remaining founding members to continue the cycle of the tradition. Recent achievements include receiving the MG ALBA Folk Band of the Year Award in 2015 and 2018 and passing the halfway mark on their career ambition of performing on every populated Scottish Island.

MEC LIR From their debut gig at one of the largest Celtic music festivals anywhere in the world – Brittany’s famed Festival Interceltique de Lorient – the exhilarating, genre-busting quartet Mec Lir have been frenzying festival audiences for almost a decade. Well-known for their tight, lightning-fast playing and huge sound, fusing trad with unapologetically electro synths and drums – yet all the while with the fiddle melody at the forefront – the Isle of Man/Glasgow four-piece have brought their infectiously joyous energy to stages in many corners of the folk sphere. Fronted by virtuoso Manx fiddle player Tomas Callister (Ímar),along with fellow Manx musicians Adam Rhodes on bouzouki (Ímar) and David Kilgallonon keyboard (Neear Nesañ), and expertly grounded by Scotland’s Greg Barry on drums (Elephant Sessions), the group’s second album, Livewire, met critical acclaim upon its 2020 release, and topped the iTunes World Music Charts.

FIRST FOOT SOLDIERS First Foot Soldiers are a covers band like no other. The joyous musicianship that these wild Shetlanders bring to all your best-loved rock & pop songs from the 20th century is electrifying. Since their inception they’ve established themselves as one of Shetland’s most in-demand live acts, and finally they are here – to  play their first ever public show in mainland Scotland.

RISKA CEILIDH BAND Everyone loves a ceilidh, especially when these wonderful women are in charge. All your favourite dances, done just the way you like them. It’s the only way to get over Friday night and into Saturday – for you, for the band, and for their ubiquitous raucous guests.

BLUE GIANT ORKESTAR Earth-Quaking Brain-Melting Brass-Tastic Tune-Machine Blue Giant Orkestar are a tunetastic trans-European gold-plated instrumental hydra of nuclear brass, searing fiddle, pounding tuba, one enormous Russian concert accordion and a percussion section that could flatten your house. Fuelled by Balkan horos, Serbian brass festivals, Turkish pop songs, Bulgarian accordion fireworks and even a spot of Scottish ceildh, they play powerful and intricate originals as well as arrangements from many nations and peoples. Formed in late 2019 and since spotted at festivals including Knockengorroch, Kelburn Garden Party and Edinburgh Fringe, as well as some riotous gigs in their hometown of Edinburgh, BGO promise a party for your body, a teaser for your brain and a salve for your heart.

“Nothing prepares you for the high octane music of the Peatbog Faeries. Powerful melodies are dextrously pumped out with a smart degree of techno attitude, while cross-rhythms ricochet over a heavy bass that hits you forcefully like a massive heart beat.” The Scotsman  2023 sees the Peatbog Faeries’ 32nd year as a band. Exciting times lie ahead with the addition of the superbly talented Shetlander Norman Willmore on keys and alto sax; renowned multi-instrumentalist Innes Watson on acoustic guitar, additional fiddle and vocals; and one of Scotland’s top percussionists, Stu Brown, on drums, percussion and programming. Hailing from the Isle of Skye, the legendary Scottish trailblazers have created a glorious mixture of traditional sounds and dance-floor grooves that have been embraced worldwide. From the moment they take to the stage, the mood is set for a no-nonsense feel-good atmosphere.  In short: it rocks, every time. Fèis na Mara faves.

DJ Dolphin Boy Oh yes, he’s back. We love his wily ways.

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