THE LONG AND SHORT OF SCOTTISH FESTIVALS
THE LONG AND SHORT OF SCOTTISH FESTIVALS
Scotland has had a wee bit of a cold winter, with March being the second coldest since records began (the coldest was over fifty years ago). April has been sunny so far, so spring plants and flowers are starting to pop up. The same can be said for Folk Festivals, with the Glenfarg Folk Feast taking place on the 12th, 13th and 14th of this month. We have been members of the club ever since we moved back to our home in Aberfeldy. Glenfarg is just south of Perth, so it is about an hour’s drive from here. The Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland, of which I am convenor of the Perth branch, has over the years sponsored the musical workshops there, and we did this year. The workshops were on intermediate fiddle with Fiona Cuthill, Song Writing with Anthony John Clark, and on Sunday, Traditional Singing with Jimmy Hutchison. Highlighting this year’s programme, and appearing at the Sunday night Final Fling concert was Karine Polwart, and others including local band Rallion, from the shores of Loch Tay. By large Festival standards, Glenfarg, due to its geographical location, is quite small, but it makes up for this with the excellence of its artists and the friendliness of its all-volunteer staff.
Also since arriving on these shores (what shores? You may ask, to which the answer is invariably “A large rum and coke” or a good “single malt”), we have been subscribing to The Living Tradition, an excellent magazine and well worth looking into. Should you be planning a visit to the U.K., it is a good source of information on Folk Festivals throughout the land and by tweaking your plans a wee bit, you could find a great Festival right on your doorstep. The Living Tradition can be accessed at www.livingtradition.co.uk. Of course, if you do that, then I will have become somewhat obsolete, an opinion that some folk have had for years.
On the minus side, it looks like the Auchtermuchty Folk Festival, may be struggling, and I am keeping an eye on efforts to keep it going. (Yes, there is such a place in Scotland, and if you think that this is a tongue twister, try Ecclefechan…………..). Life in Scotland is great, and tomorrow I’m off to England (or Baja Scotland to the knowledgeable) for a week’s sailing off the south coast. If I survive, I’ll babble away in the next issue……….
Ron Young had the good fortune to grow up in rural Scotland, surrounded by the traditions of Scottish music and dance. He would like readers to know that whatever you heard about that sheep, it’s not true. Ron has spent the better part of thirty years involved with various Celtic and Scottish cultural organizations in southern California, and now back in Aberfeldy where he has continued to pursue his love of traditional music.
