Scotland’s national annual awards night to celebrate trad music will return to Inverness this year for the first time in a decade.
Hailed as the single most important awards ceremony for folk and trad musicians, bands, and artists, the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards will take place on St Andrews day on Saturday 30 November.
The event will be held in the Inverness Leisure Centre with tickets going on sale today and nominations across the 21 categories opening on Monday 30 September, and closing on Sunday 13 October.
Categories include Album of the Year, Musician of the Year, Scottish Pipe Band, Up and Coming Artist, Venue of the Year, Community Project of the Year, Music Tutor of the Year, Photographer of the Year, and Venue Technician of the Year.
The event was created and is delivered by Hands Up For Trad – an organisation that has promoted traditional Scottish music and culture for the last 24 years, through talent development, education, and advocacy.
It has been a decade since the awards were last held in Inverness, and bosses say it will be a welcome return to the Highland capital for what is set to be a “true celebration” of the stand-out stars of Scotland’s homegrown music scene over the last 12 months.
Scots Trad Music Awards organiser Simon Thoumire said: “There is no better date to be celebrating the very best in our Scottish traditional music scene than St. Andrew’s Day and no better location than the capital of the Highlands, Inverness.
“We can’t wait to return and shine a spotlight on the industry’s best and brightest from the past year, as the scene continues to weather a difficult cultural landscape and grow in popularity.
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The ceremony’s return to the Highlands is made possible with funding and support from Creative Scotland, Inverness Common Good Fund, Highland Council via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Scottish Government and MG ALBA. Category sponsors include VisitScotland, PRS for Music, Youth Music Initiative and the Highland Society of London.
The event will also be marked with the introduction of a special new award. The Gaisgeach na Gàidhealtachd, which means Hero of the Highlands, award will be bestowed upon a notable local organisation or figure who has made an invaluable contribution to Highland cultural life.
The full event will also be broadcast on BBC Alba the same night from 9pm.
During the evening, there will be plenty of entertainment for crowds with a jam-packed lineup including Skipinnish who are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2024 Calum McIlroy, An Dannsa Dub, the duo of Laura Wilkie and Ian Carr, and Aberdeenshire folk star Ellie Beaton.
Hebridean-born and Highland-based singer and musician Julie Fowlis and her band will also be playing. The event will be a family affair for Julie as her daughter Aoibhe Doorley joins the line up of Highland Young Musicians and Arc Fiddlers who are also performing on the night.
“It feels more important now than ever to continue to highlight the importance and value of the traditional arts in Scotland.
“It is an opportunity to thank not just the performers and artists that you see on stage and on screen - but to showcase the teachers, tradition bearers, organisations, engineers and writers that work tirelessly behind the scenes. It’s a celebration of the entire scene and I’m delighted to see the Awards come to the Highlands this year.”
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