Festival Club

To witness the full Shetland Folk Festival Experience, it is a good idea to have membership for the Shetland Folk Festival Society (SFFS). 

Dancing on the club stairs
Dancing on the club stairs

A perk of this is that only SFFS members are permitted access to the fantastic Festival Club and besides this, members purchase their concert tickets at a considerably reduced prices!   There is a whole range of daytime non-ticketed activities that happen within the Festival Club including all our workshops, album launches and both organised and spontaneous live music and sessions - so membership is definitely worthwhile.  This year we are extremely grateful to our Festival Club sponsor - Belhaven Brewery.

Where is the Festival Club?

The Festival Club is a hive of activity all weekend and situated in Islesburgh Community Centre, King Harald Street in the main town of Lerwick and is in a very central location. The Festival club is open throughout the day and there is food on offer in the cafe located in Islesburgh daily. And of course there is a well-stocked bar!

It's the place to be if you are interested in meeting and greeting Festival artistes, listening to sessions or participating in the various workshops on offer. 

Entry to the Club will be restricted to 2024 wristband-wearing members during advertised opening hourse.  PLEASE NOTE - At certain peak times, the Festival Club may have restrictions on entry due to fire regulations. At these times, we ask you to form an orderly queue outside and you shall be permitted access once a sufficient number of people have left.   

Entry to the Club

  1. Entry to the Club is restricted to current wristband wearing members only - during advertised opening times only.
  2. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times. 
  3. Please note that all of our Club bar staff and stewards are volunteers so please give them the respect they deserve, no matter how long the queues are!

Sessions

A session in the club
A session in the club

Sessions are part of the festival, with local and visiting artistes getting together to play a tune. Visitors to the festival are actively encouraged to take part in the sessions. Please don't be shy! There are four main rooms in the Club, three with pianos, plus the main concert venue (when concerts/sound checks are not being held). There are also numerous staircases, hallways and cupboards available for tunes if you so fancy!