News & Reviews

Chisholm's fiddle playing takes breath away

ARRIVING to a jam packed Skeld Hall for Saturday night’s folk festival concert I was reminded how important the efforts  of the local committees are in making the festival run smoothly when, no chairs in sight, I was found an extra one by some helpful hall hands and installed at the back of the room, ready for the night’s music.

Mesmerising stuff in Burra Hall

Just when you think you’ve seen and heard it all something else comes along to blow you away.

On Saturday in the Burra Hall it was Troy MacGillivray and Shane Cook who left the crowd mesmerised.

An intoxicating night of folk in Cullivoe

A SELLOUT audience at Cullivoe went home deliriously happy on Friday night after enjoying an intoxicating Shetland Folk Festival concert, writes Neil Riddell. 

Magical mystical night at Clickimin

Dazzling white lights, softer shafts of smoky blue and orange and a strong long bass sound made for an exhilarating experience to end Friday night’s performance at Clickimin.

Festival is back with a bang in Bigton

The folk festival is back … and if opening night in Bigton was anything to go by it’s back with a bang.

By the end of the evening Danish band Habadekuk had the crowd on its feet clapping and stamping along to their finale.

Vidlin concert whets appetite for weekend

Vidlin Hall was packed for the opening night of the 2015 Shetland Folk Festival, the audience enjoying a truly diverse musical cocktail of homegrown and visiting acts, as Louise Thomason discovered.

Bright & jovial start to 35th folk festival

THERE was a jovial atmosphere pervading Islesburgh on Thursday as the 35th Shetland Folk Festival got underway.

The highly-anticipated weekend was gently ushered in as the festival held its afternoon opening concert in Lerwick.

Folk Festival gets under way with stellar opening concert

The 35th Shetland Folk Festival is under way, with folk queuing more than two hours for a glimpse of this year’s visiting acts.
Crammed into room 16 at Islesburgh in the festival club music fans were served up a glorious taster of what’s in store.

And if this weekend isn’t a cracker, I’ll eat my notepad.

Festival's strong Americana offering

“AMERICAN roots, Michigan soul, Tennessee ties… [a] finger-pickin’, harmony slingin’, tight-knit family fashion conglomeration” is how Lindsay Lou describes the music she and her band the Flatbellys play.

If you were to take a DNA sample of Shetland Folk Festival, it’s certain that back porch acoustic bluegrass would feature among its genes. And, after a few listens to Lindsay Lou and her cohorts’ latest album ‘Ionia’, it seems equally safe to assume they’ll win plenty of new fans this weekend.