Looking back at ETF 25

‘There was a real buzz about the place this year, it really feels like it is an established part of the calendar now’ – Anna Massie, BBC Radio Scotland

Another year's Edinburgh Tradfest is in the can, and what a fabulous festival it was. We had more audience members than ever before packed into the Traverse for our shows (up 15% on last year), and we hosted an amazing 111 musicians over the 11 days of the festival. All were brought together by a shared love of live music, and, as the quote above puts so well, to appreciate what we have in common.

We had three generations of Highland pipers on stage at the same time, a stage invasion of 40 pre-schoolers, some formidable Finnish throat singing, a 400-strong standing ovation in the Queen's Hall, the whole audience as backing singers (multiple times), some incredible crowd-band interaction, just so many perfectly pitched and put together concerts.

Whilst our opening concert featuring Ross Ainslie & the Sanctuary Band + Terra Kin could not match the raucous energy of last year’s headliners Valtos, this show was pitched as a more mellow counterpoint to that event. The music from both Ross and Terra Kin was sumptuous and all-encompassing and offered a kind of balm for the difficult times we are living in.

Thoughtful, kind-hearted and beautifully shaped performances became a theme for the festival and we continued with 23 more shows at The Traverse Theatre from Saturday 3 May until our sold out closing concert with the Siobhan Miller Band. The following review of that gig from The Skinny captures the general vibe of this year’s Edinburgh Tradfest ...

“From the familiar manner in which many attendees greet one another, to the effusive cheers for the show's organisers, to Miller's own reflections of learning songs from folk song grandees, it's clear that this music cultivates a sense of community." – The Skinny

In addition to Ross, Terra Kin and Siobhan the following bands/artists from Scotland were also included this year: Rory Matheson, Catriona Price, Adam Sutherland, Anna Robertson, Freya Rae’s Divergence, Martyn Bennett, Anna-Wendy Stevenson, Gary West, DJ Dolphin Boy, BJ Stewart, Lauren MacColl, Mary Macmaster, Ciarán Ryan, Amy Macdougall, Donald Hay, Mairearad Green, Pete Harvey, Fiona Soe Paing, Morag Brown & Lewis Powell-Reid, The Traveling Janes, Beth Malcolm, Chandra Mather, Allan Macdonald, Ellie Beaton, Kathleen MacInnes, Claire Hastings, Rhona Stevens & Joseph Peach, Finlay Macdonald Band, Joy Dunlop, Fraser Fifield, Miwa Nagato-Apthorp, Parsisonic and Dlù. Our session players were Kathryn Nicoll, Tom Oakes, Simon Bradley, Eamon Coyne, Sasha Stolasz, Abi Sandy, Ciarán Ryan and Leo McCann.

Our visiting acts were: Leveret (England), Hartwin Trio (Belgium), Teho. (Finland), The Hot Seats (USA), Seckou Keita (Senegal/England), Catherine MacLellan & Lucy Farrell (Canada/England), and Pelkkä Poutanen (Finland). It’s hard to single any of these out as they were all incredible, however if you didn’t see Pelkkä Poutanen we highly recommend you see her next time around. Quite breathtaking.

Our special commission, For the Love of Trees, was led by veteran harpist/singer Mary Macmaster whose show featured songs and tunes inspired by trees, some of which were specially written for the show including one each about the cedar in the Botanics that was decapitated by Storm Éowyn, and the felled tree from the Sycamore Gap. Mary’s band comprised: Amy Macdougall (vocals & effects), Ciarán Ryan (fiddle, banjo, guitar), Donald Hay (percussion), Mairearad Green (pipes, accordion) and Pete Harvey (‘cello) (pictured above).

The Rebellious Truth Talk, presented in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh Celtic and Scottish Studies, was given by singer, stepdancer and broadcaster Joy Dunlop. The subject of her very engaging speech was Joy’s journey from Gaelic learner to Gaelic language ambassador. Music was supplied by the University’s Traditional Musician in Residence Fraser Fifield and the event was helmed by Dr Lori Watson.

For the first time we had afternoon shows on for each of the weekend days. This programme included Rebellious Truth, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh Celtic and Scottish Studies, and #WorldPlayAStrathSpeyDay, as usual presented by Simon Thoumire of Hands Up For Trad, plus two new shows, both of which were highlights of the festival.

Martyn Bennett: the Music Lives On was a multi-media celebration of one of Scotland’s greats, 20 years after his untimely death. It featured excerpts from Gary West’s biography of Martyn, read by the author, film clips, live music by Gary and fellow panellist Anna-Wendy Stevenson, a little heard recording of Martyn’s classical violin playing supplied by his mother Margaret Bennett, re-mixes of his music by DJ Dolphin Boy and photographs by BJ Stewart (both of whom were also panellists). The chat covered Martyn’s early pipe playing, his classical training, his extra-curricular activities, his electronic prowess and, of course, his legacy.

Our second new show was a relaxed performance where under 5s could join in with the singing, dance and clap along. This was led by singer Claire Hastings with Ali Hutton on guitar and Adam Sutherland on fiddle (pictured above). Claire is not only a stunning vocalist and composer but also an expert on toddler crowd control. For most of the show the Traverse’s ample stage was invaded by about 40 small humans all delighting in not being told to sit still and be quiet. It was wonderful.

Our showcase event, ETF Spotlight featured its best line-up yet: heartbreakingly beautiful singer Miwa Nagato-Apthorp; brand new middle-eastern combo Parsisonic; and Scottish Gaelic ‘supergroup in the making’ Dlù.

Our adult workshops this year were all well attended. They included group singing by natural voice practitioner Chandra Mather, fiddle by Lauren MacColl, tune writing by Adam Sutherland and a masterclass on pibroch by Allan Macdonald.

While we missed the presence of the Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin which was cancelled this year due to slow bookings, we were able to make our annual trip to the City of Edinburgh Music School in March. Greg Lawson (part of Ross Ainslie’s Sanctuary Band) (pictured above) led an electrifying workshop on how Martyn Bennett’s music was adapted to be performed by a full orchestra. This was a particularly apt subject as Martyn is a former pupil at the school and a sizeable portrait of the late musician adorns the wall of the recital room where the workshop took place.

Following on from last year we programmed sessions in the Traverse Bar for Saturday 3 May, Sunday 4, Friday 9 and Saturday 10, they were led by Kathryn Nicoll with Tom Oakes, Simon Bradley with Eamon Coyne, Sasha Stolasz and Abi Sandy, and Ciarán Ryan with Leo McCann.

Apart from the opening concert at the Queen’s Hall, all the remaining concerts and workshops were held at The Traverse Theatre which, we think, is currently the best place in Edinburgh to see live music. Acoustically it is perfect and universally good sight lines mean that there are no bad seats. We are indebted to the teams in both venues for making us feel extremely welcome and working so hard to ensure that the experience of performers and audience members was the best it could be.

Following on from last year’s pop up performances we were delighted to be able to present a short set by Mary Macmaster and Donald Hay at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh which was picked up by STV and BBC Radio Scotland. The National Portrait Gallery hosted Lauren MacColl and Anna Massie on Saturday 3 May (see above) which greatly enhanced the ticket sales for Lauren’s gig. St Giles Cathedral was the setting for an ad hoc afternoon performance by Ellie Beaton and Luc McNally on 8 May.

We received a lot of great emails from artists after the festival. This one from drummer John Blease who appeared with both Ross Ainslie and Siobhan Miller was especially lovely …

“I want you to know, as a musician, how grateful I am that people like yourselves exist championing the music in all the right ways. What a beautiful environment and festival you created through many years of hard work. Honestly, so so grateful and inspired by you both. Thank you. And to have played both the opening and closing concerts of Tradfest means a lot, a special thing!”

As in past years, included in this year’s festival was augmented by a programme of films curated by the Folk Film Gathering, and storytelling/family events put together by the Scottish Storytelling Centre/TRACS team. We are indebted to them.

And with seven 5 star reviews this year we were spoiled for choice, but let’s leave you with one of the two received by Gaelic singer Kathleen MacInnes (pictured at the top of the page)…

“⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ With MacInnes, a pillar of the Gaelic tradition joined by young musicians on stage, giving us – a sold-out show – an insight into her creative process, while the audience sings along to songs from the 1700s, the night embodied this year’s Tradfest theme. The past, present and future of traditional music.” - The National

Naturally we are already looking forward to next year.

All photographs by Douglas Robertson.