Scotland on Tour, the exciting initiative to support the recovery of our live music industry, comes to Orkney this autumn when local legends Fara will play a series of special homecoming gigs across the islands.

Dates and Venues

Sunday 25th September, Rousay Community School , Fara with The Singaling Ladies and Ellen Grieve. Tickets will be available on the door.

Monday 26th September, Stromness Town Hall, Fara with The West Mainland Strathspey and Reel Society Juniors. Tickets are available from Argo’s bakeries.

Tuesday 27th September, Sanday Junior High School, Fara with Fraser McPhail and Ruari Towrie. Tickets can be bought from the Sanday shops.

Wednesday 28th September, The King Street Halls Kirkwall, Fara with The Young Eens. Tickets are available from Argo’s bakeries.

Formed in 2014, fiddle-led folk group Fara draw inspiration from the traditional music they grew up with, while making it exciting and relevant for a younger audience. Composed of three childhood friends, Jeana Leslie, Catriona Price and Kristan Harvey on fiddle, and newest member Rory Matheson on piano, Fara keep tradition at the heart of their music, often composing their songs around words by Orcadian writers. 

Catriona Price said:

“We’re delighted to be performing some special homecoming shows in Orkney as part of Scotland on Tour. We’ve got some special guests joining us and we can’t wait to perform in the place that inspires so much of our music.”

Scotland on Tour will take place over a period of 12 months between April 2022 and 2023. Scotland on Tour will support the creation of hundreds of concerts and performances at much-loved arts centres, town halls and community venues across Scotland. More than 120 artists are set to perform at more than 100 venues across the country as part of the initiative. 

Scottish Government Culture Minister, Orcadian Neil Gray said:

“We’re delighted to support the live music industry with £750,000 to fund the year-long Scotland on Tour initiative to boost the sector’s post-Covid recovery.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for performers and promoters to get back in front of live audiences and for people to back our creative communities by supporting the hundreds of gigs that will take place in venues right across Scotland.”

The project, which has been created and managed by Active Events, was made possible by £750,000 of Scottish Government backing and will focus on increasing the number of opportunities to showcase and enjoy live music, while bringing exciting acts to the doorstep of city, towns, villages and rural communities.

The year-long Scotland on Tour bill includes both emerging and established artists with genre-spanning acts appearing across the breadth and width of the country, with rock, pop, jazz, classical, folk, trad and acoustic genres all being showcased.

Tickets for these and a raft of other shows are on sale now at www.scotlandontour.com. 

Scotland on Tour is Funded by Scottish Government and organised by Active Events, with input from representatives from across the industry including Creative Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, XpoNorth and South of Scotland Enterprise.

Director of Active Events Lisa Whytock said:

“This new initiative is a bold vision for recovery for Scotland’s live music industry and an opportunity for artists, promoters and technical crews to thrive once again. The backlog of postponed and cancelled shows over the last two years has made it very difficult for artists to book new concerts and this is where Scotland on Tour comes in, providing much-needed opportunities for exciting acts to showcase their music. 

“Gig goers will also have the chance to see the best of Scottish music right on their doorstep. This will be particularly beneficial to underused venues and rural performance spaces where we will be breathing life back into these fantastic settings.”