The first ever Scottish Folk Day takes place on Saturday 23 September, helping to promote and celebrate the country’s vibrant and varied folk scene and traditions.

The exciting new project has called for musicians of all backgrounds and abilities across Scotland to stage live performances and workshops throughout the day, in what will be a country-wide celebration of folk music and culture.

Organised by Scotland’s Traditional Music Forum (TMF), Scottish Folk Day is running in tandem with European Folk Day, which has been conceived and coordinated by the European Folk Network. 

The initiative aims to offer a networking platform for musicians and artists at all levels to showcase their talents, while giving folk fans across Scotland and Europe the opportunity to connect with a wider, like-minded community.

Groups and individuals from across Scotland have responded to the call and are set to put on everything from come-and-try workshops to sessions and performances to mark the inaugural cultural celebration.

Fèis Rois will also feature a short film showcasing talents from their young musicians on their Facebook page at 10am to mark Scottish Folk Day.

David Francis, Director at Traditional Music Forum, said:

“It has been brilliant to see such enthusiasm from artists, schools and communities across the country to get involved in the first ever Scottish Folk Day. The passion and eagerness of musicians, clubs and community groups to participate and network together is a testament to our love and appreciation of folk music as a country. All of us at TMF can’t wait to see what people put on on Saturday 23 September and we are so thankful for their support of the initiative.”

It’s not just musicians and clubs who are getting involved in the event, however. All folk fans are encouraged to record and share a musical performance online using the hashtags #ScottishFolkDay and #EuropeanFolkDay to showcase the breadth of activity taking place across the continent.   

The European Folk Day pilot project is open to traditions of music from any community within Europe, whether historically indigenous or newly-migrant. The event aims to highlight the importance of each and every European musical community, whilst supporting continued resilience through networking and digital communication.

The event has been coordinated by members of the European Folk Network with co-funding from the European Union via the MusicAIRE programme.

For further information on how to get involved, visit: https://europeanfolkday.eu