Shetland-Music.com

The Shetland Folk Festival is the largest and perhaps, pound for pound, the most important and eclectic music festival in the Shetland calendar.

Ralph McTell

Established in 1980, the festival takes place annually at the end of April / beginning of May and runs for four full, energy sapping days (Thursday to Sunday) with the mother of all parties to round the event off on the Monday night.

The festival reaches out to, and impacts upon, all regions and corners of Shetland, including those far flung areas where other major events so rarely choose to tread. Concerts, dances, sessions and workshops are the order of the day, with a mixture of visiting and local artists, young and old involved from start to finish.

It caters for a vast range of tastes, continually straying wonderfully outside the boundaries set by the often one-dimensional interpretation of the term "folk music". Musicians from all cultures, countries, genres and walks of life take part in the festival, including many of the home-grown acts contained in this website.

Diversity is its by-word, with acts such as Elvis Costello, Eddie Reader, Rolf Harris, Ralph McTell, Hayseed Dixie, Shooglenifty, Alison Brown, The Commitments, Al Perkins, Guy Davis and Black Umfolosi, to name but a very few and give you the merest taste.

And speaking of taste, there's the delights of the real ale bar to be sampled and... well sampled again and again, in fact as often as you like. Hangovers come free of charge each day, and are easily curable of course.

During one of the early festivals, no less an authority than Dougie McLean (normally a man of noted stamina) suggested that the festival should "carry a government health warning", while another seasoned festival participant observed that "you have to sleep very quickly during this festival". Say no more.

The whole event is organised and managed by a committed committee of volunteers who are simply dying for your patronage (and membership fees). These being one of the bargains of the year it has to be said. Festival membership offers you generous ticket discounts and, more importantly, gets you into the festival club where, following the evening concerts, it all happens until.....well, you set the finishing time, not them.

Dochas

Visit the Shetland Folk Festival website for more details