Gigha Music Festival
A new format for this year’s Isle of Gigha Music Festival will see four award-winning musicians perform together. Guests at Saturday night’s ‘an evening with’ event, in the village hall, will be treated to performances from Scottish-based musicians Laura-Beth Salter and Jenn Butterworth, and Ali Hutton and Ross Ainslie. Ali and Ross, who won the best duo category at the BBC Radio 2 folk awards last year, released their second album, Symbiosis II, in spring. Their music is based around their skills as pipers and on whistles, with guitars and percussion. Laura-Beth and Jenn, who have years of experience playing together, as well as solo careers, released their album, Bound, in 2016. Jenn, one of Scotland’s foremost female guitarists, and Laura-Beth, a bluegrass-influenced mandolin player, both have sublime voices. The musicians will perform their own songs as two duos, but all four will then play a joint set together. A committee spokesperson said: ‘We’re looking forward to some great and innovative music.’ The evening will continue with ceilidh sets by top local band Deoch ‘n Dorus. Although there will be no Friday night concert this year, those looking to get into the festival spirit early will not be disappointed as there will be an evening session in the Gigha Gallery tearoom. There will also be live music at the gallery on Saturday afternoon, as well as in the Gigha Hotel and the Boathouse restaurant, and Loch Fyne Pipe Band will play a set outside the hotel at about 3.30 pm. Saturday’s village hall event kicks off at 7.30pm and tickets cost £22. There are a very small number of discounted tickets are available for children under 12. For tickets, contact Tony Philpin or Jayne Miller on 01583 505160. Festival organisers would like to thank Creative Scotland, CalMac, SJ Noble Trust and Ardminish Stores for their financial support.