The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Traditional music hits the right note at awards
The stars of Scottish sounds recognised at Dundee bash
A glittering awards ceremony to honour the stars of Scottish traditional music was held in Dundee over the weekend.
Hands Up for Trad celebrated the 14th year of the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards at the Caird Hall, with the event broadcast live on BBC ALBA and BBC Radio Scotland.
There were performances from The Scott Wood Band, Mohsen Amini and Dallahan, amongst others.
This year’s notable winners include Breabach. They scooped both the coveted Album of the Year award for their fifth studio album, Astar, and Folk Band of the Year.
The band has clocked up the air miles this year, as they travelled to Germany, Italy, Canada and around the UK promoting the album, which has received impressive reviews.
Simon Thoumire, event founder and Hands Up for Trad creative director, said: “(This) was, once again, a celebration of the best traditional music talent in and around Scotland.
“I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted and congratulations to all involved in (the) ceremony.
“(The event) showed it’s an exciting time for the Scottish traditional music scene, with a wealth of artists and performers, old and new, being honoured this evening.
“We would also like to thank the Caird Hall for being such fantastic hosts, Dundee City Council for their overwhelming support over the past two years and MG ALBA for their ongoing contribution to the awards and allowing the whole world to tune in and experience the evening with us.”
Piping Live! Glasgow’s International Piping Festival won the Event of the Year award, after it brought over 40,000 people from around the world to Scotland for a week-long celebration of traditional music in August.
Other winners included songstress Ellen MacDonald, who beat off tough competition from Callum Ross, Joy Dunlop and Kaela Rowan to clinch the Gaelic Singer of the Year award.