EDINBURGH Tradfest has announced its full programme ahead the launch in April 2019.
The 11-day long festival showcases the best of traditional music, world cinema which celebrates folk culture, and storytelling and will take place across a range of Edinburgh venues from 26th April to 6th May 2019.
The opening night of the festival on 26th April will see anarchic Irish folk band, Lankum, play the Queen’s Hall.
Musical highlights throughout the festival will feature both national and international talent which include Talisk playing with the Adam Sutherland Band, Scottish singers in What a Voice, May Erlewine from Michigan, Celtic-harpist Savourna Stevenson, Canadian supergroup The Fretless and Swedish folk artists Väsen.
Alan Morrison, Head of Music at Creative Scotland said: “Scotland’s folk and trad music sits at the core of our cultural identity and is a driving force in our dynamic music industry.
“It’s great to know that Tradfest will continue to showcase this brilliant music to audiences from near and far.”
In addition to its music programme Tradfest will also partner with Folk Film Gathering at the Filmhouse.
Screenings will include the 1929 Norwegian silent film Laila, with a live score by award-winning folk duo Rona Wilie and Marit Fält, a selection of short folk films by avant-garde pioneer Enrico Cocozza and a screening of 1928’s Zvenigora with a commissioned score from Folklore Tapes.
Jamie Chambers, from the Folk Film Gathering said: “Since its inception, Tradfest has been at the forefront of exploring the ongoing place of folk culture in contemporary Scottish life, and we are very pleased to be able to contribute to that, in exploring the part that cinema might play within that conversation.”
In 2019 Edinburgh Tradfest is operating under the new direction of Edinburgh based music promoters The Soundhouse Organisation, who take over the reins from TRACS at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
Donald Smith, Director of the Storytelling Centre said: “Tradfest gets a fresh boost this year with Soundhouse taking the promotional lead.
“They are champions of Edinburgh’s music scene, and with partners such as the Scottish Storytelling Centre and Queens Hall aboard, this Festival of folk arts looks set to go from strength to strength.”
To book tickets and for more information visit: https://edinburghtradfest.com/schedule
