THE SCOTTISH Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh is seeking performers for its folk play, The Burdies, which premieres on December 30. The play combines the midwinter custom of Hunting the Wren, which is associated with pagan rituals to signify bringing life back again with the sun, with traditional Scottish songs, tunes and stories about the marriage of Robin Redbreast and Jenny Wren. A minimum cast of ten is needed and participants are promised fun and opportunities for costume making, dressing up and learning songs and tunes. The event runs from 10.30am and the performance takes place at 2:30pm.
tracscotland.org/scottish-storytelling-centre
GLASGOW-based pianist Fergus McCreadie has won the Peter Whittingham Jazz Award 2016, the second successive Scottish winner of the prestigious prize following Glasgow quartet Square One’s success last year. The nineteen year old, pictured, who is currently studying on the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s jazz course, was recently named One to Watch in 2017 by Jazzwise magazine and has previous successes as the winner of the under-17 section of the Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year in 2013 and 2014, the Linda Trahan Memorial Prize for performance at St Andrews University and the Guy Barker Award for improvisation at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He will put his £5,000 prize from the Whittingham award towards recording an album of original compositions with his trio.
fergusmccreadie.co.uk
LONG-established folk group Battlefield Band have released physical copies of their compilation The Producer’s Choice in a limited edition following requests from fans for the collection that was originally available only for download and streaming. The compilation was put together by Robin Morton, the group’s manager, record producer and "fifth member" for over forty years, to mark their recent induction into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame as internationally acclaimed ambassadors for Scottish folk music. The nineteen tracks feature the nineteen musicians who have contributed to the group’s many different incarnations over a catalogue of thirty albums and thousands of concerts worldwide.
templerecords.co.uk
THE CEILIDH Place in Ullapool is staging a special New Year’s Day concert featuring cross-genre folk bands Man’s Ruin and Elephant Sessions. Comprising five of Scotland’s leading exponents of experimental folk music, Man’s Ruin brings together musicians from award winning groups Breabach, Treacherous Orchestra and Nae Plans to play a blend of folk, funk, country, rock and electronica. They have performed at Celtic Connections and the Insider, Solfest and Big Tent festivals and have released two well-received albums. The concert begins at 8:30pm.
theceilidhplace.com
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