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Edinburgh Tradfest

The very best traditional music from Scotland and around the world returns from 3rd to 13th May 2024.

Edinburgh Tradfest

About Edinburgh Tradfest

, Various Locations Edinburgh
Edinburgh Tradfest Website
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The past, present and future of traditional music

Edinburgh Tradfest has a rich story. With its longer tap roots in the Edinburgh Folk Festival, it was launched by Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland (TRACS) in 2013 to provide a distinctive platform for folk arts in the capital city. Edinburgh is a hot house of talent, home grown and visiting, and Tradfest is an opportunity to see it all in play.

In 2015, TRACS asked us at the Soundhouse Organisation to programme a series of concerts for them. With many years of concert promoting, beginning at our house in 2002, and then our regular Monday nights at The Traverse Bar (gathering appreciative audiences since 2014), we were well placed to select a dynamic line up of musical stars from home and abroad.

In 2018, however, TRACS had its funding reduced (as part of wider cut backs in government funding) but they honoured their commitment with a very strong Tradfest programme in that year. When it came to appraise the situation for 2019 the good folks at TRACS decided they couldn’t continue without funding. We thought it was a shame to lose the festival particularly at a time when Scotland’s traditional music scene is so strong and vibrant, so they agreed to pass it on to us in 2019. We are indebted to TRACS for their generous spirit and assistance in handing over the Tradfest reins.

In 2019, we were able to double the audience for our gigs and in 2020 we wanted to double the number of curated shows on offer to 20 so were hoping for another audience doubling. The Festival was also to include a folk film strand from Transgressive North, entitled the Folk Film Gathering, and a programme of family/storytelling events at the Scottish Storytelling Centre under the title ‘May Days’.

In the end covid put a halt to those plans with the festival cancelled just before line up announcement in March 2020. Thanks to the generosity of our funders: Creative Scotland, the City of Edinburgh, and the William Grant Foundation we were able to pay all musicians their guarantees, put together a new recording and video of Wild Mountain Thyme to mark what would have been the opening day of the festival on 1 May 2020 and produce four online concerts streamed in October 2020.

Because of the ongoing situation with the covid pandemic the 2021 festival was also entirely digital and featured as many of those musicians we had hoped to present in 2020. We hosted two unique online concerts, opening with Catriona Macdonald’s Shetland Springs, and closing with the live streamed Rebellious Truth lecture and concert by Karine Polwart. We also presented nine editions of our new minted Edinburgh Tradfest Podcast which proved very popular with over 5,000 subscribers. Again we had the support from Creative Scotland and the William Grant Foundation, with the University of Edinburgh Department of Celtic and Scottish Studies coming on board for 2021. Heartfelt thanks to them.

There was relief everywhere and a hefty smattering of joy when we eventually got to return to normal in 2022. We got the big opening concert we had always wanted in collaboration with the Usher Hall team when Duncan Chisholm launched the festival in some style at the Assembly Music Hall. In total over 2,500 tickets were sold to Edinburgh Tradfest’s live music events with a further 3,000 people tuning in to listen to the Edinburgh Tradfest Podcast which added three episodes this year. Overall the Festival featured nearly 100 artists from the world of folk music including well known international and Scottish artists: Frigg, Shooglenifty, Eliza and Martin Carthy, Karine Polwart, Project Smok, Alice Allen and Patsy Reid, and The Shee. They were joined by some of the best up-and-coming names on the circuit including Beth Malcolm, Eabhal, Madderam, and Malin makes Music and one of the greatest classic banjo players of all time Aaron Jonah Lewis from the highly acclaimed old time trio The Corn Potato String Band.

In 2023 we broke our own audience records once again with a critically acclaimed line up.

For 2024 we are planning yet another superlative line up.

Upcoming Events at Edinburgh Tradfest

FISHING: An Exhibition by Stephanïe Vandëm

3rd May 2024 - 15th June 2024

FISHING is a modern exploration of contemporary identities and heritage from artist Stephanïe Vandëm at the Scottish Storytelling Centre from 3rd May!

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Edinburgh Tradfest: Valtos

3rd May 2024

Opening this year’s Festival on Friday 3 May will be Daniel Docherty and Martyn MacDonald whose band VALTOS has taken the trad and electronic music world by storm.

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FISHING: In Airt & Sang with Tripple - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

3rd May 2024

Join us on 3rd May at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in celebration to launch FISHING, our May exhibition with an early evening session of songs from harmony singers Tripple.

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Rickle O Stanes - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

4th May 2024

Through powerful and playful storytelling and traditional song, Shona Cowie, Neil Sutcliffe and dramaturg Liam Hurley explore the layers of history on which we stand today!

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Martin Simpson

4th May 2024

Don't miss Martin Simpson, one of the finest ever acoustic and slide guitar players, and a fine banjo-picker to boot, when he comes to the Traverse Theatre as part of Tradfest!

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FISHING: Meet the Artist - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

4th May 2024

A chance to hear from artist Stephanïe Vandëm, whose exhibition FISHING is showing at the Scottish Storytelling Centre as part of Tradfest!

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Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin Big Band at Edinburgh Tradfest

Selected dates between 4th May 2024 - 6th May 2024

Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin is back, providing an exciting opportunity for young musicians aged between 13 and 18, keen to develop your instrument skills.

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Alice Howe & Freebo

4th May 2024

Alice Howe & Freebo present a unique study in contrasts, bringing together a rising voice in Americana music and a venerable rock, folk, and blues icon.

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May Day Parade 2024: Demand Global Change - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

5th May 2024
Various Locations Edinburgh

Artists, performers and culture workers of all kinds are called to join Tradfest musicians and mummers on the Edinburgh and Lothians May Day procession.

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Family Beltane - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

5th May 2024

This delightful Beltane Fire Society tradition allows parents to share in the magic of the Beltane story with their little ones through storytelling, face painting and arts & crafts.

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Rachel Newton

5th May 2024

Singer, harpist and composer Rachel Newton draws on poems and ballads that are hundreds of years old to create a rich sound that is ambitious, original and unique.

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Journey to the Isles - Part of Tradfest 2024

5th May 2024

A mesmerising glimpse into the landscapes, folktales and songs that inspired one of Scotland's great early collectors of traditional arts.

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Nordic Fiddlers Bloc

5th May 2024

Don't miss gorgeously multilayered Scandi tones and textures from Nordic Fiddlers Bloc at the Traverse Theatre as part of Tradfest!

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Mini Mummers Parade Prep - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

5th May 2024

Join us at Scottish Storytelling Centre on 5th May for a fun morning of mask decoration, crafting and face painting ahead of the May Day Parade!

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Simon Bradley Trio

6th May 2024

We are delighted to welcome Simon Bradley, one of Scotland’s master musicians, to Edinburgh Tradfest and his equally-accomplished band members Anna-Wendy Stevenson and Michael Bryan!

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Book Launch: Yum by Susi Briggs - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

6th May 2024

Join Susi Briggs for stories in the cosy Storytelling Court to celebrate the launch of her new book Yum, illustrated by Charlotte Brayley and published by Foggie Toddle Books.

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Cafe Ceilidh - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

7th May 2024

Come along to a free afternoon session of traditional songs, music, poems and stories in the Scottish Storytelling Centre on 7nd May!

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Mochyn Myrddin: Merlin’s Pig - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

7th May 2024

Welsh storyteller Milly Jackdaw presents a fusion of traditional storytelling, physical theatre, music and ceremony in this solo performance based on the life of Myrddin.

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Frankie Archer

7th May 2024

Winner of the 2023 Christian Raphael Prize, Frankie Archer has exploded onto the electrofolk scene with music that transcends stereotypes. Catch her at the Traverse Theatre as part of Tradfest!

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Called Back: The Poems of Emily Dickinson - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

8th May 2024

This event opens a window on the life and work of Emily Dickinson and the passions and preoccupations which she poured into her writing.

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Malin Lewis - Halocline

8th May 2024

One of Scotland’s most exciting innovators, Malin Lewis melds west coast tradition with a newly invented, self-made bagpipe!

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Birdvox

9th May 2024

Born from a mutual love of birds, harmonies and kitchen discos, Birdvox is a new band. Catch them at the Traverse Theatre on 9th April as part of Tradfest!

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Norman&Corrie

9th May 2024

Norman&Corrie, the Scottish musical duo bring beautiful interpretations of old music that are genuinely contemporary.

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Hearth Fire Sessions - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

9th May 2024

Welcome to an eclectic night of ancient myth, contemporary storytelling, post-folk music, and physical artistry at the Scottish Storytelling Centre as part of Tradfest.

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Evie Waddell

10th May 2024

Renowned Gaelic and Scots singer and fiddler, Evie Waddell, plays the Traverse 2 on 10th May as part of Tradfest!

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LAU NAU and Pekko Käppi - Part of Tradfest 2024

10th May 2024

Join us at the Scottish Storytelling Centre for a very special evening of music from two of Finland’s most visionary musicians!

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A Jaunt Round Auld Reekie - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

11th May 2024

Join mad auld Auntie Bee and her long-suffering niece Bonnie McRee on a tour of Auld Reekie, past and present, real and imagined, without leaving the cosy Storytelling Court!

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Fire from the Woods - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

11th May 2024

By reimagining old tales from Lithuania and around the world, storyteller Daiva Ivanauskaitė and musician Gaynor Barradell explore the silence between generations.

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Simon Thoumire and Dave Milligan

11th May 2024

Together, Simon Thoumire and Dave Milligan create dazzling, quirky arrangements of reels, jigs, strathspeys, and airs from their native Scottish tradition, and beyond.

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Storytelling for Musicians with Svend-Erik Engh - Part of Tradfest 2024

11th May 2024

This workshop with Svend-Erik Engh is for musicians who want to be better storytellers on stage!

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Edinburgh Tradfest: Easy Sundays: Family Ceilidh

12th May 2024

Come with family and friends to dance Scottish dances and sing well-known songs with the Minnow Ceilidh Band at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on 12th May!

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Clare Sands

12th May 2024

Clare Sands is a sixth generation fiddler and bilingual singer from Cork, weaving traditional roots with contemporary sounds and influences, embodying a fearless warrior-like spirit!

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The First Wave and the Last - Part of Edinburgh Tradfest 2024

12th May 2024

Berwickshire Coastal Arts bring you a reflection of what it means to live, and want to live, in a coastal community.

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Julie Fowlis

13th May 2024

Edinburgh Tradfest & The Soundhouse Organisation presents Julie Fowlis at the Assembly Rooms on Monday 13th May!

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