Events and festivals

Scottish dances thrived for years under the auspices of the RSCDS, the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. Their events tended to be fairly formal, with dancers who were largely skilled, but in the 1970s and 1980s more and more Scottish dances, or ceilidhs (pronounced “kay-lees”), adopted the English barn-dance practice of a “caller” to call out the moves.

Nowadays there are two types of traditional dance events: ceilidh dances, usually with a caller and perhaps a more folky band, and Scottish Country Dances, usually with a more traditional Scottish dance band line-up and an expectation that the dancers will know the dance forms.

Scottish music festivals range from the Celtic Connections Festival (held in January at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall) where you can catch many of the top names in the Celtic music world in a comfortable concert setting, to lots of smaller festivals which offer a mix of concert, ceilidh and informal sessions. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of festivals where teaching takes a central role. Many of these are in the Highlands and Islands where the Feisean movement has introduced thousands of people to traditional music-making.

Scottish bands such as Capercaillie and Runrig feed the notion that folk music can be exciting, electric and diverse, without losing sight of its roots. However, the survival of traditional music depends on support from young players: they need to play it, listen to it, and take it forward. In Scotland, change is coming from a grass-roots Feisean Movement (feis is Gaelic for festival). These festivals, held during summer months and school holidays, involve children receiving tuition in traditional music, drama, art, dance and Gaelic singing, with evening gigs in local venues. The teachers (and performers) are often leading musicians.

The idea began on the island of Barra, in the southern Hebrides, in 1981 and has spread to many parts of the Highlands and Islands. Its results have been remarkable. Beginners on the fiddle, clarsach, guitar, tin whistle or accordion have now begun to form bands and teach others. And the sheer numbers of young people coming through the Feis throughout the Highlands has resulted in more and more communities holding workshops and ceilidhs. In small communities there are great economic spin-offs for instrument makers, music shops and for teachers of traditional music.



 
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