THE Traditional Music Forum (TMF) and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland (TRACS) have launched a new online resource promoting traditional musicians working and recording in Scotland.
And to celebrate the website – Scotland Online: A Directory of Musicians – TMF has invited three bands to showcase their talent during a pre-recorded performance and live Q&A, as part of this year’s Edinburgh Tradfest.
The event will be taking place on Friday, May 7 on Crowdcast.
The new ever-expanding directory supports Scottish performers by providing a directory profile, which signposts where their music is available to buy and listen to.
It also helps users to navigate and find artists’ websites, Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music pages.
Lori Watson, chair of the Traditional Music Forum, said: “The Traditional Music Forum is delighted to offer this support to musicians to get their music heard, especially in the light of the miserable year we’ve just had.
“We hope it’ll lead to people investigating new artists and finding new music to listen to.”
To showcase a snippet of the fantastic talent that Scotland and the directory has to offer, TMF and TRACS are hosting an evening of pre-recorded performances by Maeve Mackinnon with Ali Levack and Luc McNally, Rachel Hair and Ron Jappy, and David Foley and Jack Smedley with Jenn Butterworth.
Douglas Robertson and Jane-Ann Purdy, co-producers of Edinburgh Tradfest, said: “Taking the Festival online this year was a difficult decision for us. However, we couldn’t be more delighted with how this year’s programme is shaping up, and with all the support we have received from artists, funders and partners keen to see Tradfest stay on the map.
“The Trad Music Directory will help Scotland’s trad artists to reach a wider, international audience who might not have experienced our festival before, and we hope that when they can, they will join us in Edinburgh for future Tradfests.”
Any recording trad musicians that are based in Scotland, but have not been listed on the directory page once it has launched, are encouraged to check the listing criteria and get in touch via the “Contact Us” form on the website.
The directory will go live on May 7, followed by the launch event at 8pm.
Donation-based tickets are available on the Scottish Storytelling Centre website, with an option for replay for a limited time afterwards.
Edinburgh’s Tradfest event runs from April 30 to May 10.
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