Ciaran Ryan Band headlining the festival on Sunday night – 30 April
‘high-octane ferocious banjo-led music and sheer instrumental brilliance!’
L/R Donald Hay (drums), Chris Waite (guitar), Bev Morris (bass), Ciaran Ryan (banjo), Andrew Waite (accordion) Photo Douglas Robertson
FESTIVAL DATES: Friday 28 April – Monday 8 May 2023
An incredible line-up of talented musicians will descend on Edinburgh this weekend for the start of Edinburgh Tradfest (28 April to 8 May) – 11 days of live music, storytelling, dance, workshops, talks, ceilidhs and special events across the city, thanks to support from The National Lottery through Creative Scotland and the William Grant Foundation.
Ciaran Ryan one of the UK’s foremost tenor banjo players, whose debut solo album Banjaxed released in late 2019 was shortlisted for Album of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards, will headline alongside Orcadian powerhouse Fara (above) and American folk singer, two-time winner, and six-time Grammy nominee Rhiannon Giddens who is opening the Festival with Francesco Turrisi at the Assembly Rooms on Friday night.
Plus, at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, the festival kicks off with the return of Pomegranates – a weekend of dance, performance, and workshops run by the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland to celebrate International Dance Day (29 April); and the second North Atlantic Song Convention run by the Traditional Music Forum with delegates from around the Northern Hemisphere, gathers to celebrate our rich song traditions.
Douglas Robertson and Jane-Ann Purdy, co-producers of Edinburgh Tradfest said: “This year’s programme is jam-packed with talent. We’ve got fantastic, award-winning musicians performing at the Traverse every night, workshops on during the day and live music in the bar until late, plus there are ceilidhs, storytelling sessions, talks, and dance taking place at other venues across the city. It’s all here to be enjoyed.”
Other highlights not to be missed include Tradfest’s new commission Two for Joy composed and arranged by award-winning harpist Ailie Robertson which explores how birdsong is used in music and folklore and the positive impact that listening to the sounds of birds can have on our mental health and wellbeing; America’s masters of old-time, bluegrass, classic country and Cajun music The Foghorn Stringband; Dirk and Amelia Powell from Louisiana who bring their deeply rooted Cajun, Appalachian and original sounds to the festival for the first time; Rory Matheson and Graham Rorie whose album We Have Won The Land celebrates the success of the Assynt Crofter’s Trust in buying back the North Lochinver Estate from a Swedish land speculator 30 years ago; this year’s Rebellious Truth lecture/recital which explores mental health issues in the music industry led by Gaelic singer, composer, researcher and broadcaster Mischa Macpherson; and Ross Ainslie (Treacherous Orchestra, Salsa Celtica) and Tim Edey (Chieftains) whose foot-stomping tunes topped with great banter are this year’s hot ticket and unmissable festival finale.
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