Scotland On Tour brings musicians to Aberdeenshire venues
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An exciting initiative to support the recovery of Scotland’s live music industry is showcasing two special concerts in Aberdeenshire this April, two of the first gigs to be played as part of the programme of events.
The first night of entertainment will see popular trad duo Eilidh Shaw and Ross Martin play The Victory Hall in Aboyne on Thursday (April 7) and Scottish saxophonist extraordinaire Tommy Smith play St Margaret’s in Braemar on Friday (April 8).
Aboyne’s night of traditional folk music will be sure to be a crowd pleaser with two stalwarts of the scene taking to the stage.
Ross and Eilidh have been at the heart of the Scottish music scene for the last 20 years and are best known for their work with The Poozies (Eilidh) and Daimh (Ross).
Commenting Eilidh Shaw said: “We are really delighted to be getting back out on the road again and playing to live audiences.
"We’ve not played Aberdeenshire in many years as a duo and The Victory Hall is such a lovely venue we’re really looking forward to getting out on that stage and having a party!
"Look forward to seeing you all there!”
Highly acclaimed Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith OBE will perform an intimate live show at St Margaret’s Braemar.
One of the world’s most accomplished jazz musicians, Smith will experiment with the natural acoustics of the former church turned arts venue.
Commenting Tommy said: “I’m really looking forward to playing in St Margaret’s.
"It’s not a venue I know but one of the attractions of playing these solo concerts is in trying out new spaces with their own idiosyncratic acoustics.
"It means that every concert is different and personal to each venue.
"I’m also really attracted to the idea of taking the music into communities, like Braemar, that are not always considered part of the jazz touring network.”
Tommy Smith is head of Jazz at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and holds numerous accolades including two BBC, two British and nine Scottish Jazz Awards.
Scotland On Tour will take place over a period of 12 months between April 2022 and 2023, supporting the creation of hundreds of concerts and performances at much-loved arts centres, town halls and community venues across Scotland.
More than 120 artists are set to perform at more than 100 venues across the country as part of the initiative.
The project, which has been created and managed by Active Events, was made possible by £750,000 of Scottish Government backing and will focus on increasing the number of opportunities to showcase and enjoy live music, while bringing exciting acts to the doorstep of city, towns, villages and rural communities.
The year-long Scotland on Tour bill includes both emerging and established artists with genre-spanning acts appearing across the breadth and width of the country, with rock, pop, jazz, classical, folk, trad and acoustic genres all being showcased.
Tickets are on sale now at www.scotlandontour.com.
