BLAS Festival Offers Role Model for Festival Delivery
Issued by Blas
The fastest growing Gaelic and traditional music festival in the UK looks set to deliver a role model for modern festival delivery, especially in remote geographical areas. The Blas Festival, now a notable fixture on Scotland’s cultural calendar, will be staging the first of 45 events across the Highlands starting 5th September and running through to the 13th.
In times of economic difficulty, Blas offers to take music and other cultural events out into communities rather than hosting the festival at one large event. It is a format which is proving popular with potential audiences across the Highland region as tickets are selling at almost double last year’s record levels.
Festival Director Donna MacRae said: “Blas is showing that taking a festival out into the communities of Scotland can deliver economic and cultural benefits. On the one hand locals and visitors can hear top artists perform on their own doorstep, giving them access to real quality music, and on the other they can treat themselves without incurring large travel and accommodation costs.
“With the Gaelic, food and drink, and educational events we are promoting, the festival really celebrates many of the cultural qualities the Highlands has to offer.”
Culture minister Linda Fabiani said: “I’m delighted to welcome the imminent launch of this year’s Blas festival and commend the organisers for an exciting and varied programme of music and song. Blas demonstrates the very best of our traditional music and takes this straight to the heart of Highland communities. Now recognised as an integral part of Scottish cultural life, the Blas festival is a wonderful event which strengthens confidence in our traditional music and the Gaelic language overall.’’
The Blas festival was devised by The Highland Council in partnership with Fèisean nan Gàidheal and the Promoters Arts Network.
The Blas festival will host an array of home grown and internationally-renowned musicians. One of its most unusual events will be a one man show in a Cessna supplied and piloted by the Highland Flying School. The festival ran a competition for one person to fly over the Highlands whilst enjoying a potted history of music in the area from renowned fiddler, Bruce MacGregor, who will even play a few Highland tunes in this highest and smallest ever Blas show.
There are a number of even more important attractions throughout the 2008 programme which bolsters the festival’s commitment to Gaelic and the links with Cape Breton. They include a concert by Ireland’s kings of traditional music, The Chieftains. The six time Grammy Award winners will be led by legendary frontman Paddy Moloney. They will be joined by several guests on stage, including the Canadian acrobatic dancing team of brothers, Jon and Nathan Pilatzke.
Others performing at Blas include Phil Cunningham, widely regarded as one of the most innovative accordion players ever to play, and Aly Bain, known as a supreme traditional style fiddler. Also appearing is multi-instrumentalist and stunning singer/songwriter JP Cormier from Cape Breton, who will be accompanied on piano by his wife Hilda Chiasson-Cormier.
Further highlights include top Irish-American group Cherish the Ladies and Scottish talent The Peatbog Faeries, Julie Fowlis, Alyth and Shooglenifty.
One of the festival’s key funders is EventScotland. Paul Bush, Chief Operating Officer, said: “The Regional Events Programme is a great opportunity for events such as Blas to achieve their growth ambitions. We’re excited by the appetite being shown by Scotland’s events industry to continue the growth and success that has been witnessed in the industry over the last few years and we’re delighted to be able to support the Blas Festival this year.”
Information about the festival events is available from the website www.blas-festival.com. Tickets are available by telephone hotline: 01463 782213; from venues staging the festival shows; or on-line at www.thebooth.co.uk.