I had a great time in Shetland over the weekend, my first time there. Myself and Tina Jordan Rees were playing at the Accordion & Fiddle Festival, and had a couple of Live Music Now gigs too. We flew over on Thursday 6th October from Glasgow and were picked up from Sumburgh airport. As the flight was a little delayed we went straight to our first gig in Lerwick at Taing House. The performance took place in the lobby to a lovely audience with a beautiful view of the sea right outside. We were incredibly lucky with the weather, with blue skies and no wind all weekend.
The festival had organised for us to stay in Lerwick with Shetland residents Val and Neill, who were absolutely wonderful hosts, along with their border collie Millie! After getting ready for the evening we went in to the Festival Club at the Isleburgh in Lerwick, where we were to perform that night. There was a great variety of acts on, mainly Scottish dance bands with some miscellaneous folk bands in between, such as ourselves. We played halfway through the second half of the show. It was a really great gig; Tina had a real piano to play and the sound on the stage was fantastic. After the concert, we danced the night away at the ceilidh!
The following afternoon we had another Live Music Now gig at a wee care home in a nearby town, Scalloway. This was to a smaller audience, and again we had a great view of the sea out the window. After our gig we went back to Lerwick to catch the bus for our evening gig at the festival, which was up in Ollaberry.
This Friday concert took place in a hall out in the countryside, about an hour away from Lerwick. It was a really nice bus journey out, with the sun set over beautiful landscape. We were the second band playing this time, right after Liam Brannan Band, a local group. After our slot, we got a lift back to the Lerwick Festival Club, which was full of tunes with a great atmosphere.
On Saturday we had a glorious day of relaxation as we had no gigs that day. In the evening we went to the Grand Dance, where a plethora of Scottish dance bands were playing, with a mixture of local and not so local bands. The venue was the Clickimin Centre, a huge hall, so quite a lot of people could dance. We had a great time at the dance, and over the entire weekend, meeting lots of new people and seeing Shetland in the sunshine. Huge thanks to Peter, Una and Alan for having us at the festival, Val and Neill (and Millie!) for their hospitality, Live Music Now, Dale Smith for the lovely photos, and finally, thanks to Tom for his “taxi” services!
The festival had organised for us to stay in Lerwick with Shetland residents Val and Neill, who were absolutely wonderful hosts, along with their border collie Millie! After getting ready for the evening we went in to the Festival Club at the Isleburgh in Lerwick, where we were to perform that night. There was a great variety of acts on, mainly Scottish dance bands with some miscellaneous folk bands in between, such as ourselves. We played halfway through the second half of the show. It was a really great gig; Tina had a real piano to play and the sound on the stage was fantastic. After the concert, we danced the night away at the ceilidh!
The following afternoon we had another Live Music Now gig at a wee care home in a nearby town, Scalloway. This was to a smaller audience, and again we had a great view of the sea out the window. After our gig we went back to Lerwick to catch the bus for our evening gig at the festival, which was up in Ollaberry.
This Friday concert took place in a hall out in the countryside, about an hour away from Lerwick. It was a really nice bus journey out, with the sun set over beautiful landscape. We were the second band playing this time, right after Liam Brannan Band, a local group. After our slot, we got a lift back to the Lerwick Festival Club, which was full of tunes with a great atmosphere.
On Saturday we had a glorious day of relaxation as we had no gigs that day. In the evening we went to the Grand Dance, where a plethora of Scottish dance bands were playing, with a mixture of local and not so local bands. The venue was the Clickimin Centre, a huge hall, so quite a lot of people could dance. We had a great time at the dance, and over the entire weekend, meeting lots of new people and seeing Shetland in the sunshine. Huge thanks to Peter, Una and Alan for having us at the festival, Val and Neill (and Millie!) for their hospitality, Live Music Now, Dale Smith for the lovely photos, and finally, thanks to Tom for his “taxi” services!
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