Album is like a ceilidh in your living room

This could be one of my shortest reviews yet. I love this album. That’s it! OK, I’d better say a bit more. Osgarra, meaning audible, distinct or even emphatic, is an accurate description of this mighty debut by a band whose West Coast musical heritage is showcased by refreshing the traditional with stylish contemporary musicianship. The recorded words…

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Scottish Opera goes from intense to in tents

Scottish Opera is bringing a new production to a location that wouldn’t normally be associated as a musical venue. Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci opens on 26 July for three performances in a huge tented structure at Seedhill Playing Fields, dubbed Paisley Opera House. This immersive promenade staging of one of the world’s most popular operatic works…

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Classical pair share their knowledge at national music school

Classical musicians Nicola Benedetti and Steven Isserlis feature in a new short film showing them tutoring pupils from Scotland’s national music school. Entitled Playing, the film showcases two of the musically gifted youngsters who have studied at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh as they highlight the message that learning music is a life-long passion…

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Turn the clock back to the 1980s with Rewind Scotland

Pop music is fantastic for capturing those moments in time that stick on our heads. Whether it’s a first kiss, a first date or a wedding, music is a way to relate to those moments from our collective pasts. Musical stars from our younger days are heading to Scotland this summer, for the annual Rewind…

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New music and dance production is coming to Orkney

The founder of Orkney’s St Magnus International Festival is to be remembered in a special music and dance event. The St Magnus International Festival has taken place annually on the Islands of Orkney since being founded by Peter Maxwell Davies in 1977, and this year runs from Friday 22-Thursday 28 June. The magical atmosphere of…

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A feast for your ears with Music at Paxton

A summer festival of top class international chamber musicis taking place in Paxton House on the banks of the River Tweed next month. Music at Paxton, being held from 13–22 July, will feature daily concerts offering an intimate, friendly and relaxed experience and take place in Paxton House’s splendid Picture Gallery. With its large, domed…

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Orkney’s music festival is just a week away

The magical atmosphere of Orkney at midsummer is being celebrated with a music festival next weekend. With the island’s ancient landscape and unique performance settings, the St Magnus International Festival has taken place annually on the islands of Orkney since 1977, and this year runs from Friday 22-Thursday 28 June. It will blend together to…

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From top tourist attraction to knight club

Edinburgh Castle will be seen in in a new light when it becomes a knight club. As part of Year of Young People celebrations, the historic venue will host Knight at the Castle, an 18-and-over event featuring young Scottish creative talent and offering a vibrant mix of activities, DJs and roaming performers, bars, street food…

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A summer festival of beautiful classical music

A summer festival of beautiful international chamber music is coming to the Scottish Borders next month. Music at Paxton will take place in Paxton House on the banks of the River Tweed from 13–22 July. The daily concerts will offer an intimate, friendly and relaxed experience and take place in Paxton House’s splendid Picture Gallery.…

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All set for a sensational summer of magical music

A summer of music is coming as the Wilton Lodge Park bandstand series has been launched. Hawick favourites Scocha are among the highlights of this summer’s series. Performances take place every Sunday from 2-4pm in the Elliot Bandstand and are free to attend, starting this weekend with local fiddle group the Riddell Fiddles. Scocha play…

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