Enjoy a summer of music with BBC Alba

We might not be packing our tents and choosing our festival outfits but BBC Alba is making sure viewers won’t miss out on music this summer.

 

With festivals and gigs off-limits, the Gaelic medium TV channel is offering a fantastic selection of new music programmes for those long summer nights.

 

As well as exclusive performances, the programmes will also show highlights from previous festivals and other festival-related features.

 

BBC Alba has been at the forefront of adapting to these unusual circumstances and acted quickly to organise ‘virtual’ music performances from the homes of not just Scottish musicians, but musicians from around the world.

 

Margaret Cameron, channel editor at MG Alba, said: 'We wanted to create music programmes that people can watch from the comfort of their own homes while still maintaining that sense of community and shared experience that you get from attending live events.'

 

Regular presenters, Fiona Mackenzie and Niall Iain MacDonald, will recreate the festival vibe from the comfort of Fiona’s garden.

 

Belladrum 2020 (starts Saturday, August 1, 9pm): Air Chuairt (on tour) will showcase a mix of new performance and archive music with a special programme earlier in the evening looking at what makes the Belladrum festival special.

 

Tiree Music Festival 2020 (July 11, 9pm): Air Chuairt features new music from Skerryvore, Be Charlotte and Callum Beattie, alongside classic archive performances, Tiree-based artists and festival features.

 

Fiona and Niall Iain will also host a special Tide Lines festival experience (Saturday, July 25, 9pm), including a no-audience ‘gig’ at SWG3 and exclusive socially distant performances from their own homes.

 

Rounding up the summer of music is a collection of music-based programmes with wide appeal.

 

Ceòlas| A’ Chèilidh Mhòr (Friday, July 17, 8pm) takes viewers on a trip to Uist for a dip into a virtual ceilidh with some of the main performers and tutors at the South Uist music and culture festival.

 

There will be also be another chance to see the superb Peat and Diesel programmes (That’s the way we do it! - Saturday, July 18, 9pm; From the Barrow to the Barrowlands - Saturday, July 18, 10.30pm) broadcast earlier this year, and a new programme will show previously unseen footage of Colin MacLeod (Thursday, July 16, 10pm), recorded over a year and highlighting his experiences supporting Robert Plant at the O2 to the SXSW Music festival in Texas.

 

BBC Alba’s summer of music has already begun with an eight-part series which started on Friday July 3, Ceòl Dùthchasach/Ken Burns's Country Music, chronicling the history of country music in America, featuring Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Garth Brooks, among many others.