Fèis Rois celebrates Cèilidh Trail’s 21st anniversary

This year marks the 21st anniversary of pioneering traditional music programme Fèis Rois.

 

Despite not being able to mark the occasion in the usual style with a summer of musical performances, the dingwall-based organisation is releasing a double album featuring music from former Cèilidh Trail participants and hosting an online extravaganza to celebrate the occasion this Saturday.

 

Fèis Rois was set for a fantastic summer of concerts and cèilidhs throughout Scotland, England, France and Australia to mark the milestone, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the organisation took the decision to cancel this year’s Cèilidh Trail programme back in April. Undeterred by the situation and eager to continue with some sort of celebration, Fèis Rois will release a double compilation album this weekend, featuring tracks donated by 21 former Cèilidh Trail participants, including Highland duo Charlie Grey and Joseph Peach, and Dingwall guitarist Innes White, as well as tracks from bands that include former Ceilidh Trail musicians: Treacherous Orchestra, Inyal, The Outside Track, Project Smok and Fras.

 

To coincide with the launch of the album, there will also be an online concert on Saturday, August 15, which would have been the date of the final Cèilidh Trail performance at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness. Taking a similar format as the organisation’s successful Virtual Fèis Rois Tutor Concert, which took place online in May and was viewed over 50,000 times, the concert will be hosted on the Fèis Rois Facebook page and will feature former participants, including BBC Radio Scotland Traditional Musician of the Year, Ali Levack, BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winners Josie Duncan, Brìghde Chaimbeul and Rachel Newton, and TV presenter and singer Kim Carnie. Other Highland musicians involved include Chloe Bryce, newest member of award-winning folk band Breabach Conal McDonagh, and fiddler with Kinnaris Quintet, Laura Wilkie. The Cèilidh Trail programme, which provides young musicians and singers, aged 16 to 25, with the opportunity to take part in a professional summer tour with support from a team of musicians and specialist tutors, was established by Fèis Rois in 2000. The very first cèilidh trail was coordinated by Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis, and participants on the first Trail included accordionist and member of Croft No. Five and Treacherous Orchestra, John Somerville, and accordion player, piper and artist, Mairearad Green.

 

Fiona Dalgetty, chief executive of Feis Rois, said: ‘We were determined to mark this big milestone in the Cèilidh Trail history, despite the pandemic and are excited to launch this new album which showcases the incredible talent that has come from the Cèilidh Trail over the years.

 

‘It is also a hugely important cultural tourism initiative bringing high quality, authentic, traditional music to places where we know visitors will be over the busy summer months, but where they might not usually otherwise hear this music. We’re extremely disappointed to not being able to visit all the venues and festivals this year but we hope our audiences will tune in for this very special concert and celebrate the musical talent from Scotland with us.’

 

The album will be available from feisrois.bandcamp.com from Saturday, August 15, and the concert will be hosted on the Fèis Rois Facebook page on Saturday from 8pm-11pm. Visit www.facebook.com/feisrois