Hi everyone!
As we do every year, Birnam will be closing our doors for a couple of weeks over the festive period so we can all take a collective breath and enjoy both Christmas and the New Year Celebrations.
Our final day of 2017 will be Friday the 22nd of December and we will re-open at 9:00am on Thursday the 4th of January.
We hope you all have a great time over the holidays and we look forward to working with you all in 2018.
Best wishes,
The Birnam Team
Help Musicians UK have launched a mental health support line and service for the music industry.
Music Minds Matter is a support line and service, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the whole UK music community. Launched in December 2017, Music Minds Matter is the industry’s most comprehensive service yet – linking advice, signposting, clinical pathways and professional therapeutic services to Help Musicians UK’s (HMUK) traditional grants for musicians in need.
You call also access Music Minds Matter by emailing, MMM@helpmusicians.org.uk (please note a 48-hour turnaround).
For more information please visit: musicmindsmatter.org.uk
Now in its 15th year, the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, this year held in Paisley, once again presented an incredible selection of wonderful performances from a wide range of hugely talented artists. The event itself was held in the Paisley Lagoon Centre which, along with the very impressive lighting and sound, provided a spectacular, glitzy venue for the evening.
The event kicked off with a powerful performance by The Shee Big Band, on great form with beautiful harmonies in their opening song followed by a foot-stompin’ instrumental set.
Lori Watson, with a stunning vocal performance, confirmed just why her imminent new album “Yarrow Valley Sessions” is so eagerly anticipated (it’s in production now and will be available soon – honest!!).
It was lovely to see the enthusiasm and talent shining from all the young folk of Fèis Phàislig who earned a highly enthusiastic ovation from the crowd in the hall.
Ross Ainslie was the only solo act to take to the stage on the night, but his performance was every bit as powerful as the other acts on show – and made all the more powerful by the skilful and dramatic stage lighting.
Considering the number of awards she has now won, Scots singer of the year Siobhan Miller must surely be in the market for a bigger mantelpiece these days. Her performance towards the end of the night showed just why she is so acclaimed, and her rendition of Andy M. Stewart’s classic “Rambling Rover” certainly had the entire assembly find its voice.
The evening finished with a set by Inverness quintet Elephant Sessions, rounding off what has been an outstanding year for the band by getting the audience up on their feet to bring a great end to a truly special night.
Thanks and congratulations to Simon Thoumire and the Hands Up for Trad team for once again putting together an incredible line up for the awards ceremony and well done to all of the nominees who made it to the final lists.
2017 Winners
Album of the year ‘All We Have is Now’ by Elephant Sessions
Community Project of the Year – Tiree Songbook
Composer of the Year – Adam Sutherland
Live Act of the Year – Skippinnish
Scots Singer of the Year – Siobhan Miller
Up and Coming Artist – Ho-ro
Music Tutor – Emma Tomlinson
Gaelic Singer of the Year – Robert Robertson
Folk Band of the Year – Talisk
Dance Band of the Year – Duncan Black Band
Scottish Pipe Band of the Year – Inverary & District Pipe Band
Club of the Year – Edinburgh Folk Club
Instrumentalist of the Year – Gary Innes
Event of the Year – A Night For Angus (Shooglenifty at Celtic Connections)
Trad Music in the Media – BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
Venue of the Year – Tolbooth (Stirling)
MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2017 – Voting closes 24th November. A total of sixteen awards will be presented at a glitzy award ceremony on Saturday 2nd December, at Paisley’s Lagoon Centre as Paisley bids for UK City of Culture 2021.
Album of the Year nominations are:
Afterlight by Ímar
All We Have Is Now by Elephant Sessions
An Dà Là – The Two Days by Mànran
An Dàn – Gaelic Songs for a Modern World by Mary Ann Kennedy
Bere by Saltfishforty
Fiddle + Guitar by Ross Couper + Tom Oakes
Mac Ile by The Islay Sessioners
Room with a View by Old Blind Dogs
Ryan Young by Ryan Young
Strata by Siobhan Miller
Awards are also given for: Community Project of the Year, Composer of the Year, Live Act, Scots Singer of the Year, Up and Coming Artist, Music Tutor of the Year, Gaelic Singer of the Year, Folk Band of the Year, Dance Band of the Year, Scottish Pipe Band of the Year, Club of the Year, Instrumentalist of the Year, Event of the Year, Trad Music in the Media, Venue of the Year.
Good luck to all the nominees.
For more information on all the nominees and to buy a ticket for the event on the 2nd December please visit: projects.handsupfortrad.scot
To place your vote please visit: TradAdwards2017.
WOMEX 2017 was great!
We’re back from WOMEX 2017 in Katowice, Poland and what a great experience it was. Four days of meetings, networking and watching! A truly multi-cultural, diverse feast of music and cultures – we loved every minute of it.
Our stand was visited by a huge range of artists, radio presenters, festival organisers, agents, and promoters from across the world including Canada, Morocco, USA, Switzerland, Hungary, Colombia, Germany, Poland, Armenia, Mozambique, Latvia, Chile, Sweden, Belgium and many more.
Our promotional CD Northern Lights was included in each of the delegate bags along with a copy of the WOMEX edition of fROOTS, which featured a 2-page advert, an editorial and an album download. We sent out regular tweets with some of them reaching the huge screens at the back of the WOMEX hall. For more information on the artists please visit birnamcd.com/northernlights.
We’ve already had notification from a radio station in Australia that they have played a track from the fROOTS download, which is part of the digital fROOTS edition, sent out just before WOMEX.
We had lots of discussions with radio presenters looking for music from across the world and were particularly interested in the range of music and artists we were promoting here in Scotland. We’ve now linked with a folk, blues and world music internet radio station which streams 24 hours a day from Vienna, connected with radio presenters from Germany and Hungary and set up links with a network of 45 radio presenters who all feed into the World Music Charts, as featured in fROOTS.
We held very positive discussions with a wide range of WOMEX delegates covering many different aspects of the music industry. Like us, many delegates were looking to establish positive partnerships which would support increased awareness and opportunities for artists and music in general. We will be working on a few exciting developments over the coming months.
We had the pleasure of the company of TALISK who were there to do one of the showcase performances – a hugely significant accomplishment given that there were around 1350 applications for around 60 available slots. Their gig went extremely well, lots of very positive feedback and a queue of delegates looking to book them. They’re lovely folk and we wish them even more success in the months and years ahead.
We also had the pleasure of meeting a great bunch of folk from Catalonia – we’ve been thinking of them since we returned, and we wish them well for the future.
Just to finish, we’ll leave you with another two photographs. The first one is the indoor beach with hammocks and deckchairs. This area proved very popular later in the day when folk were getting weary.
The second photograph is our PARKING TICKET – all the way from Scotland to Poland and we managed to get a parking ticket on the last night!
Well, we didn’t have time to do any shopping, so it’s nice to have a souvenir…..
WOMEX 2017 was a hugely enjoyable experience and we’re looking forward to WOMEX 2018.
Birnam International Music Promotion – We’re packed and ready to go – 2 of our team are off to WOMEX!
WOMEX is THE international networking platform for the World Music industry. This year’s event is in Katowice, Poland from October 25th – 29th and, as ever, a huge number of key industry personnel from around the world will gather together, seeking new music to distribute and new artists to introduce to audiences via festivals, concert tours, television, film, radio, press and digital platforms worldwide. Approximately 2,900 delegates attend WOMEX each year and for networking and exposure opportunities, WOMEX is one of the best.
We have the privilege of working with a huge range of extremely talented musicians, many of whom are independent. A few years ago, following requests from a couple of artists, we launched our Birnam PR service. To date, we have concentrated largely on promotion across the UK & Northern Ireland, with some additional international promotion. However, again, following requests from artists we are launching our international promotional package this year.
We have coordinated, designed and produced a compilation album – ‘Northern Lights’, featuring ten artists who we have had the pleasure of working with and supporting over the years – the album will be included in every WOMEX delegate bag. We’ve designed Northern Lights promotional leaflets and posters for our WOMEX Birnam stand (number 5) and will be giving away further copies of the promotional album.
The October 2107 WOMEX edition of fROOTS magazine has a free download featuring different tracks from each of the artists, a 2-page editorial and a 2 full-page advertisement featuring each of the artists – fRoots magazine is available digitally and hard copies will also be included in each WOMEX delegate bag.
To find out more about each of the artists on the Northern Lights album please visit Northern Lights.
If you’re at WOMEX please come and say hello – you can find us at stand 5.
Advice and information about the new Help Musicians UK Fusion Fund
For all Scotland-based artists, have you got an innovative idea to expand your creative practice working collaboratively with other art forms or sectors? The Fusion Fund offers £2,000 – £5,000 towards developing and testing new work. The Scottish Music Centre are holding various advice sessions where you can attend in person, or, alternatively they can also offer advice over the phone or via Skype. The deadline for applications for Round 1 is 12th October 2017. To find out more visit Scottish Music Centre.
‘Nurturing Talent – Time to Shine Fund’
Young Scot and Creative Scotland’s ‘Nurturing Talent – Time to Shine Fund’
The fund aims to support young people aged 14-20 who are interested in developing skills in one of the following areas:
Drama – Dance – Music – Film – Visual Arts – Literature – Digital Arts
Who can apply – Anyone aged 14-20, living in Scotland. Both individuals and groups can apply for funding ranging from £50- £600.
The deadlines for applications are: 28th August 2017, 9th October 2017
For more information visit young.scot
BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician 2018 – Open for entries.
The BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year opened for entries on May 25th. The annual music competition, established in 2001, aims to encourage and support young musicians who are pursuing a career in traditional music.
The award is open to individual musicians aged between 16 – 27 years who currently stay in Scotland. The closing date is Friday 7th July 2017.
Entrants must submit:
Entries are judged on Technical ability (intonation, rhythm, timing, ornamentation) and Performance skills (connection with the audience, choice of repertoire, balance of programme, pace, appropriate length of performance).
A panel of judges will review all entries and select a shortlist of 12 to take part in the semi- finals which will take place over the weekend 7-8th October. A panel of judges will select 6 finalists who will then be invited to perform at the final which will be held in Glasgow on 25th January 2018 as part of Celtic Connections Festival.
For more information and to apply please visit the event’s website.
We’re delighted to be sponsoring the Scottish Jazz Best Album Award. Glasgow International Jazz Festival in association with Hands Up for Trad will be hosting the 5th Scottish Jazz Awards during the closing evening of the 31st Festival on Sunday 25th June. Following an absence of 4 years the Awards are being revived with an aim to celebrate Scotland’s vibrant jazz scene and support acts and talent across the country.
A nominating panel comprised of press, media, and promoters from across the Scottish Jazz music scene were chosen to select the shortlist for each of the 5 awards. You can now decide the winner by voting for your favourite in each of the 5 categories below. The voting period runs until 5pm on Friday 2nd June. The winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony in City of Music Studio at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
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