Fèis Rois is delighted to launch the third year of its innovative Fèis an t-Samhraidh (Summer Festival) project, providing a vibrant programme of traditional music all over Ross & Cromarty throughout the peak summer period of July and August.

A key element of Fèis an t-Samhraidh is the Cèilidh Trail, a hugely popular four-week training event designed to help young musicians develop their performance skills whilst at the same time creating a lively traditional music entertainment programme in the Highlands.

This year’s participants are Katie MacKenzie, Eilean Green, Catriona Ramsay, Roya MacLean, Colin Gordon, Alex Urquhart-Taylor and Ruairaidh Campbell. They will be joined by fiddle player, Fiona Dalgetty, who is also co-ordinating the project. The eight participants will take part in an intensive training week with some of Scotland’s top musicians and singers, including: Iain MacDonald, youngest brother of the famous piping family from Glenuig; pianist and composer, James Ross, and Maggie MacDonald, a member of the Gaelic ‘super group’, Cliar. The training week will equip the participants with technical skills such as basic sound engineering, as well as allowing them to develop their repertoire before they take to the road for a three-week trail of music, song and dance all over the Highlands.

The success of this innovative Fèis Rois project has led to several other areas adopting the model and there are now Cèilidh Trails springing up all over the country! This year sees the 25th anniversary of the Fèis movement and the Fèis Rois Ceilidh Trail participants are thrilled to be joining four other Fèis Ceilidh Trails, based in Sutherland, Skye, Lochaber and Spey, for a celebratory concert on the Isle of Barra on Saturday 30th July. Another highlight in the diary for this flagship Cèilidh Trail is a performance at the Tartan Heart festival near Beauly on Saturday 13th August.

The Fèis Rois Cèilidh Trail will be performing all over Ross & Cromarty and further afield this summer so be sure to catch them!

18th July – The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool, 9-11pm
21st July – The Arch Inn, Ullapool, 9-11pm
25th July – The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool, 9-11pm
26th July – ANTA Factory Shop, Fearn, 2-4pm
26th July – Seaboard Memorial Hall, Balintore, 8-11pm
30th July – Tangasdale, Isle of Barra
1st August – The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool, 9-11pm
2nd August – Highland Museum of Childhood, Strathpeffer, 5-7pm
3rd August – Inverewe Gardens, Poolewe, 1-3pm
3rd August – Poolewe Village Hall, 8-11pm
6th August – MacNab’s Bistro and Bar, Inverness, 9pm-midnight
7th August – Scatwell Garden Open Day, Maryburgh, 2-6pm
8th August – The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool, 9-11pm
9th August – Coigach Community Hall, Achiltibuie, 8-11pm
12th August – Hootananny, Inverness, 9pm-midnight
13th August – Tartan Heart Festival, Beauly, 12noon