Following the success of last year’s programme which featured world music sensations, Tinariwen and homegrown talent such as King Creosote and Julie Fowlis, a new season of Scottish Arts Council Tune Up tours has been unveiled.

The new season features 13 tours taking place from Shetland to the Borders, and includes performances from Theatre Cryptic and The T’Ang Quartet, Roddy Hart and Leeroy Stagger, and Shooglenifty and Tanya Tagaq Gillis.

The new season which was launched last week with a concert at the BBC's brand new headquarters at Pacific Quay, Glasgow, was broadcast live on BBC Radio Scotland’s Travelling Folk, as part of the broadcaster's year-long calendar of music celebrations – Scotland's Music 07.

Breabach, one of Scotland’s hottest young acts on the contemporary Celtic circuit, kicked off the tour earlier this month at Tayvallich Village Hall, a small fishing village on the shores of Loch Sween, in Argyll.

Ian Smith, Head of Music at the Scottish Arts Council said: ‘Now in its fifth year, Tune Up is fast becoming one of the most significant international touring programmes.

‘The strong line up for the 07/08 series features something for everyone from the soulful jazz of the Eska Mtungwazi Band to Celtic folk fusion with Shooglenifty featuring Tanya Tagaq Gillis, demonstrating Tune Up’s commitment to bringing the highest quality live music from around the world to audiences across Scotland.’

Helen Munro, Editor, Music, BBC Scotland, said: ‘Our new home at Pacific Quay is proving to be a terrific venue to showcase diverse styles of music from Scotland and from across the world.

‘The launch of the Scottish Arts Council’s Tune Up programme was another delight for our audiences in a year-long celebration which has already produced many memorable highlights.’

Each tour will be recorded and available to download as a podcast on the Tune Up website. The full programme is available at: www.tuneup.org.uk