Highlands & Islands 9-day festival marks its 20th anniversary.
The annual 9-day festival of Gaelic culture and music, Blas, will mark its 20th anniversary with its return to the Highlands & Islands in September, featuring artists such as Julie Fowlis, Tim Edey & Ross Ainslie and Sian.
This year’s Blas Festival, which will run from 6th to 14th September 2024, showcases Gaelic culture and the thriving Scottish traditional music scene over 9 days of events in venues across the Highlands and Islands.
This year, through collaboration with others, the festival will host around 22 concerts and cèilidhs, in venues from Staffin to Strathy.
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, tickets for a selection of events are available with a 20% discount until 31 July and there are also ‘pay-what-you-can’ options.
Blas, Gaelic for ‘taste’ or ‘sample’, has become a staple in the Gaelic culture calendar since The Highland Council established the event, in 2004, as a small-scale festival with three events.
Since then the festival has promoted 1,300 events, employed 5,100 musicians, attracted over 130,000 of an audience and generated at least £8m for the Highland economy.
Blas, which is organised by Fèisean nan Gàidheal in partnership with The Highland Council, will visit communities across the Highlands and Islands including Inverness, Portree, Borve (Isle of Lewis), Dingwall, Ballachulish, Newtonmore, Invergarry, Gairloch and Golspie.
The festival will highlight the Highlands’ rich culture and heritage with events showcasing a mix of old and new Gaelic songs, traditional music and stories in a variety of venues from small village halls to arts centres, attracting audiences from home and abroad.
The festival programme features an outstanding array of musical talent from across Scotland with guests from Ireland.
Contemporary Scottish Gaelic vocal harmony group, Sian, will headline three concerts in Lochinver, Portree and Newtonmore, while Julie Fowlis, who recently performed at the D-Day commemoration in Portsmouth, Éamon Doorley, Zoë Conway & John Mc Intyre, will perform in Plockton and in the beautiful Inverness Cathedral, with support from Charlie Grey & Joseph Peach.
There will be cèilidhs galore with the Glenfinnan Ceilidh Band, Andrew Macdonald Ceilidh Band and Robert Nairn’s Band, all joined by some of today’s leading Gaelic singers including Ruairidh Gray, Emma Macleod, Màiri Callan, Iain Cormack, Darren Maclean, Alice Macmillan and Calum MacColl.
Other highlights of this year’s Blas include dynamic duo, piper Ross Ainslie & Tim Edey, Calum McIlroy, Chloë Bryce & Megan Macdonald, Fras, and a special 70th birthday celebration for Harris-born singer, Chrissie MacVicar.
Ealasaid MacDonald, Ceannard (CEO), Bòrd na Gàidhlig said:
“Bòrd na Gàidhlig are delighted to support Blas festival, which for 20 years has made a significant contribution to the Highlands and Islands, both culturally and economically.
“Blas festival is a wonderful event which showcases the best of Gaelic language and culture, with music at its heart.
“It is a great experience for those performing, as well as for the audiences, and I am sure this year will be a great success.”
Arthur Cormack from Blas Festival organisers, Fèisean nan Gàidheal, commented:
“We are pleased to be delivering Blas this year, through a contract from The Highland Council, despite programming in a challenging situation of increasing costs and standstill funding support.
“While the programme is scaled back somewhat, we hope audiences will enjoy what we are able to offer and, through collaborations with other groups, a good range of events celebrating Gaelic culture will be available in communities across the Highlands.”
The full programme of events can be found at www.blas.scot along with details of how to purchase tickets.
