F
rom the moment our plane hit the tarmac in Sumburgh, we knew we were in for something different! For a start, the runway looked as if it came straight out of the sea, with not much room for error on the pilot’s behalf. Then, the main road to Lerwick from the airport crossed said runway without so much as a lollypop man! Not something you see every day! As a “Shetland Virgin” I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I knew this was going to be fun.
As we had arrived a day early for the festival, the first thing we did was enquire where the best place to go that evening was. Without hesitation we were directed to The Lounge, a bar in Lerwick renowned for music. So, always keen to “go where the locals go”, off we went. The Lounge has regular Wednesday night sessions, and no doubt with the usual crowd bolstered by lots of festival goers, we landed right in the thick of things. That is when I felt Shetland hit me. As I expected, accordions and fiddles abounded, but the overall sound was very different to the sessions I usually frequent. There is a strong tradition of dance music in Shetland, and the bass and vamped piano are very much part of that. The influence is not only confined to the dance halls and so the session had the piano and bass at its core.
Likewise, the particularly recognisable Shetland style of guitar accompaniment was in evidence, a style instigated by the likes of the legendary Peerie Willie Johnson, a musician revered the world over, and undoubtedly one of the greatest ambassadors of Shetland’s music. Whilst the session was very inclusive, with all sorts of different people from
different backgrounds playing, it was impossible to forget that you were in Shetland – the sound and feel was unmistakable. I had arrived!
When the oil came along, a resource that the people of Shetland knew would be finite, they made sure the money brought into the islands was spent wisely. Shetland seems to have an abundance of well maintained and well equipped community halls throughout the islands, evidence perhaps of this good spending. On the Thursday and Friday nights, several concerts were held in these different locations, giving the opportunity to see some of the breathtaking scenery throughout the islands and to get a small taster of these different communities.
Similar to festivals like Blas in Scotland and Celtic Colours in Cape Breton, the local communities seemed to take ownership of these events, helping with the general organisation and catering, and they were extremely well attended by locals. The concerts, which featured a variety of artists from Shetland and beyond, all doing short spots, were followed by supper, after which the tables were whisked away and the dancing started.
Like so many other parts of the world, the music here is inextricably linked with dancing. And this tradition is alive and well. The dance floors were full of people every night, young and old, and (much to my terror) they were keen on making sure that all the visitors were included in the fun! Saturday night saw the “Grand Dance” in Lerwick’s Clickimin Centre, where about 700 people danced the night away to dance band after dance band
– indisputably one of the festival highlights.
Much of the socialising centred around the Islesburgh Community Centre, the venue for the Festival Club – another great resource with lots of rooms for sessions, dancing, a cafe and of course a bar. Here you could find musicians from Shetland, Orkney, Scotland, Ireland and Norway forming all sorts of alliances, and sessions springing up out of nowhere. There was a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere, with many opportunities to meet friends old and new.
The Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Club, who run the festival, are very proud to promote the best in traditional Shetland music all throughout the year, and for the festival they made no exception. Artists from Shetland were well represented with the likes of Da Fustra, The Cullivoe Band, Vaila Tait, Brian Gear and Violet Tulloch and plenty more. It was particularly noticeable how many youngsters were involved in the music. The youth section of the Ness Accordion and Fiddle Club were fantastic, as were the Westside Fiddle and Accordion Club whose numbers included players of all ages. Of particular note were Jim & David Halcrow and their band. Their arrangements were smooth and slick, and the addition of an upright bass as opposed to an electric one made their sound quite distinctive. They played a beautiful Norwegian waltz, which typified for me the obvious Scandinavian influence in Shetland music, which is not surprising since the Islands are almost equidistant (around 180 miles) from the north of the Scottish Mainland and the west of the Norwegian coastline.
Sessions
Donna Harkin
Megan Henderson
The Living Tradition - Page 27
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