Voting opens in annual awards celebrating Scotland's traditional music culture

Published: 10:30, 02 November 2020

Bruce MacGregor, of MacGregor's Bar which has been nominated in the the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards.

Voting has opened for nominees in the annual MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards which recognise excellence within Scotland's traditional musical culture.

They include MacGregor’s Live at Five – livestreamed music sessions from MacGregor's bar in Academy Street, Inverness – which is among those nominated for the Community Music Project of the Year.

Other nominations in the 12 categories include Duncan Chisholm’s Covid Ceilidh for Online Performance of 2020, Anna Massie - Black Isle Correspondent for Trad Music in the Media and Fèis Rois Adult Feis Weekend Online for Event of the Year Award.

The winners will announced on Na Trads 2020 to be broadcast on BBC Alba on 12th December 12 at 9pm. It will also feature specially recorded music performances.

Murdo MacSween, communications manager at MG Alba, said his organisation was proud to be be the title sponsor in what has been an especially testing year.

"We’ve seen fantastic collaborations and innovation - all reaching audiences in ever unique and inspiring ways," he said.

"These awards give us an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the creative pioneers and incredible wealth of talent we have in Scotland, and we’re delighted to be able to join with Hands Up for Trad to enable this once more."

Encompassing all aspects of making and playing from composing, Gaelic song, folk and Scottish dance music to pipe bands and a host of others in between, each year sees a lively and enthusiastic crowd enjoying some of the biggest names as the industry and audiences join to honour singers, instrumentalists, composers and songwriters, and this year sees the awards, in a different format broadcast on BBC Alba.

Margaret Cameron, commissioning editor and head of creative collaborations, said: "It was important to BBC Alba to keep faith with the event and to find a safe, innovative and engaging way to reflect on the incredible fortitude and creativity of the sector, both behind and in front of the camera."

The University of the Highlands and Islands said it was delighted to continue to support the Musician of the Year award, in what had been an incredibly challenging year for the musical and wider artistic community.

Anna-Wendy Stevenson, programme leader in the university's BA (Hons) Applied Music course, said: "It is more important than ever to celebrate the contribution and positive impact our musicians have on our wellbeing, culture, communities and economy.

"It has been incredible to witness the adaptability and resilience of many musicians, skillsets we actively impart to our students, and we value the role of this event MG Alba Scots Traditional Music Awards, in bringing together organisations across music in Scotland to support the development of and recognise the work and talent of our musicians."

The nominations are:

Music Tutor of the Year sponsored by Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative:

Voting opens in annual awards celebrating Scotland's traditional music culture

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