The finalists of Battle of the Folk Bands 2017 have been announced. They are:
HECLA
Iona Fyfe Band
Tradosaurus
TRIP
DOSCA
This is the first Battle of The Folk Bands ran by Hands Up for Trad based on the similar folk band competitions of the 1970-90s in Edinburgh and elsewhere. Each band will perform for 15 minutes in the final on Sunday 7th May at Tradfest in Edinburgh.
Simon Thoumire, Creative Director of Hands Up for Trad said “Although folk band competitions are not new this is the first time Hands Up for Trad have run Battle of the Folk Bands and we are very excited to make it about it! The idea is to encourage new bands to form and try new ideas and have a creative time whilst benefiting the scene at the same time!”
Bands could have as many as 5 members and as little as 2 and can be a song band or instrumental or a mixture of the two. They don’t need to have performed any gigs yet. Demos were listened to by a selected panel of musicians who are looking for musicality and originality and the 5 best entries got through to perform at battle of the folk bands at Tradfest on May 7th 2017. 1 winner will be chosen on the night.
The prizes are: performances at Celtic Connections, TradFest 2018, Skye Festival and a days recording at Caribou recordings (scottish borders).