{"id":27136,"date":"2026-03-16T12:09:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T12:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/?p=27136"},"modified":"2026-03-16T12:09:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T12:09:58","slug":"orkney-folk-festival-releases-full-programme-for-2026-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/orkney-folk-festival-releases-full-programme-for-2026-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Orkney Folk Festival Releases Full Programme for 2026 Event"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/03\/Rory-Matheson-and-his-Scottish-Dance-Band.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"775\" src=\"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/03\/Rory-Matheson-and-his-Scottish-Dance-Band-1024x775.png\" alt=\"Rory Matheson Scottish Dance Band photo\" class=\"wp-image-27137\" srcset=\"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/03\/Rory-Matheson-and-his-Scottish-Dance-Band-1024x775.png 1024w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/03\/Rory-Matheson-and-his-Scottish-Dance-Band-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/03\/Rory-Matheson-and-his-Scottish-Dance-Band-768x581.png 768w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/03\/Rory-Matheson-and-his-Scottish-Dance-Band-24x18.png 24w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/03\/Rory-Matheson-and-his-Scottish-Dance-Band-36x27.png 36w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/03\/Rory-Matheson-and-his-Scottish-Dance-Band-48x36.png 48w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/03\/Rory-Matheson-and-his-Scottish-Dance-Band-600x454.png 600w, https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/files\/2026\/03\/Rory-Matheson-and-his-Scottish-Dance-Band.png 1177w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ORKNEY FOLK FESTIVAL RELEASES FULL PROGRAMME FOR 2026 EVENT<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Orkney Folk Festival has announced its full programme for the 2026 event, with acts from around the world set to perform across the islands between 21 and 24 May.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leading artists from the\u00a0USA, Canada, Finland, Ireland,\u00a0England\u00a0and throughout Scotland\u00a0will join home-grown Orcadian musicians as part of the 52 acts appearing at the festival in its 43<sup>rd<\/sup>\u00a0year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The programme features 53 events, including concerts, dances, stomps, lounge performances, workshops and family events, at venues across Orkney.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It\u2019s been designed to cater for all tastes, to celebrate both local and visiting artists, as well as contemporary and traditional folk music.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>While more than half of all events will take place in the festival\u2019s hometown of Stromness, performances are also planned in Birsay, Deerness, Finstown, Harray, Holm, Hoy, Kirkwall, Orphir, Rousay, Stenness and Tankerness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tickets go on general release at 7pm BST on Wednesday 1 April, following a pre-sale for members of the festival\u2019s supporter scheme, Orkney Friends.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a>Orkney Folk Festival has announced&nbsp;<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/orkneyfolkfestival.com\/programme\/\">its full programme<\/a>&nbsp;for the 2026 event, with acts from around the world set to perform across the islands between 21 and 24 May.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leading artists from the&nbsp;USA, Canada, Finland, Ireland,&nbsp;England&nbsp;and throughout Scotland&nbsp;will join home-grown Orcadian musicians as part of the 52 acts appearing at the festival in its 43<sup>rd<\/sup>&nbsp;year. The Orkney Folk Festival is Orkney\u2019s largest festival, with almost 9,000 tickets sold at the record-breaking 2025 event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year\u2019s festival offers a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/orkneyfolkfestival.com\/line-up\/\">diverse line up<\/a>. Audiences can look forward to performances from visiting artists includingCalifornia\u2019s&nbsp;Kenneth Pattengale, one half of&nbsp;The Milk Carton Kids, making his debut appearances in Orkney in his first solo tour in 16 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>USA representation is boosted with appearances from&nbsp;Louisiana\u2019s&nbsp;Dirk and Amelia Powell and Cedric&nbsp;Watson&nbsp;who bring Cajun,&nbsp;Creole&nbsp;and Old Time Appalachian influenced sound. Meanwhile,&nbsp;Damn Tall&nbsp;Buildings, from Brooklyn,&nbsp;bring&nbsp;their seamless harmonies and captivating solos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Canada is also represented at the festival by three quarters of the legendary Cape Breton band Be\u00f2lach. Wendy MacIsaac, Mairi Rankin and Mac Morin.&nbsp;Finnish group,&nbsp;Polenta, are also one of this year\u2019s international acts, who bring their Fenno-Scandinavian influenced&nbsp;music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The programme features 53 events, including concerts, dances, stomps, lounge performances, workshops and family events, at venues across Orkney. It\u2019s been designed to cater for all tastes, to celebrate both local and visiting artists, as well as contemporary and traditional folk music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While more than half of all events will take place in the festival\u2019s hometown of Stromness, performances are also planned in Birsay, Deerness, Finstown, Harray, Holm, Hoy, Kirkwall, Orphir, Rousay, Stenness and Tankerness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The popular Gathering concert returns, with this year\u2019s event having a Transatlantic focus to bring together talent from both sides of the Atlantic. Musicians will journey from Orkney to the Black Isle and Ireland, before crossing to Cape Breton and Louisiana, under the musical direction of Orkney\u2019s Douglas Montgomery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The festival continues to offer its popular Friday and Saturday night stomps. Friday\u2019s event travels to Kirkwall this year to bring the legendary festival stomp experience to Orkney\u2019s new nightclub, Rapture. Festivalgoers will have the chance to enjoy performances by globetrotting folk-funk Highlanders Elephant Sessions and Ireland\u2019s Gr\u00e1inne Hunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Saturday\u2019s stomp remains in Stromness Academy, with The Chair and Auskerry bringing a double Orkney special to the venue. Those looking to enjoy traditional dancing can also join Rory Matheson and his Scottish Dance Band to take the floor in Stromness on Friday night and Stenness on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fans of island hopping have the chance to head to either Hoy or Rousay on Friday night. Hoy\u2019s acoustic Strings over the Shore event returns for the second year running, with performances by Rebecca Hill and Charlie Stewart, and Orkney\u2019s Erika Shearer. Meanwhile, the festival makes a return to Rousay for the first time in several years, with music from Polenta, Katie Spencer, Meallan and Hullion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Giving families the chance to enjoy folk music together continues to be at the heart of the festival\u2019s offering. Claire Hastings returns to the festival to lead the popular Claire\u2019s Music Club workshops \u2013 interactive sessions of songs, rhymes, actions, instruments, movement and performance for babies and toddlers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The popular Family Folkie also returns to Stromness Academy on Saturday afternoon \u2013 providing a family-friendly stomp as well as traditional dancing in the family ceilidh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These events are in addition to the long running Orkney Folk Festival school programme, which gives local children the chance to experience performances from visiting artists on the Thursday and Friday of the festival each year. Last year the festival held its largest every community outreach event for 400 school pupils, plus adults with additional support needs. Plans are being made for a similar event as part of this year\u2019s festival.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Festivalgoers looking to get involved in making music throughout the weekend can book tickets for workshops teaching Orkney fiddle, Irish fiddle, Shetland fiddle, Cape Breton fiddle, guitar, Cape Breton step dance, and songscapes, led by Jeana Leslie, Fergal Scahill, Jenna Reid, Mairi Rankin and Wendy MacIsaac, Anna Massie, Mac Morin, and Katie Spencer respectively. The popular Orkney Festival Choir also returns over the course of the weekend, delivered by Stromness\u2019s Aim\u00e9e Leonard.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Orkney Folk Festival Producer, Craig Corse said: \u201cWe\u2019re delighted to share the full programme for this year\u2019s festival, which once again brings together artists from across Scotland alongside musicians travelling from England, Ireland, Finland, Cape Breton and the United States. It\u2019s a line-up that reflects the breadth of contemporary and traditional folk music, while highlighting the distinctive regional styles that make these traditions so rich \u2013 with a particular nod to celebrated fiddle styles from around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs ever, Orkney and Orcadian music is central to the festival, with over half of all artists hailing from these shores. That strength of local participation isn\u2019t accidental or for one weekend only \u2013 it reflects a living tradition carried in sessions, youth groups, choirs, bands and traditional music societies throughout the year. This local core sits at the heart of the programme, sharing stages, late nights and good-going tunes with guests proudly welcomed to Orkney, ensuring the festival remains unmistakably anchored in the islands\u2019 music and community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tickets will go on pre-sale to members of Orkney Friends, the festival\u2019s supporter scheme, on Saturday 28 March, ahead of the general release at 7pm BST on Wednesday 1 April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ORKNEY FOLK FESTIVAL RELEASES FULL PROGRAMME FOR 2026 EVENT Orkney Folk Festival has announced&nbsp;its full programme&nbsp;for the 2026 event, with acts from around the world set to perform across the islands between 21 and 24 May.&nbsp; Leading artists from the&nbsp;USA, Canada, Finland, Ireland,&nbsp;England&nbsp;and throughout Scotland&nbsp;will join home-grown Orcadian musicians as part of the 52 acts [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,37],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-27136","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-news","7":"category-newsletter","8":"entry","9":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"simon","author_link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/author\/simon\/"},"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcv15g-73G","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27136"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27138,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27136\/revisions\/27138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}