Congratulations to Friday Night Trad – Radio Skye who has been nominated in Trad Music in the Media sponsored by Glasgow Caledonian University in the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2024. Vote for Friday Night Trad – Radio Skye now!. It’s going to be another great night at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards on Saturday 30th November in Inverness Leisure. Why not join us for a brilliant night of music and awards. Buy a ticket here.
We asked Robert John of Friday Night Trad – Radio Skye the following questions.
Tell us about yourself
Friday Night Trad is the home of the newest releases in Scottish traditional music, and all the branches that come from these roots. The format is very unique and there is no other media platform quite like it.
The radio programme is the only media outlet dedicated to brand new releases, including the New Music Friday feature which showcases the releases from Friday – the day of broadcast – and this often being a popular music release day.
The first 1hr and 15 minutes of each two hour show is dedicated to new music, with the final 45 minutes being a listener takeover featuring new music, older tracks too, and requests. This helps to find a balance between presented content and listener engagement.
There are live interviews across many shows with artists of all ages and all traditional music styles. Interviews have also been carried out with festival organisers, promoters, and other industry experts.
Interviews in 2024 so far have included Sound of Iona Music Festival, RANT, Miguel Girao, Ally Forsyth, Anna Massie and Binky Blue.
Interviews in 2023 included Dan Brown, Chloe Steele, Katie Macfarlane, Calum Stewart, Chloe Matharu, Calum Macaskill (aka Wee Cal Music), Rachel Hair, Joy Dunlop, Tern, Neil Pearlman, and more!
Throughout the music and interviews, it is important to showcase the up and coming musicians, along with the more established artists who already have a large following.
Throughout each show, you can hear a mixture of Gaelic and English being spoken to help showcase the role that both languages play in Scottish trad music.
Why are you involved in Scottish music?
I am a Gaelic singer and musician myself, so producing the radio programme is a real love of mine to showcase my home genre. It is also a way for me to learn about different trad blends – my eyes continue to be opened to the diversity in trad music in Scotland. Using media and radio as an outlet to showcasing Scottish trad music is a vital part of helping the genre continue to grow, whilst also gaining further recognition in the country and world.
Any particular career highlights?
In October 2024, Friday Night Trad hit the eight year mark since the very first show. Initially starting off as a one hour programme with a mixture of brand new and older releases, it is a real highlight for me to see how the show has grown and developed over the years, to the flagship platform it is now.
In 2023, Friday Night Trad won the silver award in the Specialist Music Show of the Year category at the Community Radio Awards. The awards showcase the best of community radio and presenters all over the UK, along with celebrating the hard work and time that the volunteers involved in community radio put into their stations, shows and communities.
I've been able to connect with so many brilliant people through carrying out interviews with the biggest names in Scottish trad music, to up and coming artists. I love speaking with every interviewee, but I find it particularly special to showcase new trad-blend genres for the first time, such as 'GaelPop' created by Marcas Mac an Tuairneir.
Carrying out coverage at events such as Skye Live and the very first Sound of Iona Music Festival have also been fantastic highlights.
In 2024, the show became so busy that Friday Night Trad welcomed a second presenter to the show – Sadie MacDonald. Sadie has come through the Radio Skye YouthSPACE training scheme and has always been keen to get involved in Friday Night Trad. The shows are now presented either by me, Sadie, or both of us!
What are your plans for the future?
I am already very excited to showcase even more new releases and the various branches that continue to develop from the Scottish trad roots.
Future-proofing Friday Night Trad is important to me, so having Sadie MacDonald as a second presenter will help to ensure strong foundations for the show going forward. I am also working with several other young presenters through the YouthSPACE scheme to train them up to being able to create and present the show. This showcases different voices, particularly in young people who might have a different aspect or thought compared to someone older, whilst also helping to secure the future of the programme.
I am also investigating a podcast and visual combination for 2025 onwards. This would mean that interviews could be carried out in person – the audio broadcast on the show, but also filmed to create content for social media. It is my hope to gain funding to help this to become a reality.
Radio Skye has just launched a new broadcasting software, with the ability to broadcast from any location. As part of this, Friday Night Trad will be going on the road in 2025 to broadcast live from various locations across Skye, Lochalsh, and further afield. This will be from music or cultural events, but also from community days and even just being able to broadcast from different locations to help reach more people.
I see using social media as a key tool to help promoting music and artists. With radio moving to more digital/online formats over the years to come, it is going to be important to utilise this technology in the best way possible going forward.
Friday Night Trad – Radio Skye Social Media
Website: https://radioskye.com/
Facebook: @fridaynighttrad
Twitter: @fridaynighttrad
Instagram: @fridaynighttrad
YouTube: @
TikTok: @fridaynighttrad
The 2024 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards are on the 30th November 2024 in Inverness Leisure Centre! You will be able to watch it live in person (buy a ticket here). Watch it live in the UK at 9pm (GMT) on BBC ALBA and and around the world here. Bands performing on Saturday 30th November include Julie Fowlis, Skipinnish, Laura Wilkie and Ian Carr, Highland Young Musicians and Arc Fiddlers, An Dannsa Dub, BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award winner 2024 Calum McIlroy and more!
If you would like to support Hands Up for Trad in their work with Scottish trad music and musicians why not become a friend of Hands Up for Trad. In addition to our high profile events like the Scots Trad Music Awards, we also deliver a less well known, education programme for young people from 8yrs right through to young adults at the start of their careers. Read more here.
