Tickets on sale now for Solas Festival
The festival programme is packed full of music and the arts, and makes space for challenging debate with activists, writers and thinkers from across the political, cultural and religious spectrum at this year’s midsummer festival at Errol Park in Perthshire.
Tickets on sale now
Demand is high for Solas Festival 2023 adult weekend tickets and are being snapped up at just £99 plus booking fees – with under 12s free.
Coming off the back of a sold-out four-week residency at Glasgow’s Glad Café, the dreamy indie-folk sounds of Rachel Sermanni will grace the stage on Friday June 16 in a full band headline performance.
A Scottish-based singer/songwriter, who makes the mundane moments mystical, she will be preceded on the Friday with a solo performance from the legendary independent Fife native King Creosote, who has released a whopping 40+ albums, including the Mercury Prize nominated and Scottish Album of the Year winning collaboration with Jon Hopkins, Diamond Mine.
Saturday at Solas takes a folkier turn, with American artist Sam Amidon appearing at the festival for the first time. Described by the Guardian as “no conventional folk singer”, he will be followed on stage by the magnificent Shooglenifty who are celebrating 30 years at the forefront of Scotland’s ever-expanding electronic infused folk scene – self-styled as ‘Acid Croft’.
Other acts keeping the tempo up over the weekend include the fantastic Senegalese soul-infused Samba Sene & Diwan, renowned guitarist Daniel Martinez with some Spanish flamenco flavours, and Gnawa Trance Fusion, who combine Moroccan Sufi praise music with blues and Afro-funk in an irresistible celebration of existence.
New acts to see
The festival will also welcome some of the most exciting up-and-coming acts in Scotland’s traditional folk scene, such as five-piece Scandinavian/Scottish folk band Tern, featuring the latest winner of the renowned BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year, Amy Laurenson.
Scots tradition will be given a focus with BBC Alba’s Scots Singer of the Year 2022, Beth Malcolm, who will play a selection of traditional, modern and self-penned Scots songs accompanied by guitar player and singer Heather Cartwright.
Also joining the music line-up over the weekend will be Alice Faye, with a full band performance. A singer-songwriter from Glasgow, Faye’s influences span classic 70s pop, 60s folk and country to the dramatic French songs of Piaf and Brel.
Covering rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly, country and western swing to manouche gypsy jazz, Awkward Family Portraits will be a welcome addition to a more relaxed Sunday afternoon, and not to forget the alt-pop trio Racecar, whose infectious sounds have earned them two BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘Track of the Week’ nods for their singles ‘Flood’ and ‘Better Than You Know’.
Situated next to the Tay in the stunning Errol Park, the festival will also feature homegrown talent from local folk band Bruach, who have been playing stomping folk music for over five years and last played at Solas in 2019.
There are also two local community choirs, with the fantastic Carse Voices opening up proceedings on Friday night, with some extra special surprise performances from Craigie Choir at various venues across the festival on the Saturday.
Look out for new announcements
More line-up news will be announced soon, including the festival’s literature, politics, workshop, family and yoga & wellbeing programme.
Solas Festival has been running since 2009 as an all-age weekend-long celebration of music and the arts, and is designed to entertain, inspire and challenge. It offers a broad, inclusive, creative and entertaining programme for festival-goers of all ages in a safe environment, and everyone is welcome.
To buy tickets or find out more visit www.solasfestival.co.uk