Scots Trad Music Awards recognised in Parliament
Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has today lodged two parliamentary motions recognising the winners of the Scots Trad Music Awards. Mr Carmichael lodged a motion congratulating all the winners at the awards and singling out the success of the Orkney Folk Festival as “Event of the Year” and Mhari McLeman, long-time volunteer at the Shetland Folk Festival as “Traditional Music Enabler of the Year”. The motion also noted that this is the 20th year of the awards.
A second motion highlighted the success of Skipinnish song “The Clearances Again” – a piece which gained attention as a protest against the SNP-Green governments HPMA proposals – which won “Original Work of the Year”.
Mr Carmichael said:
“Twenty years on and the Scots Trad Music Awards go from strength to strength, as does the Scottish folk scene. Well done to all the winners – it was great to see both the Orkney Folk Festival and Shetland Folk Festivals in the spotlight.
“Folk music is part of the fabric and furniture of the isles. We cannot take it for granted, so it is always worth taking a moment to recognise those who maintain and build those traditions, and pass them on to future generations and wider communities.”
He added:
“I was particularly pleased to see the success of “The Clearances Again”, which captured public imagination in the campaign against the Scottish Government’s top-down imposition of HPMAs on fishing communities. It goes to show the power that music can have to move and motivate people – long may that continue.”