The first acts for next year’s internationally-renowned Hebridean Celtic Festival have been confirmed as the event has been shortlisted for another leading award.
Tide Lines, Talisk and FARA will be part of the line-up for the 2019 HebCelt which will be held from 17-20 July in Stornoway.
Tide Lines, who are appearing in two sold-out shows in Stornoway tonight (12 Dec) and another in Tarbert in Harris tomorrow, will be returning to HebCelt for the third successive year, this time on the Thursday evening.
Since launching in 2016, the band have released a number of digital singles, an album and an EP, whilst building up a growing following and winning critical acclaim for their live shows.
Also making a return to HebCelt in 2019 are explosive folk band Talisk who added to their impressive list of awards by securing a Belhaven Bursary for Innovation in Scottish Music at the recent Scottish Trad Music Awards.
Formed five years ago, the band were named Folk Band of the Year at the Trad awards last year and were BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winners in 2015, the same year they picked up a coveted Danny Kyle Award at Celtic Connections.
FARA bring together four exceptional young musicians from Orkney who are at the forefront of today’s Scottish folk scene. Following their debut release in 2016, the band are touring the UK with material from their second album.
Further line-up announcements will be made early in the new year for HebCelt which has been named as a finalist in the rural tourism category of the Scottish Rural Awards, which celebrate the enterprise, innovation, dedication and community spirit of those who live in rural Scotland.
Winners will be announced on 21 March and, if successful, it will be the sixth major accolade collected by HebCelt in under a year.
Festival director Caroline Maclennan said: “We are thrilled to be shortlisted for another prestigious award. It gives the whole team a lift as we start preparations for our 24th HebCelt with the announcement of the first three acts.
“Tide Lines, Talisk and FARA are all fairly new on the scene, yet they are firmly established and have been hugely successful. We are really excited they will be joining us in 2019 and we will have more fantastic line-up news to reveal soon.”