HebCelt Festival smashes records with £4.4m boost to island economy

View of HebCelt festival looking down from Gallows Hill

Top Scots music festival HebCelt boosted the Outer Hebrides economy to the tune of £4.4m after a record breaking financial performance.   This year’s four-day celebration, which featured Lulu, Tidelines and Skerryvore as headliners in July, generated £400,000 more income for the area compared with 2024’s event, and was up by almost £700,000 on 2023. New …

Groundbreaking songwriting pilot for people in recovery inspired by new music

A new single about learning to live life in recovery from alcoholism has inspired a groundbreaking songwriting project for people in recovery to be trialled in Glasgow next year.  ‘Yesterday’s Promises’ by Americana-Indiepop trad band The Tumbling Souls, from Lewis, is a part-biographical look back at the early musical career of Willie Campbell and the …

HebCelt Festival honoured for ‘Outstanding Contribution’ to tourism in Outer Hebrides

Jane Morrison - Director _ Volunteer Coordinator, Carol Ferguson - Operations Co-Ordinator, Coinneach Morrison - Director _ Bars and Catering Manager in front of awards sign

HebCelt Festival has been honoured with a rare tourism ‘Oscar’ for its work promoting the islands as a must-visit destination. Visit Outer Hebrides presented the festival with a special award for ‘Outstanding Contribution To Tourism’ at what was only the second Our Tourism Community Awards ceremony held at the Cabarfeidh Hotel in Stornoway. The festival, …

HebCelt announce festival slot for winner of BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year Award

Crowd in main tent at HebCelt

The multi award-winning HebCelt Festival has announced a new partnership with BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2026 - offering the winner a prestigious performance slot at next summer’s festival in Stornoway. The collaboration brings together two of Scotland’s most respected cultural platforms to shine a spotlight on the next generation of …

HebCelt records most successful year in its history as early bird tickets go on sale

Nina Nesbitt plays guitar while wearing a flower pattern jumper

This year’s HebCelt Festival was the most successful in the event’s 28-year history as its investment in new technology, infrastructure and enhanced sponsorship packages paid dividends. Tickets for Saturday’s headliners Skerryvore sold-out, as did local fringe events, with Lulu only a handful of tickets away from achieving the same. More than 18,500 attended the festival, …

Musicians risk being ‘AI-brushed’ from history as fake bands flood streaming platforms

Group image of The Tumbling Souls band members gathered together in two rows

A group of acclaimed Scottish songwriters and performers has warned musicians risk being ‘AI-brushed’ out of existence unless urgent action is taken by the music industry and government to protect human creativity from artificial intelligence. Tumbling Souls - a Scots supergroup featuring members of 90s indie darlings Astrid, trad favourites Hò-Rò, and festival stalwarts Boys …

Stage by Stage: Michelle Shields on leadership, legacy and the sound of HebCelt

For HebCelt’s Michelle Shields, the road from sparkly wristbands to programming the main stage has been as natural as it’s been extraordinary.  Born and raised just a short walk from Lews Castle Green, her connection already ran deep. Looking back at what has been her coming-of-age wrapped in music, it seems obvious now that she’d …

IDM Energy co-founders shortlisted for top UK entrepreneur honours

Headshot against black background of Iain Macphail of IDM Energy

The co-founders of Highlands and Islands based electrical and renewables experts IDM Energy have been jointly named finalists in the national 2025 Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards. Iain Macphail and Kyle Smith have been shortlisted in two high-profile categories including the prestigious John Caudwell Award, the most distinguished honour presented by the awards programme. …

The Tumbling Souls: Celebrating 90s Memories with New Release

Group image of The Tumbling Souls band members gathered together in two rows

“Yeah, that song is very much about my childhood experience,” laughs former Astrid frontman Willie Campbell, flashing a mischievous grin. “Growing up too early in the 90s, on Lewis, that’s just what you did. Everybody got up to no good – it was the way it was back then.” He’s talking about ‘1995’. The nostalgia-soaked …

SET TO STUN: Sci-Fi cosplay and prizes at HebCelt as OH!CON sign-up to festival 

Photo of group of people dressed in cosplay outfits

Festival goers heading to HebCelt next month are now destined for an out of this world experience - after uber popular Sci-Fi and fantasy collective OH!CON blasted into the line-up. Tide Lines, Lulu and Skerryvore will soon be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Star Wars favourites Darth Vader and R2-D2, Daleks from Dr Who …