Good Stories. Told Well.
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 …
Continue reading "HebCelt Festival smashes records with £4.4m boost to island economy"
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 …
Continue reading "Groundbreaking songwriting pilot for people in recovery inspired by new music"
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, …
The co-founders of Highlands and Islands based electrical and renewables experts IDM Energy have won the major national award announced at this year’s Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards. Iain Macphail and Kyle Smith were crowned ‘National Winner 2025’ of The John Caudwell Award, named after the philanthropic billionaire and founder of Phones4U. The Highlanders …
Continue reading "IDM Energy named national winners of The John Caudwell Award"
“It just felt so… cringe,” blushes Laura Silverstone. “It just felt so, I don’t know, girly.” The singer-songwriter is sitting cross-legged in the trusty van she has called home for the past eight years or so. It’s strewn with plants, pictures, instruments, cosy blankets, vegan food and hand-crafted mugs. She’s talking, of course, about her …
A top Scots songwriter turned up to the Scottish Album of the Year Awards styled as a futuristic android pop star - in a dramatic warning against the rise of AI use in music. SAY Award nominee Stephen McAll, of experimental folk group Constant Follower, attended the £20,000 prize ceremony at Dundee’s Caird Hall with …
Continue reading "Constant Follower’s shock android warning at music awards over AI"
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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …
Continue reading "Stage by Stage: Michelle Shields on leadership, legacy and the sound of HebCelt"
Skog Media Associates 