First acts revealed for Solas Festival 2023
Shooglenifty, Rachel Sermanni, King Creosote and Sam Amidon announced for Perthshire festival.
Solas Festival’s 2023 edition will feature an exciting selection of some of the finest music to soothe the soul, put fire in your belly (and dancing feet), and kindle hope for the future.
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 our stage on Friday 16 June 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, as we welcome American artist Sam Amidon to the festival for the first time. Growing up in a musical family in Vermont, Amidon was exposed to folk culture from an early age, singing and playing the fiddle in his family band from the age of three. He has gone on to release several albums reworking traditional folk songs with experimental twists taking influence from free jazz and more experimental genres. 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’. Formed in 1990 by musicians from the Scottish Highlands, Orkney and Edinburgh, the band’s bright spark was the idea of fusing traditional and traditional-sounding melodies with the beats and basslines of a mixed bag of more contemporary influences. They’ll be sure to get all of Errol Park on their feet!
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.
We are also delighted to 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 lineup 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. We’re also delighted to have two local community choirs come and perform, 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 Saturday.
More line-up news will be announced soon including the festival’s literature, politics, workshop, family and yoga & wellbeing programme. Adult weekend tickets are now available for just £99 – plus booking fees – with under 12s free.
16-18 June 2023
Solas Festival
Errol Park, Perthshire
ABOUT SOLAS FESTIVAL
Solas Festival - Scotland’s midsummer festival - has been running since 2009. The all-age, weekend-long celebration of music and the arts is designed to entertain, inspire and challenge.
Our programme makes space for challenging debate with activists, writers and thinkers from across the political, cultural and religious spectrum. The festival offers a broad, inclusive, creative and entertaining programme for festival-goers of all ages in a safe environment; everyone is welcome.