Nominations announced for the 2009 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards

Hands up for Trad and sponsors MG ALBA are delighted to be able to announce the shortlist for the 2009 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards. The awards ceremony will take place in Dumfries on Saturday November 28th as part of the Homecoming Scotland Finale Celebrations. The star studded line up features Barbara Dickson, The Treacherous Orchestra, Donnie Munro Band and other gliteratti of the Traditional music world!

Album of the year nominees include ‘Dual’ by Julie Fowlis. She won this coveted award back in 2007 and since then has been credited as the first Gaelic crossover star after her single ‘Blackbird’s was playlisted for Radio 2. Nominees in The Live Act Award include Face the West – the young Lewis line-up create a contemporary mix of traditional Celtic sounds mixed with synths and drums. Lau who released Arc Light earlier this year, and the big sounds of Treacherous Orchestra and Session A9.

For a full list of the nominees please see the attached appendix.

The panel of industry judges were hugely impressed with the standard of entries which were submitted this year and found shortlisting them to just four per category a difficult task. The final vote now goes back to the public who can vote for their favourite in each of the 16 categories at www.handsupfortrad/tradmusicawards. The vote remains open until 20th November.

The winners in each category will be announced live at the awards ceremony on Saturday November 28th at DG One in Dumfries. Performing live on the night will be Barbara Dickson ahead of her eagerly anticipated 2010 tour, as well as nominees The Treacherous Orchestra, Skippinish and Deaf Shepherd amongst others in what promises to be a fantastic night.

Tickets can be purchased for the awards and for the MG ALBA festival club, (open Saturday til 3am!) The weekend’s full line up of celebrations include Take The Floor with Robbie Shepherd on Friday 27th November and Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame Legends concert with tributes to The Corries, Hamish Imlach, Gordon Duncan, Martyn Bennett, Calum Kennedy and many more. There will also be a programme of outdoor concerts from top traditional music bands in Dumfries town centre as well as workshop sessions on Saturday and Sunday.

The awards highlights will also be broadcast on BBC ALBA on Monday 30th November at 10pm. BBC ALBA is available on Sky 168, on Freesat 110 and also on BBC iPlayer on www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Simon Thoumire, Director of Hands up for Trad and Producer of the awards said;
‘ We were inundated with entries for this years awards and we are thrilled by the standard. Its down to the public now to pick the winners so be sure to vote before the 20th November. We are looking forward to a fantastic weekend in Dumfries as part of the Homecoming Finale celebrations.’

Donald Campbell, Chief Executive MG ALBA said ‘The MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards are recognised as the premier awards for Traditional Music in Scotland and MG ALBA is delighted to be involved as the sponsor of the awards again this year. We hope that as many people as possible will participate in the nominations process. After the success of the event at the Fruitmarket in Glasgow last year we look forward to seeing the awards take place in Dumfries helping to celebrate Scotland’s Year of Homecoming.’

Marie Christie, Homecoming Scotland Project Director, said: “The Scots Trad Music Awards showcase the very best of traditional Scottish music and are a highlight within the Homecoming Scotland Finale Celebrations taking place across Scotland from 26th – 30th November. With the addition of new events such as The Trad Music ‘Hall of Fame Legends Concert’ and the ‘Reel Fling’ it’s going to be an unmissable celebration of Traditional Music in Dumfries around St Andrew’s Day.”

Place your votes at www.handsupfortrad.co.uk/tradmusicawards/ where you can find details on all the categories and criteria for each award

Tickets for all events are available from DG One box office | 01387 243 550
And from www.ticketweb.co.uk