Keith counting down for music festival

Top fiddler Nicola Auchnie will be performing at this year's Keith Traditional Music & Song Association Festival

WITH less than a fortnight until performers at the Keith Traditional Music and Song Association (TMSA) Festival take to the stage, organisers are confident the array of entertainers will be calling all the right tunes during the 36th annual event.

Being held from Friday June 10 to June 12 in various locations in Keith, special guests at this year’s festival will include duo Nick Keir and Stephen Quigg who will perform on the Saturday night.

Also appearing will be local North East funny man Colin Campbell, who will be entertaining the crowds on the Sunday night during a farewell concert.

Commenting on the forthcoming festival, committee chairman Colin Campbell (unrelated) said: "We have a group of very exciting guest artists lined up this year and I am sure that every event will be enjoyed by all who attend.

"Tickets are now on sale and I would urge those who wish to come along to get their tickets so that they don’t miss out on going to their favourite venues."

A number of other acts have also been confirmed for the three-day festival, including Sheena Wellington who sang ‘A Man’s A Man’ at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

Ms Wellington has recorded several albums, has toured internationally, and is a proud patron of the TMSA.

The Dundee native has attended the festival in the past. The last time she performed in Keith was at the recording of the BBC Radio Scotland show ‘Take the Floor’ a couple of years ago.

Also performing during the weekend is current Glenfiddich fiddle champion Nicola Auchnie, from Turriff.

Ms Auchnie (22), who won the highly-prestigious competition in November, is a guest at Keith for the very first time.