An exciting new event promoting music from around the world will help launch this year’s much anticipated festival season in Skye. 

Skye’s World Music Festival will be launched over Easter weekend and will feature bands and musicians from Norway, Chile, Equador, Columbia, Cuba and Mexico.  The Festival opens on Friday 25 March with Fribo, a unique and energetic trio who combine Scandinavian and Scottish traditions with an exuberant feel for contemporary sounds and rhythms.  They will be followed by the brilliant Quimantu who bring together some of the leading folk and world music players from Chile, Ecuador and England.

Saturday will see the festival move to Columbia and Cuba, opening with a concert from gifted Colombian guitar-playing singer Carolina Herrera.  Apparently discovered busking on the underground, Carolina is a rising star in world music and her repertoire extends from Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil to Spain and Portugal. 

The concert will be followed by a cabaret-style Film Café where the audience can come along to chat and listen to Cuban son in the film Buena Vista Social Club.

The Festival closes on Sunday with a concert from Moishe’s Bagel. Based in Edinburgh, the Bagel combines the energy of eastern European folk music with the excitement of improvisation, and boasts some of the best instrumentalists in Scotland from Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Salsa Celtica, Celtic Feet and Mr McFall’s Chamber.

The Festival is being organised by SEALL, one of rural Scotland’s liveliest voluntarily promoting groups.  Steve Heap who is leading the new festival said: “SEALL already runs Fèis an Eilein in July and an annual programme of 20 events.  We do promote one or two World Music events during the year and they encourage some of our biggest audiences. We want to build on that interest, and also help fill a gap in Skye’s festival calendar.”

Duncan MacInnes, SEALL’s chairman said:  “Skye is ‘the Festival Centre of the Highlands and Islands’- there will be over 15 this year.  Skye’s World Music Festival is the new baby and it needs a name to avoid confusion between the Skye Festival and the Skye Music Festival! – so we will be running a competition during the weekend and Moishe’s Bagel will announce the new name on Sunday night.”

Information and Tickets from: 01471 844207, info@seall.co.uk and online on www.thebooth.co.uk