Two of Scotland’s top acts will showcase their talent to music industry representatives from around the globe in Seville later this week, at the 13th annual World Music Expo (WOMEX).

The Scottish Arts Council is supporting award winning Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis and Celtic folk/fusion band Shooglenifty to showcase at the event, as part of the organisation’s commitment to supporting artists to fulfil their creative and business potential. Julie will perform on Saturday (27th) as part of the official showcase programme and Shooglenifty will perform later that evening on the off-WOMEX stage.

Womex is the premier international industry event for world, folk and roots music and includes a major conference, trade fair, showcases and awards ceremony, providing the musicians with the opportunity to network and showcase their talent to an international audience of industry representatives. Last year’s event saw 52 acts showcase to an audience of 2500 delegates from more than 80 countries.

This year the Scottish Arts Council has joined forces with Arts Council England, UK Trade and Investment and the Association of Independent Music (AIM) to present a united UK presence at the event and trade fair. As part of the Scottish representation the Scottish Arts Council will share a trade stand with the Scottish Music Centre promoting the work of both organisations and helping to raise the profile of Scotland’s vibrant music scene.

Commenting on being selected to showcase at this year’s event Julie Fowlis said: ‘We are very excited about the prospect of performing at Womex 2007 in Seville. It is a great honour to have been chosen for this prestigious showcase, and we are proud to be showcasing Scottish Gaelic music. We are very grateful to the Scottish Arts Council for their continued support, and to our hard working and dynamic record label Spit 'n Polish.’

Ian Smith, Head of Music at the Scottish Arts Council added: ‘Womex is one of our three international priorities alongside Showcase Scotland (at Celtic Connections) and SXSW in Austin.

‘Following the success of Unusual Suspects in 2005 and Salsa Celtica last year, we are again delighted to showcase the very best of Scotland’s acoustic talent at Womex featuring Gaelic songstress Julie Fowlis, recently featured on a BBC documentary shot during her Scottish Arts Council supported showcase in New York at APAP in January, and one of our best live bands, Shooglenifty who continue to thrill audiences around the world. Seville is the place to be and Womex the event to attend if you want to see and hear the best of Scotland’s music.’

As a result of their successful showcase at last year’s event Salsa Celtica’s management has been approached by promoters from around the world and secured a number of bookings including the Folk Holidays festival in the Czech Republic and the Orejo Festival in Spain, which both took place in the summer. The band has also secured a booking for the Genting Jazz Festival in Malaysia next April and an appearance at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) conference in New York in January.