My Best of Scotland series continues to roll with today’s post, in which I focus on a handful of places to reliably find excellent traditional Scottish folk music. My early trips to Scotland invariably centered on finding those places where local musicians united in darkened pubs, as if drawn together by Hendrix’s All Along the Watch Tower*, to play traditional Scottish tunes. I had my share of successes, and those nights at Sandy Bell’s or the Port Charlotte Hotel quaffing pints to the wildly talented strains of local folk music are some of my favorite memories.

Trad music isn’t hard to find in Scotland. Musicians gather in pubs and community centers all across the country to weave their melodies and rhythms. The trick, for visitors, is to be in the right place at the right time. Trad sessions blaze into life and fade as common and quickly as a fireflies over a summer cornfield.

Below I’ve chosen five destinations where the chances of catching some live trad music are higher than the average. No guarantees, but since these are places renown for their music with high concentrations of excellent musicians, chances are good.

Sure, there’s something to be said for serendipity, like the night I stumbled on a rollicking session at the Merchant Bar in Portree. There’s also something to be said about a perma-sadface after you’ve failed to catch even a single note from a fiddle’s bow.

Listen up! This is your chance to listen in.

Dunkeld

Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland

Dunkeld is one of my favorite towns in all of Scotland. Less touristed than Pitlochry to the north and tucked in the heavily forested Perthshire hills along the banks of the River Tay, Dunkeld makes an ideal visit. The Hermitage Forest and gorgeous, ruined Dunkeld Abbey provide further enticement, but the reason Dunkeld makes this list is because it also happens to be a folk music Mecca.

The Taybank Hotel used to be run by Dougie MacLean, a famous Scottish folk musician who has been a part of such groups as The Tannahill Weavers and Silly Wizard and still maintains a strong solo career today. The Taybank remains the place to go for local trad and an excellent pint or dram. I think that every time I’ve visited they’ve had music going in the bar.

The Perthshire Amber Festival and Neil Gow Fiddle Festival also happen to make Dunkeld their annual home. It’s kind of amazing that this tiny town can be the epicenter of all this great music. A perfect day is hiking the hills around Dunkeld and returning to town in the evening for a stovie and a pint at the Taybank while the music takes off. Dunkeld might seem a quiet place with a slow pace, but it brings together many strands of Scottishness in perfect bow.

Shetland Islands

Shetland Folk Festival, Shetland Islands, Scotland

The Shetland Islands play host to one of Scotland’s biggest folk festivals each year. The Shetland Folk Festival is a multi-day romp around the islands with many concurrent scheduled and ad hoc shows at various community centers, hotels, and pubs. Of course that’s not the only festival – Shetland also hosts the Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Festival, Shetland Blues Festival, Shetland Fiddle Frenzy, and the Peerie Willie Johnson Guitar Festival.

It takes a music-loving folk to organize so many music festivals, and indeed music is strong in so many people here, from children to grandparents. Outside the festivals, trad can often be heard at famous music pubs like the Lounge Bar, Da Noost, and the Douglas Arms (aka Marlex).

Given the size of Shetland, you might find yourself sitting next to musicians of great renown!

Orkney Islands

Kirkwall Bay, Orkney Islands, Scotland

Orkney, too, has a folk music festival of world renown (what is with these northern archipelagos?). In a similar vein as the Shetland Folk Festival, the Orkney Folk Festival highlights both visiting and local acts, giving each a chance to shine on stages around the islands.

To be fair, I have not had the chance to attend the Orkney Folk Festival, but I have visited the islands several times and listened to trad at places like The Ferry Inn, The Stromness Hotel, and The Royal Hotel in Stromness and The Reel in Kirkwall.

As a rule of thumb, wherever you find folk festivals you’re likely to find at least a pub or two where you can hear live music on a frequent basis.

Edinburgh

Sandy Bells, Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh is the cultural capital of Scotland, so it should come as no surprise that it appears on this list. In fact, Edinburgh might well be your best and easiest chance to hear some live music. Pubs all over town often have a dedicated trad music night, and all you need to do to obtain this information is go on a pub crawl or three and ask.

A couple of my favorite pubs to hear live music are Sandy Bell’s and The Royal Oak. Conveniently, these pubs are quite near one another just south of the Royal Mile so if you strike out at one you can make the quick jaunt to the other. Sandy Bell’s might have live music every night. I can say without hesitation that if I lived in Edinburgh you would often find me there. It’s a warm, close, and convivial space that seems to hug you when the music’s playing.

The city also puts on TRADFEST Edinburgh – Dùn Èideann (previously known as Ceilidh Culture) each spring, which packs many different music and art events into a concentrated period of time.

You’re going to be in Edinburgh on your trip to Scotland anyway – seek out some trad at the city’s great, traditional pubs.

Ullapool

Ullapool, Highlands, Scotland

Western Scotland is renown for its musical culture, and Ullapool on the west coast of the northwest highlands is fast becoming a focal point for Scottish folk music. The Loopallu Festival brings musicians big and small to this distant ferry town each fall, while the Ceilidh Place just off the harbor is considered one of the highlands’ most happening musical spots.

Pubs and hotel bars up and down this fjord-like coastline play host to many local musicians whether on scheduled trad nights or whenever the spirit takes them. Get out there and explore the tiny towns, stop in for a pint, and relax. You never know what you might see.

If you’ve got your own instrument, even better. From everything I’ve seen, trad is a communal, welcoming activity where musicians are simply looking to have a good time, feed off each other’s energy, and make some damn fine music.

*Yes, that is a nerdy Battlestar Galactica reference.

Article Comments

  1. FEBRUARY TROPICAL DESTINATIONS 2014 October 31, 2013 at 9:04 pm

    […] perfect of Scotland: 5 destinations for folk tune fans touring … […]

  2. Hannah November 5, 2013 at 3:03 am

    The best thing about traveling also is being able to hear their music on the radio. Seems like an entirely different world when you listen to their local music.

  3. eyeandpen November 12, 2013 at 6:38 am

    Travel and music go hand-in-hand. There are some wonderful destinations on your list where good music as well as the musicians are hiding. 🙂

  4. Krisha April 29, 2014 at 5:34 pm

    Mr. Keith Savage, my cousins and I are planning a trip to Scotland and your blog has really helped, however I wanted to know if you have any suggestions on where the best culture shock would be? My cousins and I would like to see little towns and really delve into the culture, also expand our knowledge of the Gaelic language. We would also love to see the natural beauty of Scotland as it is our heritage. We would like to avoid the less tourist sites to cut down on cost.

    Thank you in advance
    Krisha

    1. Keith Savage April 30, 2014 at 12:34 pm

      Hi Krisha,

      Glad to hear you’ve found my site helpful. The biggest culture shock is undoubtedly to be had in the Western Isles. Luckily for you, that’s also the stronghold of Gaelic-speaking culture in Scotland. Places like Lewis, Harris, Uist, parts of Skye. Orkney and Shetland also provide a fair share of culture shock. The Outer Hebrides will give you plenty of small towns and a chance to delve into Gaelic. Plenty of natural beauty to go around as well, especially on the way to the islands through the west highlands.

      Cheers!

  5. Jean Rains September 19, 2014 at 3:05 am

    Dear Keith,
    I am going to be traveling about in Ireland and Scotland from about June 13 to June 30th. I will be going to the music pubs you mentioned, but I haven’t found a traditional music festival within that time frame. Any
    suggestions?
    Many thanks, Jean

    1. Keith Savage September 19, 2014 at 8:41 am

      Hi Jean, a lot of festivals haven’t pinned down dates for 2015 yet. I would check again nearer the start of the new year.

  6. Pamela May 25, 2015 at 3:07 pm

    Keith, your description of Dunkeld is exactly as I have described it! I too give a lot of advise about traveling to Scotland having made numerous trips, but since I can’t travel myself right now, I live vicariously through making other trips better.

    I regards to music, have you managed to go to the Glasgow Celtic Connections Festival? I would so love to go some day. I was lucky enough to catch part of a music festival in Aberfeldy 1n 2001 and later the same trip to go to the Tarbert Festival. I’ve thought about going back to the latter festival, but they often don’t list it until late and it’s harder to plan a transatlantic flight around it. 🙂

    Congrats on a great blog.

    1. Keith Savage May 25, 2015 at 9:08 pm

      Thanks, Pamela.

      I’ve yet to make it to Celtic Connections, but I’ve got a winter trip brewing so perhaps I’ll cross that off soon!

  7. Lee Ann August 29, 2016 at 5:22 pm

    I leave in two weeks for my first trip ever to Scotland! Music is so important to me. I’ve booked tickets to the Jura Music Festival 23, 24 September. I’ll be sure to report back!

    1. Keith Savage August 29, 2016 at 5:47 pm

      Please do!

  8. Forrest August 4, 2018 at 10:08 am

    Hi Keith,

    We’ve pretty much locked in our itinerary for a 10 day highland trip in October and both my wife and I are hoping to soak in as much trad music as possible. We’ll be avoiding the cities mostly and sadly we won’t make it to Orkney or Shetland, but we have at least 2 nights in Ullapool and 1 in Birnam so you’ve given us lots of hope! Anywhere out on Harris/Lewis you’d recommend for live music? Thanks for sharing your experiences with us!

    1. Keith Savage August 5, 2018 at 5:36 pm

      Hi Forrest. Sounds like a fantastic trip! I’ve heard good things about the Hebrides Hotel as far as trad is concerned in the Outer Hebrides.

  9. Cary August 6, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    Cheers Keith. I have been to Scotland many times… I’ll be in Scotland 2nd two weeks of August… I have done the Tattoo, World Pipe Band Championships, Pubs in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness with Tradtional Scottish Music… Looking for pubs or venues off the beaten path with lively traditional music… I’d appreciate any help Keith…
    Thanks,
    Cary

Leave Me A Comment

Scotland's Calling!

Subscribe and confirm your subscription to receive my posts via e-mail.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.