Beatcroft Social Volume 7: Special preview of Shetland Reel Festival and impending Unst whisky

Volume 7 of The Beatcroft Social features music from Bryan Ferry, Richard and Linda Thompson, Tom Waits, The Creepin' Ivies, The Ramones and a preview of the Shetland Reel Festival on the Shetland island of Unst.  Oh, and a poem about trampolining...

Quite good, on the whole.

The Beatcroft Social, Volume 7: Mysterious Unst whisky edition (pt1) by Tom Morton's Beatcroft Social on Mixcloud

Au Revoir to Unst

Here's a wee video which compiles some of the snapshots I took of Unst during my four months as Tourism Development Officer. The music is a performance of the Unst Bridal March, by Chris Duncan, Catherine Strutt and Julian Thompson from their album The Red House - The Heritage of the Scottish Fiddle.

Enormous thanks to the people of Unst for helping me get to grips with the job and welcoming me into the community. I'm only sorry I couldn't have spent more time on the island and stayed longer in post.

Shetland Reel Festival - full details and programme link

The inaugural Shetland Reel Music Festival is to be held indoors so that everyone can enjoy the music without being distracted by the poor Shetland summer weather.

The organisers had originally planned to erect a main stage on the astroturf at the Saxa Vord resort where the festival is being held.

However the generally wet and windy conditions persuaded them shelter for festival goers and musicians, including Marley’s Ghost, Jim Salestrom and Livingston Taylor (brother of James)  from the United States and more than 30 local bands, was necessary.

There will be three stages for the Petrofac-sponsored festival which begins next Friday (August 14th) and runs until Sunday – the Shetland Reel Stage in the former RAF Saxa Vord supplies building (re-named “Da Factorie”), the Crew Room Stage in the ex-crew room and the Flugga Stage in what was the great hall.

“After the poor summer we’ve had, we were worried that a poor weekend would affect everyone’s enjoyment of the great musical feast we have in store,” said Saxa Vord owner Frank Strang.

“So we’ve effectively moved everything inside. It probably means we’ll end up getting good weather, but if it’s really nice we have a little plan up our sleeve!

“I just hope as many people as possible can come and enjoy a blend of top US and Shetland musicians and savour what should be a very different kind of music festival.”

He added: “A successful music festival would be a huge boost to Unst and set us up nicely to make it an annual event.”

The fun will begin at 6pm on Friday with Blind Summit opening on the Shetland Reel Stage and Wulver taking to the Crew Room Stage half an hour later. The Flugga Stage will be a session space from 6pm until midnight when the after party starring DJ Lyall begins.

Emmy Award winner Jim Salestrom, guitarist in Dolly Parton’s band and a celebrated performer in his own right, will be on the Shetland Reel Stage at 9pm with his son James and his friend Livingston Taylor while West Coast band Marley’s Ghost will headline the Crew Room Stage at 10.15pm.

The music will begin again on the Saturday at 12.30pm, going on until 11.45pm, and on the Sunday from 12.30pm until 6.30pm, followed by an Open Mic night run by the Shetland Singers & Songwriters Group. The full programme can be viewed and downloaded here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B35QdGnk1y_eSG1YckJ4M0ljNmc/view?usp=sharing

Livingston Taylor, who is a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, will also hold a workshop – How to Get an Audience to Listen to (and Pay for) Your Beautiful Music – on the Saturday at 5.30pm on the Flugga Stage.

Tickets for the festival come in two types – weekend tickets and day tickets.

Adult weekend tickets (for those over 18) cost £45 and grant you access to all three days of the festival. Teen weekend tickets (for those aged 13-17) cost £35. Children aged 12 are under can attend for free, but tickets must be booked in advance.

Adult day tickets cost £16 and grant you access to one day of the festival (Friday, Saturday or Sunday). Teen day tickets cost £13 and again children aged 12 or under go free, but tickets must be booked.

All tickets include ferry trips to and from Unst on the special Festival Ferries schedule, details of which are on the website.

The festival will also feature a Shetland Reel Gin afternoon tea, gin tasting sessions, a cocktail bar, a bouncy castle and soft play area for children, a merchandise shop and a local marketplace.

In this the Year of Food & Drink, lots of delicious food and drink will also be served up, sourced locally where possible, and prepared by the on-site catering team in the Saxa Vord kitchens.

The organisers are still looking for volunteers to help out over the weekend and an invitation remains open to local businesses and makers to book table spaces at the on-site market place to sell their wares. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact the festival organisers at  info@shetlandreelmusic.com while those wishing to book a table should email   tom.strang@hotmail.com

Profits from the festival will be donated to charities Horseback UK and Alzheimer Scotland (Shetland branch) as well as Baltasound Junior High School to help with funds and allow local children to join trips out of Shetland.

For those who would like to bring a tent and camp at the festival, or a caravan to stay in, this is free of charge, but the organisers ask that you call 01957 711 711 to let them know in advance so they can assign enough space.

Tickets are available via the Shetland Box Office.

The Shetland Reel song and video by Jim Salestrom

Jim is helping to curate the first Shetland Reel Festival, which happens at Saxa Vord in Unst during the weekend 14-16 August.

Luxury fine lace knitting masterclass weekends in Unst - treat yourself!

Belmont House, in association with the Unst Heritage Centre and Unst Partnership, is proud to present:

Two luxury Shetland Fine Lace knitting  masterclass weekends

22-25 October 2015 (Thursday night to Sunday morning)

22-25 January 2016 (pre-Lerwick Up Helly Aa) Friday night to Monday morning

- Stay three nights at beautifully restored 18th Century mansion Belmont House

- Superb dinners and self-service breakfasts  included,  First night sparkling wine and sandwiches reception. 

- Two full morning workshops on fine lace knitting at the Unst Heritage Centre..Full instruction from legendary Unst fine lace knitters and all materials provided. (Please note: you must be a competent knitter to get the best from this course)

- Afternoons free to knit, explore, relax and socialise. Optional guided tours.

- 10 residential places  available at £265  per person

- The Northern Lights ('Da Mirrie Dancers') may be visible!

- Space for two non-residents at £145 per person. This includes two nights' dinner at Belmont.

- There may be limited places on a non-sharing, single-occupancy basis. There will be a supplement of 120 for this.

Transport between Belmont House and  the Heritage Centre will be provided. Collection from the Belmont ferry terminal is possible.

A deposit of £50 is payable on booking. The balance of £215 must be paid two weeks before the event.

Please contact Karen at Belmont House

belmontbookings@btinternet.com, or

+44 (0)7909 966161

Shetland Wool Week holiday group in Unst

A party of visitors in Unst, getting to grips with the techniques of Fine Lace knitting in the world epicentre of the craft, the Unst Heritage Centre at Haroldswick.

This group is enjoying a six-day 'Shetland Wool Holiday' organised by Shetland Wool Week, which takes them all over Shetland and includes masterclasses in both Fair isle and Fine Lace knitting.

A second 'Shetland Wool Holiday' takes place in August and Belmont House in Unst hosts two 'UnstKnit' Fine Lace masterclass weekends in October 2015 and January 2016. Details on the Belmont website soon.

Unst, music, chocolate and whisky...have a listen

As I write I'm in Unst, where the weather is veering between exceptionally lovely and very nice, with moments of Quite Goodness. I have just had lunch at a chocolate manufacturing facility, or at least in the room next door. And very nice it was too! This week's Beatcroft Social on Mixcloud features four Unst-related pieces of music, from spoof power-hair-metal through choral traditionalism to a beautiful piano-led Unst Bridal March (all starts 28 minutes in). And of course whisky. Or in this case, Whiskey.
Spoeaking of which, I hear there is going to be some rather special Unst-related whisky available very soon. Watch this space! And listen online for a tasting.
Lots of other great music on this particular Beatcroft Social (volume 4), I think, from Robin Trower to JJ Cale, King Creosote to Tuff Love. I hope you like it.

The Beatcroft Social Volume 4 (Unst tendency) by Tom Morton's Beatcroft Social on Mixcloud