Some of the biggest names in Scottish traditional music will take over the Barrowland Ballroom tonight for a huge sold-out celebration marking the finale of Glasgow’s Royal National Mòd.
Gael Force 10 will bring together musicians from Capercaillie, Skipinnish, Skerryvore, Tide Lines, Mànran and Trail West for a one-off show at the legendary Glasgow venue on Friday 16 October.
The concert has officially sold out, with doors opening at 6.30pm.
The line-up includes Capercaillie stars Karen Matheson and Donald Shaw, Skipinnish members Angus MacPhail, Andrew Stevenson and Archie McAllister, and Skerryvore’s Daniel and Martin Gillespie.
Tide Lines frontman Robert Robertson and Ross Wilson will also appear, alongside Mànran’s Kim Carnie and Ewen Henderson and Trail West’s Ian Smith.
Accordionist, broadcaster and musician Gary Innes has helped bring the show together. He will be joined by performers including Jennifer Cruickshank, John ‘Iky’ Carmichael, Marie Fielding, Rory Matheson, Ruairidh Gray and Fraser MacInnes.
Innes, who is celebrating 10 years presenting BBC Radio Scotland’s Take the Floor, described the event as a chance to unite leading performers from across the west coast, Highlands and Islands.
He said: “I couldn’t think of a better way to bring the Royal National Mòd to a close than uniting so many forces of nature.”
The annual festival is Scotland’s biggest celebration of Gaelic language, music and culture, with more than 200 competitions covering Gaelic song, choirs, traditional music, instrumental performance, poetry, storytelling, art and sport.
This year’s event has brought the Mòd back to a city with longstanding links to Gaelic-speaking communities from the Highlands and Islands.
Glasgow is referred to in Gaelic as Baile Mòr nan Gàidheal – the City of the Gaels – and has one of the largest concentrations of Gaelic speakers and learners outside the Western Isles.