Tiree Music Festival (15-17 July) this week announced a very special list of acts for what will be the biggest TMF to date. Over the course of the three days, acts including Levellers, Red Hot Chili Pipers, Sharon Shannon, Skerryvore, Skipinnish, Blazin Fiddles and legendary Irish quartet Flook will play to a 2000 strong crowd – over treble the population of the island.
Famed for its laid back atmosphere, TMF attracts a diverse audience and is well-known as being one of the most family-friendly in the UK. The multi-award winning event has sold out every year since its inception in 2010, with early bird tickets for the 2016 being sold out in four hours so the additional capacity will enable more people to experience the TMF adventure than ever before.
This year’s festival will feature three stages including the Calmac Live Lounge, set in the heart of the TMF Community Village – a purpose built arena packed with a host of creative activities and the best of west coast produce from Argyll Foods. As well as the music, there will be special sea-life trips with Basking Shark Scotland and also the first ever TMF ‘flash-mob’ co-ordinated by Eden Court Creative.
“This is the most exciting and eclectic TMF line up to date,” says Artistic Director Daniel Gillespie. “Securing international acts like Levellers, Flook, Sharon Shannon and Nashville singer Jesse Terry alongside the very best Scottish artists like Breabach, Blazin Fiddles and Fergie MacDonald is what makes the journey to TMF so special. And being known as the ‘Hawaii of the North’, it is only right that our first ever flash-mob is Hawaiian themed!”
With four extra sailings from Calmac and three extra scheduled flights from FlyBe, the journey to the ‘Hawaii of the North’ is more accessible than ever before.
Festival Director Stewart MacLennan says: “We are thrilled to confirm that TMF 2016 will be the biggest and best to date thanks to the additional capacity provided by Calmac and FlyBe. These additional travel routes are not only providing more capacity to the island but more flexibility of when to travel, which is fantastic for the event and the island as a whole.”
Those who aren’t lucky enough to snap up tickets can soak in the sights and sounds as BBC ALBA will record highlights and performances from the island festival for the second year, providing an insight into the charm and colour that makes the festival and the island so appealing. After the success of last year’s footage, BBC ALBA have confirmed that the 2016 coverage will increase to 11 episodes and 6hrs of footage including a special episode on A’bhuain – the Tiree Homecoming 2016.