All 1,000 tickets for the 2011 Scottish Traditional Music Awards ceremony were sold in the blink of an eye – highlights of the awards event will be shown on BBC ALBA’s Freeview slot Monday (5th Dec) for the first time and is expected to have its biggest TV audience tomorrow ever.
Simon Thoumire added: “All of the awards are decided by a public vote, and we had almost 100,000 people voting this year, which was much more than ever before – the event was a complete sell-out”.
The awards won by the various nominated folk artists:
Best Album – the prestigious Scottish Traditional Music Awards 2011 album of the year was won by Manran, a new Gaelic supergroup, formed by Gary Innes in April 2010 with the declared aim of attaining the level of popular success of Celtic music stars Runrig and Capercaillie.
Manran (meaning “man about town” or “sweet, tuneful and melodic”) came to public attention by stating their aim was to put their debut single Latha Math ( or Good Day) – written by band member Norrie MacIver – into the UK top 40 for the first time in the 21st century. The song Latha Math, which wanders through a tranquil day on Lewis, didn’t manage to generate the 7,500 downloads necessary in the seven days following its release to reach the top 40.
Though the UK top 40 attempt was not ultimately successful, the band’s efforts got them noticed and helped them win the coveted “Album Of The Year” title at this year’s 2011 Scots Trad Music Awards ceremony in Perth.
Best Gaelic Singer – Manran also won this second award with band member Norrie MacIver, from the Isle of Lewis, winning the award.
Awards organiser Simon Thoumire said: “Manran have done really well in making an impact in such a short space of time, but they’ve also produced a really great album which has also sold incredibly well.”
Other award-winners included:
Scottish folk Band of the Year – Battlefield Band
Best Singer Of The Year – Siobhan Miller, from Penicuik in Midlothian.
Best Live Band – Hebridean boy band, “Tiree’s answer to Westlife”, Skerryvore (formed in 2004) have performed worldwide at prestigious events such as New York’s Tartan Week and the Ryder Cup no less.
Simon Thoumire said: “Skerryvore have done brilliantly well at building a name for themselves and they are now able to sell out concerts all over the country. They have taken a really professional approach to their look and marketing and it has paid off. They’re an absolutely brilliant live band.”
Best Traditional Music Event – the Orkney Folk Festival looking forward to its 30th birthday in 2012.
Best Music Venue – the tiny Ben Nevis bar in Glasgow.
Best Newcomers – new Glasgow band Rura.
Hamish Henderson lifetime achievement award – was awarded to veteran Gaelic singer Arthur Cormack.
Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame – inductees included Glasgow guitarist Bert Jansch and veteran Fife singer John Watt, both of whom passed away recently.
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