BY DANIEL CULLEN
More than 150 young people from across Skye and Lochalsh took part in the annual Fèis an Earraich at Portree High School from Monday 6th to Friday 10th April.
A week’s tuition in traditional Gaelic music, song, sport and culture by some of the country’s finest traditional musicians culminated in a concert on Friday 10th April, with the students sharing the pieces of music they’d been working on together.
The Free Press were in attendance for the concert to witness both the talent on display and the commitment to embrace, celebrate, enhance and even evolve (see the sound production class led by Richy Carey) local traditional arts by the tutors and organisers of Fèis an Earraich.
Amongst the performances at the concert were fiddlers, drummers, pipers, pianists, guitars and even comedy mini-plays featuring head lice, unenthusiastic birthday party attendees and a hilarious fitness-style routine, complete with outlandish moves.
There were whistlers, led by Dàimh’s Angus MacKenzie and Trail West frontman Seonaid MacIntyre, who host Anne Martin joked had been “followed around all week by youngsters looking for autographs”.
Perhaps the highlight of the concert came when the 40-plus-strong percussion group took to the stage (ably led by Ruairidh Graham of Niteworks and LUSA fame) showcasing their powerful energy and technique to the appreciative audience.
Prior to the concert concluding with all on stage for the Fèis song, there was a combined sharing from three groups. Firstly, Anne Martin’s singing group performed, before Ingrid Henderson’s ‘Group Work’ musicians joined in with their instruments – and then the sound production group played a rousing electronic remix of the song they’d put together earlier in the week, much to the amusement of the singers, musicians and indeed audience.
The Free Press spoke to chairperson of Fèis an Earraich, Eilidh MacKenzie, who announced at the concert she was stepping down as chair after this year’s Fèis.
“I took the baton from Kirsteen Graham as chair in 2019 and had an inauspicious start with Fèis an Earraich 2020, which had to be cancelled two weeks before it started due to Covid and lockdown!” Eilidh explained.
She continued: “For the next two years the Fèis was held online so my first in-person event was in 2023, the first school holiday where there was freedom to move around again, so numbers were quite small for that one. Numbers have definitely recovered since then and that’s largely due to lots of grassroots work being done in local schools and communities throughout the year to encourage and foster engagement in the culture, language and music.”
Whilst stepping down as chair, Eilidh confirmed that going forward she’d continue to help in whatever way she could, encouraging others to sign up to help as well.
“I’ll be involved in transition this year and in any other way that time allows. New work commitments have reduced the time I have to volunteer but there is a brilliant team of committee members that will take it forward with invaluable support from Fèisean nan Gàidheal. We’re always welcoming of more recruits though, as it’s a huge event to host well, but it’s a genuinely lovely committee and event to be part of with a strong sense of community, learning and celebrating Gaelic culture at its heart.”
Eilidh concluded: “I was a participant at the first Fèis an Earraich in Plockton in 1989 and have tutored at it too over the years, so it’s very special to see my own kids participating and tutoring now. It’s been an incredibly rewarding few years as chair and a privilege to have been a part of the Fèis community.”
