News
Dates for your diary 2018
Stonehaven Folk Festival Thursday 5th July to Sunday 8th July 2018.
Artist line up so far:
Thursday: Manran, Tim Edey, Luke Daniels
Friday: John Doyle, The Occasionals
Saturday: Nae Plans, Kenn Clark & others TBC
Sunday: Imar, Kristina Olsen, The Chair
Promises to be one of the best yet with lots of workshops, sessions, etc
North Atlantic Fiddle Convention (NAFCO) Aberdeen. Wednesday 11th July to Sunday 15th July. More info soon.
June 2015
Button Box & Mouthies Convention, Aberdeen
A festival celebrating small "Free Reed" instruments from Scotland, Ireland & England will be held in Aberdeen 6th to 8th November 2015.
This unique celebration of "Free Reed" instruments, including mouth organs, concertinas, melodeons & diatonic button accordions will be just the place to enjoy the appealing music of these delightful instruments by some of the very best talents around, both local to Scotland & from further afield. It will be an opportunity to find out more about the instruments & their music. You can visit a taster session, join an elementary workshop, or if suitably experienced learn about style & repertoire at a players workshop. There will also be several opportunities for informal sessions in local music friendly pubs. More info here: www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/public-engagement/free-reed-convention.php
May 2015
The annual Stonehaven Folk Festival is drawing near and will be held between Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th July. This year promises to be one of the best festivals yet with a great line up of artists including Old Blind Dogs, Paul Anderson, Le Vent Du Nord, Treacherous Orchestra, The Poozies & lots more.
Thursday night will kick off the festival with an open session at the town hall. Friday, Saturday & Sunday evenings will include concerts in the town hall plus many fringe events & sessions throughout the town. For more info, go to: http://www.stonehavenfolkfestival.co.uk/
On Saturday 13th April 2013, there will be a live concert & recording in the Gourdon Village Hall all in aid of the Maggie Law Lifeboat museum.
The concert will include the some of the best traditional local musicians & singers featuring new compositions & old favourites. With the coming together of Gourdon and the surrounding community, the evening promises to deliver a real breath of our maritime heritage in poetry, music & song. The concert kicks off 7.00pm for 7.30pm. Please come along & support the concert.
Tickets are priced at £10 & are available from The Harbour Bar, Gourdon, Hornblowers, The Shell Hoosie, Stonehaven & Celtic Chords, Stonehaven or direct from Dave Ramsay on 01569-750730.
21st December 2012
This year, Stonehaven will stage it's largest ever hogmanay event "Hogmanay in the Square" which will be an all ticketed afair. The party is the brainchild of hotelier Michelle Ward of the Royal Hotel who has been working extremely hard to put Stonehaven on the map as a great seaside town to visit. More than 5,500 folk are expected to attend the hogmanay in the square event along with over 10,000 visiting Stonehaven including the annual Swinging of theFireballs.
The event will be highlighted with the Red Hot Chilli Pipers & Blazin Fiddles. There will also be many other attractions during the day including highland dancers, local bands, a funfair for the kids (and adults) ,storytelling and lots more.
Wrist bands will be exchanged for the tickets/E-tickets together with IDwhich MUST be presented and will be available for collection from the Stonehaven Royal Hotel reception (opposite the square) .
Programme for the day as follows however some artists times may change. We will update soonest :
Arena - The Square
14.00 Arena opens with DJ playing.
14.30-15.00 Street Dancing (on tarmac) 2 sets younger/older
15.10-15.30 Evening Sprint (Mackie Academy Band)
15.30-15.40 Story Teller
15.45-16.00 Amy Sawyers (tbc)
16.06-16.35 Lyndsay School of Dance (on stage 2 sets younger/older
17.00-18.00 Blazin Fiddles
18.00-20-00 Arena cleared for clean-up
20.30 Arena opens for evening programme
20.30-21.00 DJ playing
21.00-22.15 Revolver
22.15-22.35 DJ changeover
22.35-23.05 Local Solo Artist or Band (TBC)
23.05-23.30 DJ changeover
23.30-23.58 Red Hot Chilli Pipers
23.58-00.02 Lone Piper bringing in The Bells
00.02-00.50 Red Hot Chilli Pipers
01.00-01.15 Arena closes
End of Hogmanay in the Square info
16th May 2012
New Scottish Guitar Tutor book to be launched in Celtic Chords at the Stonehaven Folk Festival.
The Scottish Guitar Tutor with CD by John Carnie, highlights the guitar as a melody instrument for playing traditional Scottish jigs, reels and slow airs and gives helpful tips for playing them. Forty four pages of great Scottish tunes with tablature and staff notation. It is available to buy now and will be officially launched in the Celtic Chords shop on Saturday 7th July 2012 around 12.00 noon. It is published by Taigh na Teud Ltd and has a forward in it by Jack Evans.
It is the first ever tutor book for playing Scottish tunes on the guitar. The arrangements are great for concerts or sessions and can be played in a combination of flatpicking and fingerstyle. It is also available as an ibook and includes 33 Scottish jigs, reels and slow airs on guitar with tab and staff notation.
John will also be doing a guitar workshop at the Stonehaven Folk Festival on Saturday 7th July. See their website for details:www.stonehavenfolkfestival.co.uk
John adds "It is particularly significant that the book is to be launched in the Celtic Chords shop as it was Pete Murray who had first suggested the idea of a book to me when I was in the shop buying a new guitar a couple of years back! "
15th May 2012
The 24th Stonehaven Folk Festival from 5th - 8th July 2012 will as always be a friendly weekend with some great concerts in the town hall. This year's performing artists include The Old Blind Dogs, The Barbara Dimmock Band, Brian McNeill, The Paul McKenna Band, Fred Morrison, Sinsheen & many more great artists. The festival will also include sessions, workshops, an Aqua Ceilidh (B.Y.O wetsuit) & the ever popular Paper' n' Comb Championships.
More info here: www.stonehavenfolkfestival.co.uk
3rd October 2011
Button Boxes & Moothies Free Reed Convention 11th – 13th November 2011
Aberdeen is very fortunate to be hosting another Button Box and Moothies convention organised and directed by Professor Ian Russell of the Elphinstone Institute. This event will encompass a unique celebration of small ‘free-reed’ instruments, including mouth organs, concertinas, melodeons, diatonic button accordions, and Jaw’s harps. The convention will be just the place to attend lunchtime and evening concerts, enjoying the appealing music of these delightful instruments from some of the very best talents around, both local to Scotland and from further afield. It will be a great opportunity to find out more about the instruments and their music. You can visit a beginners’ session, join an elementary workshop, or if suitably experienced learn about style and repertoire at a players’ workshop. There are also several opportunities for informal sessions in local music-friendly pubs.
The concerts and workshops will feature guest players including Brendan Begley (Ireland), Donald Black (Scotland), Norman Chalmers (Scotland), Mary Mac Namara (Ireland) Leo McCann (Ireland), Fred Davidson (Scotland), Pip Murphy (Ireland), Roger Digby (England), and many other well known players.
The convention will be held in Aberdeen from Friday 11th to Sunday 13thNovember 2011 and more information including programme can be viewed at:www.abdn.ac.uk/~wap001/events/reed-convention/index.shtml
11th April 2011
The 23rd Stonehaven Folk Festival will be held from 8th - 10th July 2011. The venue for the concerts will as usual be the Stonehaven Town Hall. Flyers & further info available from the shop or email:info@stonehavenfolkfestival.co.uk . There will also be sessions, workshops, aqua ceilidh,etc. Tickets go on sale from 4th May 2011 here at the shop (collect in person only) or online via The Booth: www.thebooth.co.uk
27th October 2010
Our shop specialises in diatonic and chromatic squeezeboxes, and we are proud to have become the 1st Scottish dealer to stock Anglo and English concertinas designed by The Concertina Connection in the USA. The company was founded by Wim Wakker in 1993 with the objective to develop good quality entry level concertinas with a traditional design found in more expensive instruments. They have also subsequently designed and developed the Clover, an excellent intermediate level anglo concertina at an affordable price. Their instruments are considered by many to be best in class and best value. We expect to receive our 1st delivery of Jack and Jackie English concertinas and Rochelle Anglo's beginning November, followed by the Clover intermediate anglo's mid November.
7th July 2010
We will be at the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention (NAFCo) next week from 14th to 18th July. The convention is being hosted by the Elphinstone Institute in Aberdeen and if the last NAFCo held in N.E Scotland is anything to go by, promises to be an exciting and well attended musical event. The hub of NAFCo will be the Lemon Tree Theatre & Cafe Bar, Aberdeen with many daily concerts & performances at various locations. Many well known guest artists will be attending from USA, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales & more. There will also be several fiddle workshops & conferences throughout the week & some great sessions to be had. You can check out the program on:www.abdn.ac.uk/nafco
31st March 2010
Having just returned from the Frankfurt trade music fair, we were very impressed by the quality, finish and tone of Yairi guitars. They are exceptional value (circa £800 - £900) for a hand made instrument and we are pleased to have ordered our first two New Yorker 12 fret 00 models which should arrive in the shop by this weekend.
Every "K.Yairi" guitar is given birth in Kani, a small community in the beautiful mountainside area of Honshu, Japan. In a unique, larger workshop-like guitar factory there,"K.Yairi" guitars are made under the strict supervision of Mr.Kazuo Yairi, owner of the "K.Yairi" guitar company. The factory is staffed with carefully chosen master craftsmen, many of whom have worked there for many years. Their skills, the calm atmosphere of the surroundings,and Mr.Yairi's attention to making the best guitars possible,are all reflected in each and every individual instrument.Mr.Yairi learned the tricks of the trade in making violins and guitars from his father,who gained international recognition for making fine instruments.
15th February 2010
We are very pleased to be the first Scottish dealer to stock Brook Guitars and took possession of a Tamar which was sold within 24 hours of displaying in our shop. Brook Guitars run by Simon Smidmore & Andy Petherick have a lovely workshop hidden in the depths of Devon near Exeter. They learned their lutherie skills with Andy Manson many years ago and turn out a limited number of gorgeous hand made acoustic guitars (all named after Devon rivers) each year. Delivery is normally around 9 months, however we are expecting our next guitars (Tamar, 12 fret Lyn & 12 fret Torridge) sometime in May.
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