Musicians hope to break a world record with the largest ceilidh band playing at a north-east festival last night.
Guitars, cellos, whistles, banjos and accordions were just a few of the instruments playing at the Stonehaven Folk Festival.
The team behind the annual celebration of music decided to launch a Guinness World Record attempt at the 30th anniversary of the event.
The band – made up with 288 musicians – performed the Gay Gordons, Strip the Willow and the Canadian Barn Dance at Mackie Academy in Stonehaven.
To break the current record for the World’s Largest Ceilidh Band, organisers needed to get 250 musicians to play on the night.
Delighted co-organiser Charlie West, who played the whistle, came up with the idea four years ago and has been working ever since to see it come to fruition.
He said: “It went wonderfully well. And the quality of people who came along was fantastic.
“It’s been a year in preparation so I felt elated to see it come together.”
The most popular instrument was the violin, with almost half the participants bringing along their fiddles.
Volunteer stewards helped coordinate the musicians to make sure the event ran smoothly.
Ceilidh bands from far and wide and musicians of all ages flocked to Mackie Academy to hear the reels and jigs.
Dancers provided by the Scottish Culture and Traditions organisation also entertained the audience.
Among the musicians were three members of Aberdeen-based ceilidh band Cabrach.
Evidence of the record-breaking attempt will now be sent to the Guinness World Records team to verify.
One musician said: “We are always heavily involved with the Stonehaven Folk Festival so really it was a no brainer. The traditional music scene in Aberdeen and the shire has a large community so we wanted to support that.”
The Stonehaven Folk Festival will run until tomorrow evening and the remaining performances include American singer Kristina Olsen and folk band Imar.
