Scottish folk band Peat and Diesel have been announced as a headline act for the Tall Ships Festival in Shetland.
The Stornoway trio are the second act to be unveiled, following the news four-piece Highland folk group Tide Lines will headline.
The band are made up of frontman and guitarist Calum “Boydie” MacLeod, accordionist Innes Scott and drummer Uilly Macleod.
Peat and Diesel were crowned live act of the year at the 2019 Scottish Trad Awards and have since sold thousands of tickets across the country.
Their music has also been brought to a global audience after featuring on the soundtrack to Disney+ TV series Extraordinary.
‘Give a tremendous show’
Shetland Tall Ships Ltd music coordinator Tim Matthew believes the Tall Ships is the perfect chance for islanders to see the band, who are in high demand.
He said: “I’m very excited about bringing Peat and Diesel to Shetland.
“A lot of people have been wanting to see them here for a long time. This is a great opportunity to make it happen and I’m sure they will give the Tall Ships audience a tremendous show.”
Peat and Diesel will headline the 5,000-capacity temporary arena at Holmsgarth Pier in Lerwick on Friday July 28.
Meanwhile, Tide Lines will perform the Thursday night on July 27.
Tickets for both events will go on sale in early May. The bill for the free-entry opening night, on Wednesday July 26, will be topped by the Peatbog Faeries.
‘Provide a platform for young performers’
The final headliner for the closing night, Saturday July 29, will be confirmed along with the remainder of the programme in April.
The four-day programme is set to host more than 50 different acts, also offering a platform to local artists from Shetland.
This includes many young musicians who have performed regularly at monthly events in Mareel organised and curated by Lisa Johnson.
Mr Matthew added: “It’s really exciting being able to provide a platform of this scale for young performers who are working so hard honing their performance skills.”
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