Note: the following article was published in 2015-16 in Scottish Life magazine; it’ll give you a sense of how the festival got its start, and what it’s like to be there, based on the 2015 event. (This is Chapter 74 of my book MusicScapes of Scotland: Vignettes from Prehistory to Pandemic. See this link for info, quotes, awards, and ordering info from Amazon, Kindle, Bookshop.org, my site, or your local bookshop.)
A long time ago on an island far, far away, a new Celtic music festival was born. It was 1996 on the Isle of Lewis, and this past July [2015], the Hebridean Celtic Festival celebrated its 20th year.
Festival director Caroline McLennan recalls chatting with workmate Fiona Morrison back in the spring of 1995 about the new Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow. Could such an event happen in the Outer Hebrides? It did not take long for them to find six or seven others who shared their vision and made a plan to try it out. They had hoped to use a site near the spectacular ancient standing stones at Callanish, but ended up situating the event in Stornoway, on the Castle Green in front of Lews Castle [yes, spelled Lews, a mid-19th century castle; more about it next time].
The first Hebridean Celtic Festival took place in the summer of 1996, featuring great performers such as Davy Spillane, Dougie MacLean, Wolfstone, Natalie MacMaster, Iron Horse, and Shooglenifty. Fiddler Jennifer Wrigley, piper Rory Campbell, and Gaelic singer Christine Primrose, among others, were recruited to tour the local schools as an educational part of the festivities.
In recent years, HebCelt, as the festival is fondly called, has been named one of the UK's top summer festivals (it's the only Scottish one on some lists). Around 14,000 people are estimated to have attended last year, half from the Outer Hebrides, 30% from the rest of Scotland, 10% from elsewhere in the UK, and another 10% from around the world. In many cases, people born in Lewis use the festival as an opportunity to come back for a visit, and sometimes, people meet there, fall in love, and stay on.
HebCelt always brings in a critical mass of great Celtic musicians, a guarantee that it's worth the trip. It also features many musicians with a connection to the isle of Lewis, some of them top names in their own right, while others are local artists, part of the community which supports the event.
On opening day you can feel the excitement in downtown Stornoway. Musicians are playing outside; people are dancing a Strip The Willow in the middle of the street. The Lewis Pipe Band plays a set of tunes in a circle, and marches down the street, leading an ever-growing crowd across a footbridge and up to Castle Green for the start of the evening's concerts.
As you follow the pipe band to the festival, you’ll see two gigantic circus tents looming ahead, with broad stripes on taut roofs sloping up to high poles in the center. Inside each is a large stage, fully equipped for the bands, with sound systems, smoke and light shows, TV monitors, and standing room for huge crowds, plus a curtained platform to the side for those who need seating. When the music starts, and the tent fills with listeners and dancers, you will find yourself in another world, with joyous fellow travelers alongside.
Some of the artists heard this past summer included the wild drum/bodhran exchanges and hybrid music of Afro-Celt Sound System, the mellow Gaelic singing of Karen Matheson with Donald Shaw of Capercaillie, cross-cultural music by the Scottish band Salsa Celtica, a blend of electronic grooves and traditional instruments by the band Shooglenifty, and high-energy tunes from Treacherous Orchestra.
Among the Festival musicians with a Lewis connection was one of the fastest rising stars of the Scottish music scene, the band Mànran, whose lead singer came from Lewis. This band hit it big in its first year, back in 2010-11, and has continued to be hugely popular in Scotland and beyond. Sweet Gaelic songs, lively mouth music, and songs in English are backed by fiddle, accordion, flute, uillean and Highland bagpipes, and drums, blending traditional music with funk, jazz, and rock.
For its 20th festival, HebCelt commissioned a work by Lewis native Alasdair White, the fiddler with the Battlefield Band. White grew up inspired by HebCelt every summer, and remembers especially the time fiddler Alasdair Fraser called him up to play a tune for the huge audience when he was only 13. Jovial and mustachioed, White opened the festival this year by introducing his commissioned work, entitled “An Iuchar (The Key).” This suite of some 30 melodies traded off between danceable and contemplative moments, with Alasdair himself on fiddle, joined by colleagues on Highland pipes, bouzouki, accordion, drums, uilleann pipes, and guitar/banjo. Hopefully White will find funding to record his one-hour composition.
Another Lewis native, singer Alyth McCormack, invited White to join her and a few other musicians in a performance celebrating her new CD, Danns an Rathaid (The Road Dance). Her rich voice, singing both Gaelic and English, was also featured as part of her trio, Shine, with singers and harpers Corrina Hewat and Mary MacMaster.
One band with an unusual Lewis connection was Raghu Dixit from India. Their presence underlined longstanding ties between Lewis and India, dating to the 18th century, when Col. Colin Mackenzie of Stornoway became the first man to map all of India, as Surveyor General.
The musical acts at HebCelt alternate starting times between the two primary tents, so people can catch some of everything if they wish. There is also a smaller tent with an Acoustic Stage for instrumental duos, singer/songwriters, and other smaller-scale acts, while listeners try out the wide selection of Scottish whiskies and gins at the bar opposite the music. Another tent provides cover in case of rain for those wishing to grab a bite and a beer from the food vendors, or to sit on hay bales in the summer breeze.
New this year was a smaller tent for circus acts, magicians, and mask making. Given that some 20% of the audience is under 16, it is no surprise that this kid-friendly entertainment was well received.
HebCelt offers some of its activities offsite, including late night performances by many of the top bands of the day, in two different Stornoway locations. Everything is walking distance in town, but there are also a few offerings in other parts of Lewis and Harris during the four-day festival.
Community support for the festival is strong, as evidenced by the 140 volunteers putting in some 3700 hours to help, local businesses providing in-kind support, and community groups such as Highland dancers, the pipe band and others adding activities of their own. Gaelic is an important part of the event, not only in the musical acts but also in language classes. A group of students from a local school circulated in the crowds and taught simple Gaelic phrases to visitors. In return, the festival creates a huge sense of pride and excitement in the community, while injecting a much-needed £1.5 million into the local economy each year.
By December, HebCelt's website begins listing some of the major artists confirmed for next year's event, and continues adding names as more are confirmed. While the 20th festival honored a number of the artists who have appeared in its first two decades, the upcoming HebCelt plans to focus on becoming 21 years old: a coming of age. What that means in terms of music is something we'll have to wait and see. If past is prologue, it's sure to be a great experience for all ages.
Update
Since the above article was written, Caroline McLennan has retired, but the festival is going as strong as ever. Current info can be found at this link.
Next week, I’ll share some photos and stories about other times we’ve been to HebCelt. See you then!