The Tiree Music Festival marks its first decade

The Tiree Music Festival took centre stage on Friday night at Celtic Connections as it kicked off its 10th anniversary year.

The festival was showcased a special night at Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket.

Surprising fans throughout the night with a host of festival favourites from over the years, the sold-out Celtic Connections show TIREE: A Toast to 10 years of Tiree Music Festival finished in style with a spectacular countdown to TMF10’s line-up being announced and tickets going on sale at midnight.

The full concert was also live-streamed via the festival’s Facebook page to an international online audience of 13,000 and a reach of nearly 30,000.

Artists confirmed for TMF 10, taking place on the island of Tiree between Friday 12– Sunday 14 July, include TMF stalwarts Skerryvore, who have performed at every festival since it began. Other acts include Tide Lines, Sandi Thom, Jill Jackson,Mànran,Niteworks, Trail West, Gunna Sound, Face the West, Funbox and Heron Valley.

A unique collaboration will also take place at the festival. Entitled Waiting on a Sunny Day: TMF’s Tribute to The Boss – this will be a collective performance from some of artists on the Scottish folk scene who have been inspired by the one and only Bruce Springsteen. The title is also a nod to the slightly less than favourable weather the festival has had over the past few years, with TMF using the hashtag #waitingonasunnyday over the past couple of years.

Also joining the bill are The Tumbling Souls, Gentlemen of Few, Katee Kross & the Amberjax,Willie Campbell, Dun Mor, Anna Rachel Macdonald, The Defenders,Cornaig Ceilidh Band, Buddha & the Band.

The TMF10 All Star Ceilidh Band will make a welcome return to the stage, encompassing a plethora of past ceilidh performers who have played the festival.

As if that’s not enough, more acts are also still to be arranged and will be announced in the coming months.

Daniel Gillespie, Skerryvore founding member and artistic director for Tiree Music Festival, said: ‘Our special TIREE: A Toast to 10 Years of Tiree Music Festival was an incredible night and the perfect way to start our TMF10 year of celebrations! I’d like to say such a huge thank you to all of the festival’s friends – artists and audiences – for coming along and making it such an unforgettable night! It was brilliant to be able to stream the whole thing live too for any of our loyal TMF fans who couldn’t make it on the night.

‘It’s an amazing feeling to be looking forward to celebrating our 10th Tiree Music Festival and we promise everyone who is heading for Tiree this July that this festival will be our best yet.’

The inaugural Tiree Music Festival took place in July 2010 and was attended by a capacity crowd of 600. The annual event has since flourished with an increased 2000-strong capacity – an attendance that is three times the population of the island. The festival offers a diverse programme with a mixture of genres including folk, pop and indie. Artists across the years have included The Fratellis, Dougie MacLean, Sharon Shannon, The Levellers, Capercaillie, Sandi Thom and Eddi Reader.

Since it’s humble beginnings, TMF has prided itself on being a family friendly festival with a creative programme for young people and their families, including workshops, sport, music and culture.

The Island of Tiree is often dubbed ‘The Hawaii of the North’ and with picture-perfect white sands and world-famous surf, a trip to Tiree Music Festival is a real Island adventure.

Tiree has been described as one of the most stunning festival locations in the world and so it is little wonder each year visitors from around the world flock to this tiny island for three days of outstanding music, culture and friendship.