posted 7th Dec 2011
Temple Records Press Release:

We’re extremely pleased to say that Temple Records artists Battlefield Band were recognised as ‘Scottish Folk Band of the Year’ at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2011. The awards ceremony was held at Perth Concert Hall on Saturday 3rd December 2011 in front of an audience of 700 of their peers, traditional music fans and representatives of the Scottish Government and cultural organisations.

The aim of these respected awards is to highlight Scotland’s wonderful traditional music, and Battlefield Band are very gratified to have been recognised for a second time in their 40 year history, having previously been awarded ‘Best Live Act’ at the inaugural awards ceremony in 2003.

Fiddler Alasdair White said “Battlefield Band are very honoured to have won this award: particularly so as it was voted for by the public. The band, and our management team, would like to give our sincere thanks and dedicate the award not only to our audience, but also to the many musicians, agents, promoters and venues we have worked with over the years. Without these people we would not have had the privilege of finding an audience.

Credit is definitely due to Simon Thoumire and his team who put in a massive amount of organisational work to make the awards run smoothly, and who do a great job in terms of promoting traditional music.

We have been told that votes came in from all over the world, and we look forward to perhaps saying ‘thank you’ personally during our upcoming tours. In 2012, we will be on tour in Germany, Switzerland & France during January and February, followed by Australia (and hopefully New Zealand) in March and April, before a US tour towards the end of the year, so we hope to see you somewhere along the road!”

More info on these tour-dates at: www.battlefieldband.co.uk/tourdates

Several artists who are on Temple Records or have previously released work on the label have now either won awards or been inducted into the 'Hall of Fame" by the Scots Trad Music Awards (see list below), and it's very gratifying that these talented people have been recognised, and also that Temple are obviously continuing to make a valuable contribution to Scottish music and culture after spending 33 years promoting traditional music.

Battlefield Band,
awarded 'Best Scottish Folk Band', 2011
Arthur Cormack,
awarded 'Hamish Henderson Services to Traditional Music Award', 2011
Alison Kinnaird MBE,
awarded 'Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame', 2010
Christine Primrose,
awarded 'Gaelic Singer of the Year', 2009
Robin Morton,
awarded 'Hamish Henderson Services to Traditional Music Award', 2008
Battlefield Band,
awarded 'Best Live Act', 2003

Past Battlefield Band members at the Scots Trad Music Awards:
Brian McNeill,
nominated for 'Citty Finlayson Scots Singer of the Year' 2011
'Steele The Show' – The Songs of Davy Steele,
the commemorative album nominated for 'Album of the Year 2011'
(released on Greentrax )
Alan Reid,
nominated for 'Composer of the Year' in 2009
John McCusker,
nominated for 'Composer of the Year' in 2007
Karine Polwart
awarded Best Scots Singer STMA 2003, nominated for Songwriter of the Year STMA 2004, nominated for Album of the Year and Composer of the Year STMA 2006

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Situated in the village of Tarbert on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland the Hebridean Fiddle Workshop provides a unique opportunity for fiddle players, and seeks to build on the great success of the renowned Taransay Fiddle Camp.

This is a superb opportunity to learn traditional Scottish music and develop a personal style in a relaxed, authentic setting from some of the foremost exponents of Scottish fiddle music, including Battlefield Band's Alasdair White. The course will focus on local repertoire, playing techniques and the development of personal interpretation and style.

Our old mucker Alan Reid might have been forgiven for thinking that life would slow down a bit, now he's 'retired' from Battlefield Band, but he still seems to be keeping pretty busy! He's got a new solo release just out on Temple Records (see www.templerecords.co.uk for details) and, with his musical cohort Rob Van Sante, he's been touring in the UK, USA, Germany & New Zealand. See the link below for the most recent tour dates.

Alan's solo and harmony singing have been to the fore throughout his four decades with Battlefield Band, and his self-penned songs have long been noted for their strong melodies, story telling element & lyricism. He has also gained recognition for his fine instrumental compositions and he is further noted for his interpretations & setting to music of several of the well known poems of Robert Burns.

Rob Van Sante meanwhile has lent his ears to the Battlefield Band for the past 13 years as their sound engineer, but he is also a guitarist of exceptional skill and subtlety and his considerable musical gifts have been revealed in this pairing with Alan. As a duo, they present an evening of old and new music, featuring Alan's compositions, Battlefield Band favourites and Rob's own songs. The show combines the solid open tuned guitar style of Rob, the keyboard, guitar and accordion of Alan and the fine harmony singing of both.

You can read more about Rob and Alan, sign up for their email newsletter
and find details of all their upcoming shows at:
www.reidvansante.com

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