THE FESTIVAL SEASON is still in full swing this month, and the Nairn International Jazz Festival takes pride of place in the opening half of August. Nestled amongst the swathe of folk music festivals and feisean around the Highlands and Islands, Ken Ramage’s festival has provided a focal point for jazz for many years. We will be providing review coverage of the festival, and our profile of Ken is this month’s ‘From the Archive’ feature.

The new Tartan Heart festival at Belladrum, near Beauly, is also set to cause a bit of a stir, and the organisers hope that it will become a fixture in the Highland summer music scene. Since we wrote our preview of the event, ticket sales have been so brisk that they have had to cancel plans to sell tickets on the day, so anyone wishing to attend must book in advance.

Still on a musical theme, we plan to carry an interview later this month with Blair Douglas, founder member of bands from Runrig to Cliar. Blair has a new CD due out from Runrig’s Ridge Records label on 19 August.

Our Northern Isles correspondent updates us on the plans for a new gallery at the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness in Orkney, while Robert Davidson explains how he arrived at his choices of the six winning entries in the Poetry section of the Neil Gunn Writing Competition 2004 (the poems can be read in the Sandstone Review section of Sandstone Press’s website).

Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham embark on a two-month tour this month, and we will carry a review of their gig at this month’s featured venue, the Craigmonie Centre in Drumnadrochit.

We will also be keeping an eye on what is going on at that other festival further south in Edinburgh, and lots more. As ever, new material will be posted on the site throughout the month, so keep checking back for regular news, features and reviews on the arts in the Highlands and Islands.

Kenny Mathieson
Commissioning Editor