Just when you thought the islands could do no more, along came March and a splash of great, live, traditional and contemporary music. We’re not just talking internationally renowned, we’re talking outstanding home grown talent. Celtic Connections BIG TOP is on Skye. It’s the very first time CC has taken itself to the island homelands and just a step across the famous bridge – still free of tolls and blessed with great vistas.

Meantime in the northern isles, there’s “A Time to Keep”. Musicians Lise Sinclair and Ástvaldur Traustasson perform a very special work in Lise’s home of Fair Isle and at stunning venues including Lerwick’s Town Hall (Shetland) and St Magnus Cathedral on Orkney.

So, that’s music on Skye and Orkney. There’s more on Lewis and Eigg. And then on Lewis and Skye there’s dance and theatre, on Arran those hardy bikers are still pedalling for all they’re worth and someone’s bringing the biscuits to market on Barra. Some bright spark has put Pop-Up Theatre on tour with two great comedy shorts showing at all kinds of venues including Mull and Iona.

March is going to be another great month on Scotland’s Islands. Don’t miss out, get in the car, get a train, get a bus, catch a ferry, take the plane….

Dennis Coutts, Sixties Exposure Exhibition

21 Jan 2012 – 4 Mar 2012, Shetland Mainland

There’s just time to catch this fascinating photographic exhibition. Dennis Coutts has been photographing Shetland’s society for over 60 years and his work is a fascinating catalogue of life throughout the Isles.

Work has been selected from the 1960’s and represents the pre-oil era. While life was very difficult then, these stunning photographs reflect a character of life in Shetland which is timeless and remains in many ways unchanged today.

Pop-Up Tour

1, 2, 17 Mar 2012, Mull, Iona and Skye (and many others)

Two comedy dramas about guys, friendship and camping…’Waterproof’ by Andy Duffy and ‘From Paisley to Paulo’ by Martin McCardie

Stornoway Amenity Trust Presents – Meeting of the Bands

2 – 3 Mar 2012, Lewis

This fantastic event is based around music, piping, singing and dancing! The St. Laurence O’ Toole Pipe Band will play in concert with the Lewis, Skye and Uist Pipe Bands, plus there’s lots more!

A Time to Keep

8, 9, 11, 15, 17 Mar 2012, Orkney, Fair Isle, Shetland & other locations

Lise Sinclair is a singer, songwriter and poet of Fair Isle, Britain’s most remote inhabited island, half way between Orkney and Shetland. Lise has written a series of new songs that dramatically bring out the stories and landscape of George Mackay Brown’s book ‘A Time to Keep’ and connect the past with the present and the Northern Isles with Iceland.

Breabach in Concert

16 Mar 2012, Skye

One of the most celebrated and successful Scottish folk bands in recent times, Breabach command the stage with flare, charisma and a sound that is as expansive as it is distinct.

Nominated as ‘ Best Group’ at both the 2011 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and the Scots Trad Music Awards simultaneously, it is little wonder that this band have a fast growing international reputation.

Barra’s Fair Trade Island Market

17 Mar 2012, Barra

If it weren’t for this great local market, why would you want to visit the only place in the UK with an “airport” on the beach? Oh yes, to meet the stars of BBC2’s “An Island Parish” of course. Held in Fair Trade Week, the headline competition at the market is all about biscuits and flapjacks. Yum!

Celtic Connections (Big Top)

23 – 24 Mar 2012, Skye

Celtic Connections – Glasgow’s internationally renowned folk, roots and world music festival – will stage a first-of-its-kind, two-day music festival on the Isle of Skye as a finale to the year of celebration. Taking place on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th March 2012 at the Broadford Airfield, the Big Top will feature a line-up of traditional music, show-stopping arts experiences and action-packed workshops on a local and international scale, showcasing local talent alongside top international artists.

Source: Scotland’s Islands