Creative Scotland will showcase Scottish folk and acoustic music talent to an audience of industry professionals tonight at an event to celebrate and promote Scotland’s musical talent during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Over 100 guests are expected to attend the event which will feature performances from Rachel Sermanni, Lau and Manran. The showcase is part of a series of events hosted by Creative Scotland and its public sector partners at Scotland House

Caroline Parkinson, Director of Creative Development at Creative Scotland, said;

“Scotland House and the Olympic Games present an important platform to showcase the wealth of talent that Scotland has to offer to key industry professionals in London during the London Olympic Games, in this the Year of Creative Scotland 2012.

“Scotland boasts professional strengths across all genres of music – with many well known musicians enjoying national success and international acclaim. Scotland‘s music sector generates an annual turnover of £10 million in Scotland and our traditional music is celebrated and enjoyed across the world.”

Creative Scotland’s Scotland House programme has already seen performances from Scotland’s Makar (national poet) Liz Lochhead; young traditional musicians from Feis Rois; and a Scotland Re:Designed Fashion Showcase to packed audiences.

Key London industry contacts from education, media, designer development and manufacturing support bodies attendedthe stylish fashion show. Caroline Parkinson, Director of Creative Development said of the showcase:

“Scotland’s textiles industry supports over 7,000 jobs in Scotland and generates an annual turnover of £678 million. Showcasing 10 of our top fashion and textile designers in London is a brilliant opportunity to get that talent more widely known.”

“Our presence in London has been an important way for us to shout about our creative talent and has presented an opportunity for our creative talent to develop new relationships with London and international contacts that we hope will have a lasting impact to their development and Scotland’s cultural economy.

The Scottish Music showcase will feature:

One of Scotland’s rising young stars Rachel Sermanni. Rachel will be appearing on the BBC Introducing stage at this year’s Leeds and Reading Festivals and is getting set to perform in Norway, Germany and Paris.

Scottish folk band Lau who has been crowned the ‘Best Group’ at the BBC radio two folk awards for three consecutive years. Their new album ‘Race The Loser’ which was recorded with American producer Tucker Martine (Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, R.E.M., Laura Veirs) is set to be releases on Reveal Records October 1st and will be followed by a tour in Autumn 2012. Further information is here: http://www.lau-music.co.uk/about/index.php

Mànran have quite literally rocketed to the top of the Scottish music scene with their powerful combination of Gaelic/English songs underpinned by driving Accordion, Fiddle, Flute and a backline of drum and bass to make any mouth water.

Source: Creative Scotland