A Warm Welcome From The Scottish Bluegrass Association

The Scottish Bluegrass Association gives you a warm welcome. The Association was set up to promote and develop Bluegrass and Old Time music. Our roots music has made the long journey home to Scotland. We have pledged  to honour Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, The Stanley Brothers and all  of the first generation pioneers by making their music heard in Festivals, Concerts, and picking sessions throughout Scotland.

We have as a showcase, the annual Guildtown Bluegrass Music festival in August, the Bluegrass Picker's weekend in the spring along with concerts and jam sessions in Edinburgh, Perth and Glasgow throughout the year. Bluegrass Music is being featured regularly at Scottish Folk Music Festivals and is being heard on the Radio and reviewed in the Media. With support from The Scottish Arts Council 'Awards for All' funding the Association has established a 'Bluegrass in the Schools Programme',  Bluegrass master classes, a Bluegrass Academy and a host of development projects.

Traditional Bluegrass music - the 'High Lonesome Sound', was influenced by the Scottish music heritage and its transportation in previous centuries by the Scots-Irish to the new world and Appalachia. The Celtic connections to Bluegrass and Old Time music are strong  with its collection of ballads, fiddle tunes and songs of love, lament and work which feature amongst a wide variety of everyday subjects.

The Association recognises contemporary developments in composition and instrumentation. The driving, ringing rhythms and breaks of mandolin, fiddle, 5-string banjo, double bass and guitar, share centre stage with the contributions of the dobro resophonic slide guitar and the flat-picked guitar. The Association celebrates this world roots music of drive, excitement, high emotion and commitment. Bluegrass has made its long journey back to it's ancestral homeland. We offer a celebration of the 'Long Journey Home' of the 'High Lonesome Sound' that is Bluegrass music.

(Click on the picture of Bill Monroe the 'father' of Bluegrass to hear the classic high lonesome sound)