Glasgow Gets Major New Festival With Launch Of The Reeling

The prayers of Glasgow audiences with an appetite for Scottish music have been answered, with the launch of a major new summertime festival in the city, The Reeling.

Rouken Glen Park will burst to life with traditional Scottish and roots music from some of the country's most exciting artists on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th June 2023, for what will be the biggest single weekend of traditional music in the Central Belt.

The Reeling is the brainchild of Glasgow-based music promoter Michael Pellegrotti, who is one of the co-directors behind the incredibly successful Skye Live Festival.

This new 5,000-capacity festival in Glasgow's south side, which will be a celebration of Scottish culture, creativity and community, has made a strong commitment to deliver a first-class, professionally-run visitor experience for audiences from the get go, as well as putting a laser focus on sustainability, championing a fair working environment for event staff, and committing to a gender-balanced line up from its first year.

With the word 'reeling' derived from much-loved Scottish dances and tunes, the aptly named festival is guaranteed to be an almighty knees-up, both on and off the stage, thanks to the likes of Scottish favourites Skerryvore, who will close the festival on Sunday night, and inimitable party starters Peatbog Fairies, who will close The Reeling on Saturday.

The opening day also sees a raft of thriving Scottish talent grace the outdoor stage including Folk Band of the Year Breabach, Gaelic supergroup Dàimh, trad four-piece Fras, highly sought-after folk act RURA, Gaelic vocal harmony trio Sian, the groundbreaking and genre-defying trio Talisk and electro-trad duo Valtos.

On Sunday Skerryvore will be joined by a cast of much-loved acts in the form of Scotland's most celebrated fiddle band Blazin' Fiddles, Hebrides powerhouse Eabhal, Stornoway electro-Celtic band Face The West, energetic trad act Heron Valley, festival favourites Hò-Rò, Scots singer Iona Fyfe and beloved folk singer Siobhan Miller.

As well as a performance-packed outdoor main stage, the tree-lined Rouken Glen Park site will be home to some unique dining experiences and other activities that will make The Reeling a truly memorable summer day out for music fans of all ages.

The Reeling Festival Director Michael Pellegrotti said: "Despite being home to so many fantastic roots musicians, Glasgow has been longing for a summertime celebration of Scottish traditional and folk music. We believe it's time to change that - The Reeling is just the event that the city has been crying out for.

"Our aim with The Reeling is to foster a feeling of community and creativity in everything we do. We want to create a unique wee escape in the heart of Glasgow and deliver an event that allows everyone to get together, have a great time outdoors in the summer and soak up music from some of our favourite Scottish artists. It's also incredibly important to us that we support Scotland's indigenous languages with a strong presence of Scots and Gaelic.

"I'm proud to have an incredibly talented and experienced team behind the scenes who will help make this the very best festival to attend. We can't wait to welcome trad and Scottish music fans from across Glasgow and beyond for a right good reel at Rouken Glen this June."

Ellen MacDonald of Sian and Dàimh said: "It's a joy to be joining such an incredible group of musicians on the line up for this exciting new festival. To see such a strong representation of females on the Scottish music scene is particularly heartening. The Reeling is definitely a festival that both musicians and audiences can get excited about, and we can't wait to be a part of it."

Martin Gillespie of Skerryvore said: "We couldn't be happier to be a part of the first ever The Reeling. That there is such demand for a festival like this in Glasgow shows the strength of the Scottish folk music scene at the moment - it's a joy to see, and we can't wait to bring the party to Rouken Glen Park this summer!"

The Reeling will take place at Rouken Glen Park on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th June.

Both day and weekend tickets will be available via an exclusive pre-sale to The Reeling mailing list subscribers from 9am on Friday 10 February, with tickets on general sale from 9am on Saturday 11 February.

Weekend tickets will be available at an exclusive price until 9 March. Sign up at thereeling.com.

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