The Linlithgow Folk Festival Association is grateful to West Lothian Council for all that it does and has done to promote music in the county, and in being one of the few local authorities to provide free tuition for school pupils. Their support for orchestras, ensembles, bands and groups can be seen in regular successes in festivals and competitions, and in the many happy young performers.

We are however very concerned that West Lothian Council intends to stop all tuition for string and percussion instruments, and close down all the related orchestras and groups.

This includes the West Lothian Folk Group under the direction of Norrie Maciver, lead singer with Skipinnish, who are performing in Linlithgow in June, as part of the celebrations marking 20 years of the Linlithgow Folk Festival. It also includes Linlithgow and Bathgate school orchestras, the Linlithgow and Bathgate Junior Strings and the Sinfonia.

We understand the difficult financial pressures on the council, and that no service can be immune from the need to find savings. However, it is unacceptable to select one or two music disciplines and remove all provision for them while others remain unaffected. Sacrificing over 550 young people to keep tuition free for the remainder is wrong.

This will have a devastating impact on them, especially those who are already committed to SQA exams in Music in those instruments. For a great many of them, music is not a hobby. Music is their life.

Parents and carers are asking to be able to pay a fee to keep tuition going, as happens in most other local authorities in Scotland.

We call upon West Lothian Council to put a hold on the planned cut and consult with parents on a model for the Instrumental Music Service based on fairness, and on alternative sources of funding including charging families who can afford it. This would mean everyone can keep doing what they love.

In our 20th year, we ask a very important question - What would traditional music be without fiddles and percussion?

We are delighted to announce that our tribute to the late great Matt McGinn has been re-arranged for Saturday 28th April.

Tickets issued for the cancelled event on 3rd March WILL BE VALID for the 28th April performance.

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Licensed bar.  Please note this is NOT a BYOB event.  Bar opens at 6.30pm / Doors open at 7.00pm.

We're sorry to announce that West Lothian Leisure has cancelled all school lets for this weekend, including for the Matt McGinn night on Saturday in Linlithgow Academy.

The Folk Festival Association hopes to re-schedule this event - watch this space for updates. All ticket holders should retain their tickets which will be valid for the rescheduled event.

Linlithgow Honours Scotland's "King of Folk"
Keep Matt McGinn Singing!

Forty one years after his tragic death in 1977, Folk music fans will pay tribute to the memory of the late great Matt McGinn at an evening of songs and music in the Linlithgow Academy Theatre on Saturday 3rd March 2018.

The Glasgow singer, songwriter, poet and raconteur was Scotland’s undisputed “King of Folk” in the 1960s and 70s. The rare talents of Matt McGinn made him a household name in Scotland and in Folk circles throughout the world. In 1962 he sang in a concert in New York's Carnegie Hall with Pete Seeger and a young Bob Dylan.

Matt went on to be regarded as one of Britain’s most powerful songwriters and became one of Scotland’s leading folksingers of his time. He died in 1977 at the age of only 49, but left some 500 songs, many of which, such as the Red Yo-Yo and Coorie Doon have become classics.

In recent years, Linlithgow Folk Festival Association has played a pivotal role in reviving Matt McGinn's work  and presenting it in an innovative and entertaining way. Previous tribute nights in the town have played to packed houses.  The 2018 event promises to be bigger and better than ever, with singers and musicians of all ages from throughout central Scotland interpreting their favourite Matt McGinn material.

The Matt McGinn Night is a major fundraiser for the Linlithgow Folk Festival and all entertainers give their services free as a gesture of support. Proceeds from the show are used at the Festival to organise an outdoor music initiative at Linlithgow Cross - THE NORA DEVINE STAGE - which gives budding artistes the opportunity to perform at the very heart of the Festival.

For many years, the late Nora Devine ran the famous Linlithgow Folk Club and brought Matt McGinn to the town on several occasions.

Licensed bar.  Please note this is NOT a BYOB event.  Bar opens at 6.30pm / Doors open at 7.00pm.

Some tickets, priced £12 each, are still availabe from the the Linlthgow Folk festival Association - contact Robert on 01506 848295 for availability.