HippFest on Tour
Touring in 2025 - The Rugged Island: A Shetland Lyric
We are over the moon that our 2024 Commission The Rugged Island: A Shetland Lyric (1933) with live musical accompaniment from Inge Thomson and Catriona Macdonald will tour across Scotland in 2025. Catch this extraordinary presentation at:
- 19 September - Sea Change Festival, Tiree
- 26 September - ARC, Glasgow
- 27 September - Mareel, Lerwick
- 23 October - Eden Court, Inverness
- 24 October - An Lanntair, Stornoway (plus Wave Waulking)
A new accompaniment for The Rugged Island: A Shetland Lyric was commissioned with funding from Creative Scotland and premiered at the 14th edition of HippFest (20 March 2024). This undisputed hit of the 2024 programme is now available to book for touring to venues across Scotland. An extraordinary film from the National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive directed by Jenny Gilbertson, The Rugged Island is a beautiful ‘story documentary’ made by pioneering Scottish filmmaker Jenny Gilbertson showing life, love and work in Shetland’s rural crofting communities.
Presented with a live performance of newly commissioned music HippFest commissioned one of Scotland’s most in-demand composer producers Inge Thomson to create a new live score for this remarkable film. The premiere met rapturous response and requests for further performances. Thomson, herself from one of Scotland’s most remote crofting communities, brought in multi-award-winning Shetland fiddler Catriona Macdonald, and between them they make a soundtrack both ancient and modern. The perfect foil to Gilbertson’s feminal work. Download the tour package here.
Photo credit: Kat Gollock
HippFest regularly commissions new music to accompany silent films in our festival programme and for touring. If you are interested in arranging a presentation of one of our HippFest commissions please contact us: hippfest@falkirk.gov.uk.
