The awards are one of the most prestigious events in the Scottish traditional music calendar – and fans are being given a chance from today to ensure their favourite acts are up for nomination for this year’s MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards.

The ceremony – set be hosted by Julie Fowlis, Mary Ann Kennedy and Tony Kearney – takes place on Saturday December 3 at Perth Concert Hall.

Those performing at the event include Peatbog Faeries, Skerryvore and Barbara Dickson, alongside budding musicians such as Kristen Harvey and the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland.

The awards celebrate the achievements of Scotland’s musicians and events across 19 categories, with 16 of these categories voted for by the public online – including Album of the Year, Composer of the Year, Event of the Year, Gaelic Singer of the Year and Up and Coming Artist of the Year.

Nominations for the shortlist will open today at www.handsupfortrad.co.uk/tradmusicawards and close on the 14th October – the full shortlist will be announced on Monday 31st October.

Event founder and promoter Simon Thoumire said: “This has been a particularly strong year for traditional music in Scotland so we’re excited to see the nominations as they pour in.

“As well as honouring some fantastic musicians, the event itself will once again be a fun packed night of performances from some of the stars of the scene and some incredible up and coming artists.”

Music fans can buy tickets for the ceremony from 01738 621 031 or by logging onto www.horsecross.co.uk.

The Scotsman Radar Prize is now open for applications. Last year’s submission window attracted over 100 entries with the top prize eventually going to Glasgow’s French Wives, with Highland duo Bronto Skylift finishing in second place. Entry is completely free and there are some great opportunities up for grabs, including a full day recording session at Chem 19, a video shoot, a global distribution package and exposure in The Scotsman.

Entries close on Wednesday 26 October and full submission details can be found here.

Music + is a mentoring scheme run by the Scottish Music Centre and supported by the Youth Music Initiative.

The aim of the project is to link young people 1:1 with music industry professionals who’ll offer guidance, encouragement, skills and knowledge across a range of industry roles from performance to event promotion.

How do I apply?

Online registration is now open for those who are;

• age 14-19
• living in Glasgow, Fife and The Highlands
• involved in making any kind of music
• interested in working in the music industry

For full details: www.musicplus.org.uk

Hit The Road is a project run by the Scottish Music Centre and supported by Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative that gives young performers between the age of 14 to 19 the opportunity to learn more about performing and touring across Scotland.

The aim of the project is to link young people with professional promoters, managers and personnel who will teach them the essential skills needed to take their music out of the practice room and onto the road!

The applicants selected for the project will take part in a series of exclusive workshops, seminars and information sessions before they put their new skills to the test in the real world of rehearsing and touring across Scotland.

Each tour will take three acts from across all genres on a tour that will last for a minimum of three days.

When & where?

The tour will take three acts on the road with each act taking the headline slot to their home town crowd. The first set of tours will be announced in September and will take place in the month of November.

Who Can Apply?

Online registration is now open for those who are:

• age 14-19
• living in Scotland
• involved in making any kind of music
• interested in learning and performing live to new audiences

Who Cannot Apply?

• Acts who have previous touring experience.
• Acts who are signed or associated with professional record, publishing or management.

For full details: www.hittheroad.org.uk

Watercolour Music are set to welcome top Swedish folk group Vasen and sublime Highland singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni for their latest House Concert on Sunday 18 September. Sermanni and her band will be accompanied by the exquisite voices of Glasgow’s Hidden Lane Choir to perform her ‘NewVoices’ commission from the prestigious Celtic Connections Festival earlier this year. Space is limited for what promises to be a great night so booking is essential.

Sunday 18th September @ 3pm

Entry is by £10 donation, under 16s £5

Booking: 01855-841320 or mak@watercolourmusic.co.uk

This investment stand is specifically aimed at supporting the Training and Continuing Professional Development of individuals and organisations working with children and young people in the informal sector (supervised music making outside a mainstream education setting). The Scottish Music Centre is now administering this fund on behalf of YMI and full guidelines and submission details can be found here.

The Summer Showcase series comes to a close at Ironworks this Thursday with a bill featuring The LED, Count Clockwork and the debut live outing for 15 year old DJ Liam Macleod. Throughout the summer, a diverse, cross-genre  selection of emerging acts from throughout the region  have performed including PAWS, Iain Mclaughlin & The Outsiders, Kobi, The Little Mill Of Happiness, The Whisky River Band, Zombie Militia, Megan Blyth, The Ball Deep and many more.

‘We are delighted to have supported this year’s Ironworks Summer Showcase’, said HAIL Music Project Manager Shaun Arnold. ‘Across the seven week programme, we have really experienced the sheer quality and range of the current contemporary music scene in Highlands and Islands’.

Tickets for the final showcase are priced at £3 and are available here.

Following a fantastic date at The Wickerman Festival, the goNORTH Festival Tour is set to bring an exciting, cross-genre selection of emerging artists to one of the finest independent festivals in the country. The goNORTH Seedlings Stage at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival will feature some of the best new bands from throughout the Highlands and Islands alongside a selection of top emerging bands from the rest of the UK and beyond.

‘Belladrum is a fantastic platform for new bands and year on year delivers a diverse, highly inventive festival experience‘, said goNORTH Director Shaun Arnold. ‘The wider line up again looks excellent and it’s a real privilege to be programming the dedicated new music stage for 2011.’

‘We are delighted to be deepening our involvement still further with GoNorth this year, in that they have booked the majority of the acts on the goNORTH Seedlings Stage’, added Festival Booker Joe Gibbs. ‘The acts that they have programmed are the cream of local, Scottish and wider UK talent and we look forward to them playing in front of the Bella audience, one of the best audiences in the world.’

The goNORTH Seedlings Stage 2011

Friday August 5
Capitals, The River 68’s, Kid Canaveral, Homework, The Boosts, Chasing Owls, Lightguides, Storey Books, Native Roses, St Leonards, PAWS

Saturday August 6
The Leonard Jones Potential, Be Like Pablo, Aerials Up, Endor, Kobi, Parmaviolets, Boycotts, Always The Sixth, The Little Mill Of Happiness, Carnivores,The Whisky River Band

A new songwriting competition, ‘Songs for Social Justice Award’, is being launched by Celtic Connections and the Alistair Hulett Memorial Trust.

Alistair was a songwriter, singer and campaigner for social justice who died in January 2009 and this competition follows the sell out tribute concert at Celtic Connections in January this year with Dick Gaughan, Roy Bailey, Karine Polwart and many others.

The competition is open to songwriters and musicians from across the UK and is for songs that promote equality and social justice. The judges include Peggy Seeger, Roy Bailey and Karine Polwart. The winners of the award will perform at the 2012 Alistair Hulett Tribute Concert at Celtic Connections and receive a cash prize.

Entries should be on a CD with an accompanying lyrics sheet and should be sent to The Alistair Hulett Memorial Trust, 19 Millar Grove, Hamilton, ML3 9BF. The closing date for entries is 26 October.

For more information email alistair.hulett@googlemail.com or phone 0141 429 5276