Shetland’s music has a global reputation and a proud history. The music scene continues to thrive, with opportunities to watch performances year-round. Here are some of the festivals, concerts and sessions to enjoy in 2025.
Think of Shetland music, and you may conjure a notion of fiddles and guitars playing traditional fast-moving reels. While the Shetland tradition remains a cornerstone of the local musical culture, there is much more than that.
From the high-tech studios at Lerwick Arts venue Mareel to sessions in country halls musicality runs deep, and there are abundant opportunities to listen to or play varied genres.
Informal music sessions are regularly held around Shetland with pubs, community centres, and community halls often hosting music nights or informal gatherings. And there are many concerts featuring a variety of genres at venues all over Shetland.
Visiting artists often play in Lerwick and at country halls in other parts of Shetland. If you’re visiting Shetland for a holiday and want to enjoy some music, it’s worth keeping an eye on the adverts and What’s On sections of the local media. You can also find details of gigs and other events from venues like Mareel, or follow social media pages such as Shetland Music Live.
Most weekends you will find musical entertainment somewhere in Shetland, and there’s always a chance you might just stumble across a session.
The list below focuses on some of the higher-profile events, which create an extra buzz around Shetland
The Shetland Folk Festival is held annually in late April or early May and unofficially kick-starts the spring for many people.
Organised entirely by volunteers, the festival has been going for 40-plus years and has attracted some big-name stars and many North American touring bands. Headline acts perform on the same bill as local bands, with shows held across Shetland in community halls and regular concert venues.
As well as the quality of its music, the folk festival is known for its lively atmosphere at the festival club. For festival weekend the Islesburgh Community Centre in Lerwick is taken over by music, dance, and revelry. If you love music, you must experience it to believe it!
The 2025 festival will be held 1-4 May, and tickets are available from early March – members have a week to get theirs before the general release.
Shetland Fiddle Week will run for its second year from 4 to 8 August 2025. Based in Lerwick and with visits to other areas of Shetland, it will again invite participants to immerse themselves in the musical culture of Shetland and its unique fiddle tradition. Students will be taught the tunes and techniques of the Shetland fiddle style by talented and experienced local tutors Kirsten Hendry, Lois Nicol and Alison Anderson.
These classes cater for intermediate to advanced students who already have some playing experience but are looking to learn and develop skills specific to the Shetland tradition. Acclaimed fiddler Jenna Reid, co-founder of Shetland Fiddle Week, will be teaching a group ensemble class. A mixed instrument class will be led by fiddler and guitarist Robbie Leask.
The week will include two concerts showcasing incredible local musical talent of the islands with the finale night including a traditional dance.
Sessions will once again run at Lerwick Boating Club on the town’s historic waterfront across the week, giving visiting students the chance to meet and play with local musicians.
You can be part of the week as a full-week student or day student or attend the concerts or sessions.
Rising North is another festival that burst onto the scene in 2024 and packed out venues with its selection of rock-led local bands. After being “overwhelmed by the public support and excitement for the festival” the volunteer organisers are working to make it “even better”.
As part of that effort, an extra night has been added at Lerwick’s biggest concert venue in the Clickimin Leisure Complex. This follows a sell-out gig at Clickimin in 2024.
And in another update to the format, there are expected to be off-island performers at the festival, joining the list of hugely talented local bands and performers.
The event was inspired by the 2023 visit of the Tall Ships Races to Lerwick. Along with dozens of sailing vessels and thousands of guests, the event included an outdoor stage and marquees in the town featuring loads of music. Rising North may not have reached that level yet, but the ambition is for Shetland’s rock festival to continue growing.
Each autumn, the Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Festival picks up the baton and fills venues around the isles with the sound of dance tunes. Like the folk festival, it attracts some of the best national talent to Shetland for the occasion and features many talented local musicians.
With such an incredible mix the festival has been described as the best of its kind anywhere in Scotland.
One of the highlights is the Grand Dance, which sees a large crowd taking to the floor, birling and jigging to music from 12 different dance bands.
The Accordion and Fiddle Festival also includes an annual tune competition, with new compositions put forward (entrants must be Shetland residents or have been born in Shetland).
If you’re a fan of traditional Scottish Dance, then this is the festival for you.
Shetland’s Hogmanay celebrations may not be as high-profile as those in Edinburgh, but we love an excuse for a party – and New Year’s Eve is a great opportunity for a musical gathering.
Celebrating the New Year in style at Mareel is a relatively new event, which in 2024 (into 2025) featured the vibrant sounds of Gemma Donald and Shetland Swing.
The performers for 31 December 2025 are yet to be announced, but past events have been packed with exceptional Shetland musicians, many of whom have moved away but returned to the islands for the holidays.
And with so many talented musicians to select from, there's always a great variety show. As well as live musical performances, the event also includes DJs in the bar, helping get people in the Hogmanay groove.
Enjoy an introduction to Shetland's incredible and varied music scene, and sit back and enjoy the Shetland Music Night.
Over a couple of hours, the film takes you on a musical odyssey to experience the wide range of genres performed regularly in Shetland. From trad to indie, via country and rock 'n' roll you're bound to hear something that you enjoy.
With interviews and performances it's the perfect introduction to music in Shetland.