STORNOWAY musical sensations Peat & Diesel have been unveiled as the second main headliner for this summer’s Tall Ships Races in Lerwick.
The trio have taken the music world by storm in recent years, headlining Belladrum Festival last summer, and are preparing for their biggest live shows to date in 2023.
Peat & Diesel will headline the 5,000-capacity temporary arena at Holmsgarth Pier in Lerwick on Friday 28 July.
Fellow Scottish high-flyers Tide Lines were previously announced as the headline act for Thursday 27 July, with tickets for both events due to go on sale in early May.
The bill for the free-entry opening night, on Wednesday 26 July, will be topped by the Peatbog Faeries.
The fourth and final headliner for the closing night, Saturday 29 July, will be confirmed along with the remainder of the programme in April.
Peat & Diesel are a three-piece made up of frontman and guitarist Calum ‘Boydie’ MacLeod, accordionist Innes Scott and drummer Uilly Macleod.
The band came together over informal sessions at one another’s houses, rapidly building a social media following, and soon found themselves selling out Glasgow’s iconic Barrowlands in a single day.
Having won live act of the year at the 2019 Scottish Trad Awards they clocked up thousands of ticket sales across their debut tour in January 2020, coinciding with the release of their second album ‘Light My Byre’.
A busy festival season, alongside major headline shows of their own, beckons for the band who have also started work on their highly anticipated third studio album.
Their music has also been brought to a global audience after featuring on the soundtrack to Disney+ TV series ‘Extraordinary’.
Shetland Tall Ships Ltd music coordinator Tim Matthew said: “I’m very excited about bringing Peat & Diesel to Shetland.
“A lot of people have been wanting to see them here for a long time. This is a great opportunity to make it happen and I’m sure they will give the Tall Ships audience a tremendous show.”
The four-day music programme, featuring over 50 different acts, will offer a platform for Shetland’s own plethora of musical talents.
Daytime entry to the main stage will be free every day, and Tim has put together a succession of rock-oriented afternoon line-ups.
There will also be a showcase for many of the young musicians who have performed regularly at monthly events in Mareel organised and curated by Lisa Johnson.
“It’s really exciting being able to provide a platform of this scale for young performers who are working so hard honing their performance skills,” Tim said.
Audiences will also be able to enjoy new material from harmonious Americana-leaning locals Laeverick and – fresh from entertaining a sold-out audience at Celtic Connections – folk quartet Herkja.
They are among over 30 local acts scheduled to perform at Victoria Pier over the course of the four-day event.
Dance music fans will enjoy an eclectic range of DJ nights at Mareel, with the ever-popular Electric Soup and Basement Monkeys among the DJs joining the previously announced Dolphin Boy and Roberta Pia on the line-up.
- Tickets to see headliners Tide Lines and Peat & Diesel during Tall Ships Lerwick are due to go on sale in May, with further details to be announced nearer the time.