Dalriada Connections

Born out of the vibrant Glasgow traditional music scene, unite the kindred Celtic traditions of Scotland, Ireland, Northumbria and the Isle of Man. 

Their trademark sound is dynamic, driven and distinctive and celebrates the band’s roots in tradition, whilst showcasing a contemporary, cross-genre flare. Their tight-knit arrangements blend traditional melodies and self-penned tunes and songs to produce an exciting take on folk music. 

The impressive line-up features 6 young musicians at the forefront of Glasgow’s traditional music scene.   

The infectious energy from their live performances has captivated audiences across Scotland and beyond. 

Their debut album ‘A Drop for Neptune’, was nominated for ‘Best Album of the Year’ at the Scots Trad Music Awards and their continued success has also garnered a nomination for ‘Folk Band of the Year’.

This fantastic vocal, guitar and accordion duo have played at the festival since it’s debut year in 1993.  They have performed at every concert and stage over the years including headlining the legendary Survivors Night with the Wee Toon Tellers for many years. 

This is the first time Davie and Alex will perform as a duo on the main stage and we can’t wait to hear their set of songs and tunes from their vast repertoire. 

Lorne MacDougall is one of Scotland’s leading innovative traditional musicians performing on a range of bagpipes and whistles. Recent times have seen him achieve an MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards Instrumentalist of the Year Nomination and previously placed 3 times in the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year Final. He has an Honours Degree in Scottish Music specialising in Bagpipes. 

He is known for seamlessly integrating his sounds into soundtracks with highlighted credits ranging from movies like Disney Pixar’s Brave, DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon series and one of the mass bagpipers who recorded for the 2021 movie Dune for Hans Zimmer to television shows like Doctor Who and Thunderbirds Are Go. 

A long time friend of the MOK Fest, Scooter first performed at the main concert in 2002 with his band Full Moon Ensemble,  Scooter who was 7 times Tennessee Valley Blue Grass Champion and 3 times Alabama State Champion on five string banjo has returned many times over the years since then and has performing at most of the festival concerts over the years. 

Ciaran Mulholland has been coming over from Northern Ireland to play fiddle and sing as a solo artist and with Ceólta.  Ciaran has been tutor at the MOK Fest Workshops in Campbeltown Grammar School and helped create the MOK Fest links to the Glens of Antrim Comhaltas. 

This year Ciaran will not only perform as he will MC and give us a few stories as well. 

Over the past years Ross has performed with Ceann Tir at the Traditional Concert supporting Dougie MacLean as well as performing for the past five years at the Dalriada Connections concert as a solo artists and with his 3 piece band.  In 2020 Ross recorded 5 promotional tracks for the Virtual MOK Fest at Kilkerran, Glen Scotia and Beinn an Tuirc Distilleries. 

Ross has now become a regular at the MOK Fest having also performed with the Dalriada Connections Band at the Festival Ceilidh night from the age of 14.