Scots Trad Music Awards winners announced

Musicians at the Martyn Bennett memorial concert at Celtic Connections. Picture: TSPL

More than 80 of the nation’s leading folk, jazz and classical musicians and singers were involved in a live recreation of Bennett’s final landmark album - released less than two years before he lost his battle with cancer at the age of just 33.

Composer and violinist Greg Lawson, a long-time friend of Bennett’s, spent several years working on the show, which opened this year’s Celtic Connections music festival and has now been honoured at the 13th annual Scots Trad Music Awards event, which was held in Dundee.

Lawson revealed there were plans afoot to take the live version of Grit out on the road in future, as well as tackle some of Bennett’s other work.

The late musician, Martyn Bennett. Picture: Contributed

The Treacherous Orchestra, one of the modern-day bands to cite Bennett as a major influence, were honoured for their latest work, Grind, which had also been a contender for Scottish Album of the Year earlier this year.

The Perthshire-born piper and whistle-player Ross Ainslie, who is also a member of The Treacherous Orchestra, was named composer of the year.

Martyn Bennett, who emerged from the mid-1990s music scene in Edinburgh to become one of the country’s hottest musical acts, was forced to give up performing in 2000 at the height of his fame after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

However he continued to make music and his final album, Grit, released on Peter Gabriel’s record label, is widely regarded as his master-work, for the way that he married little-known recordings of traditional songs from the 1950s-1970s and married them with his trademark beats and samples.

The TV broadcast of the Celtic Connections show was in contention for last month’s Scottish BAFTAs after being shortlisted for best entertainment programme, but lost out to Mrs Brown’s Boys.

It is the second year in a row that Bennett’s legacy has been honoured at the event, which was live-streamed around the world for the first time.

Theatre-maker Cora Bissett won best event at the “Trad Awards” ceremony 12 months ago for a stage show about Bennett’s life and legacy, featuring drama, dance and acrobatics, which was created in collaboration with his friends and family.

Performed in Glasgow and Mull, where Bennett lived in his later years, Bissett’s show - which was set to some of his best-known music - was a signature event in the cultural programme for the Commonwealth Games.

Bennett - born in Canada but brought up in the Highlands from the age of six by his folk-singer mother Margaret - was the first traditional musician to win a place at the City of Edinburgh Music School at Broughton High.

He would go on to become one of Scotland’s leading live performers, reguarly appearing at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations and festivals like Celtic Connections and T in the Park.

Lawson, who befriended Bennett when the latter was 16 and had been hired to play as a session musician with the Scottish Ensemble, told the audience at the Caird Hall that he was hoping to reunite his Grit orchestra for further events, including staging a live version of another Bennett album, Bothy Culture.

Lawson said: “An award like this means an awful lot, because in creating that orchestra one of the things that occurred to me was that it is made now, you cannot do it.

“It was an incredible celebration of how different music styles can come together. What you find is that there are far more similarities than differences between all of us who represent all the different accents that speak for music.

“We hope to carry that orchestra on. An award like this really shows that people care.

“We can now look for more performances for Grit, start writing Bothy Culture and take on Martyn Bennett’s embryonic concept of creating a landscape of music which goes beyond borders and just brings in everyone together.”

Other big winners at the Scots Trad Music Awards, which were broadcast on BBC Alba and streamed online around the world, included best live act Rura, who will be playing at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay street party this month.

The West Highland outfit Daimh were named best folk band, while The League of Highland Gentlemen scooped the coveted prize for best up-and-coming artist.

Skye-based promoters SEALL won the venue of the year award for its programme of events at the island’s Gaelic college.

Fiona Hunter - who performs with the long-running Edinburgh folk band Malinky - was named Scots singer of the year, while the tutor of the year award went to Dumfriessire-born singer and musician Jenn Butterworth.

Awards founder Simon Thoumire praised Dundee City Council and the Caird Hall for their backing for the event as he revealed it would be returning there in 2016.

He added: “Year upon year, we see some of the best talent in the world come to these awards and we are humbled to see our 13th year one of the biggest and best yet, with support from the public and acts continuing to grow.”

Scottish culture secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “It was great to see Scotland’s traditional music being celebrated along with Gaelic language and culture at the Scots Trad Music Awards, and to know that the event was broadcast worldwide, bringing Scotland’s traditional music to a global audience.”

FULL LIST OF SCOTS TRAD MUSIC AWARDS WINNERS

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Grind, Treacherous Orchestra

CLUB OF THE YEAR

Orkney Accordion and Fiddle Club

COMPOSER OF THE YEAR

Ross Ainslie

COMMUNITY PROJECT OF THE YEAR

Live Music Now Scotland

EVENT OF THE YEAR

Grit, Celtic Connections opening concert

GAELIC SINGER OF THE YEAR

Griogair Labhruidh

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR

Mairi Campbell

LIVE ACT OF THE YEAR

Rura

SCOTS SINGER OF THE YEAR

Fiona Hunter

SCOTTISH DANCE BAND OF THE YEAR

Simon Howie Band

SCOTTISH FOLK BAND OF THE YEAR

Daimh

SCOTTISH PIPE BAND OF THE YEAR

Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band

TRAD MUSIC IN THE MEDIA

Port, BBC ALBA

MUSIC TUTOR OF THE YEAR

Jenn Butterworth

UP-AND-COMING ARTIST OF THE YEAR

League of Highland Gentlemen

VENUE OF THE YEAR

SEALL at Sabhal Mor Ostaig