HebCelt 2023 bill unveiled with a line-up of Scottish talent to perform on Isle of Lewis

The line-up for next year’s HebCelt festival has been announced, with iconic duo The Proclaimers headlining the main stage.

They will be joined by more than 35 artists performing across two stages over the course of the weekend at the event on the Isle of Lewis.

The festival, which was recently crowned Event of the Year for the third time at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, will take place between July 12 and 15, 2023 at the Stornoway harbourside location, under the shadow of Lews Castle.

The festival’s 26th edition boasts a line-up of musical talent from Scotland and across the UK.

Thursday will see Isle of Lewis country music band The Tumbling Souls and award-winning folk singer Siobhan Miller take to the main stage, with all-female folk quartet Fara headlining the Islands Stage.

On Friday, multi-award-winning power trio Talisk will entertain audiences on the main stage, while the Islands Stage will feature trad fusion band DLÙ, 2021’s Gaelic Singer of the Year Kim Carnie and neo-trad trio Project Smok.

On Saturday, The Proclaimers will headline the Main Stage, with five-piece folk group The Paul McKenna Band, the critically acclaimed Kinnaris Quintet and electronic celtic fusion outfit Niteworks also set to put on an incredible show for thousands of festival goers.

The line-up on the Islands Stage includes BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2018 Hannah Rarity, The Langan Band and The Trials of Cato.

The festival will also see the return of its fringe programme, bringing family-friendly activities to the streets and venues of Stornoway.

Local audiences and fans from across the globe are expected to flock to the event which generated a £4.2m boost to the Lewis economy this year and saw early bird tickets sell out in record time.

HebCelt festival director, Graham MacCallum, said: “It feels fantastic to unveil such an exciting line-up – we’ve packed it full of the very brightest stars from the Scottish music scene and beyond. The Proclaimers will be a spectacular headline act that we know will put a huge smile on our audience’s faces and have them singing and dancing all night long. We’re looking forward to making this the best HebCelt yet and can’t wait to welcome music lovers to the Hebrides for this special event in July.”

Charlie and Craig Reid of The Proclaimers said: “We are delighted to be coming back to Stornoway and Hebcelt for the first time in ten years. It is a unique festival and one that all musicians look forward to playing.”