NORTHERN STREAMS - FESTIVAL OF NORDIC & SCOTTISH MUSIC, SONG & DANCE
Fri 17 - Sun 19 April
Scottish Storytelling Centre, Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH1 1SR
Exploring the very early historical to modern interactions between Celtic & Nordic cultures will feature in the Northern Streams Festival of Nordic & Scottish Music, Song & Dance 2026 taking place this month.
Concerts, workshops (including a Family friendly one), a Concert Lecture, ceilidh and session will feature repertoire from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Scotland and Pirates in our 21st year!
The following artists are appearing on the Festival programme:
§ Cuan a Tuath: Kristina Leesik & Séamus Ó’Baoighill (Fiddle, Song & Pipes) + Chris Amer (Guitar) – Sweden/Scotland Glasgow based band drawing influence from the Nordic and Scottish traditional styles, mixing old Swedish songs & polskas, with Highland Strathspeys and Reels. Winners of a Danny Kyle award at Celtic Connections 2025.
§ Outi Karhu & Glasgow’n Laulu Finnish Women’s Choir (Song, Piano) – (Finland/Scotland). Outi is a Finnish singer and pianist, whose restless feet and a curious heart led her to Scotland. Her debut album, Let the Light In, was released in late 2025. She leads the Glasgow’n Laulu Finnish Women’s Choir who have been singing together for over 10 years.
§ Christine Kammerer (Song, Story, Lyre) – Denmark Celebrated for her fusion of Nordic & Celtic folk music, Christine also specialises in early music/Viking Age music,, she is presenting a performance & concert lecture of material researched for a sold out event, bringing to life ancient Celtic & Nordic music at a Danish museum, earlier this year.
§ Joss Cameron & Amy Dudley (Song, Story & Piano) – Scotland Local traditional singer, Joss Cameron teams up with Amy to present songs of the sea, fisherfolk and other themes with haunting melodies and audience participation – a celebration of our heritage.
Outline Festival Programme
All events take place at Scottish Storytelling Centre, Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH1 1SR
Friday 17 April
A meeting of Celtic & Nordic music – Evening Concert, 7.00-9.30pm featuring:
- Christine Kammerer (Song, Lyre, Piano) - Denmark
- Cuan a Tuath – Kristina Leesik (fiddle/Song) & Séamus Ó’Baoighill (Fiddle/Pipes) with Chris Amer (Guitar) – Sweden/Scotland
Saturday 18 April
Workshops:
10.30 – 11.30am Joss Cameron Pirates, stories and songs of the high seas – Family Workshop
Join Joss for a sea-faring workshop bringing maritime history & songs to life, with her expertise in maritime history, sea shanties and storytelling. Joss welcomes all sailors and explorers to join in!
12.00pm – 1.30pm Séamus Ó’Baoighill from Cuan a Tuath Highland fiddle & pipe tunes
From the Isle of Skye, Séamus has been playing Scottish Traditional Music from a young age on fiddle and pipes. He will share some of his favourite tunes in this workshop.
12.00pm – 1.30pm Kristina Leesik from Cuan a Tuath Swedish Songs
Kristina is a "Riksspelman" (national folk musician) of tunes from Södermanland in Sweden. In this workshop you will explore a variety of songs from Kristina’s Swedish repertoire. No prior knowledge of the Swedish language is required!
2.00 – 3.30pm Finnish Songs with Outi Karhu & Glasgow’n Laulu Finnish Women’s Choir
Outi Karhu is a Finnish singer and pianist, whose restless feet and a curious heart led her to Scotland. Her debut album, Let the Light In, was released in late 2025. She leads the Glasgow’n Laulu Finnish Women’s Choir – In this workshop Outi says “we will be using our voices to connect with each other and the world, and exploring Finnish singing style, song and harmony utilising fun vocal exercises and the call and response format”.
2.00 – 3.30pm Kristina Leesik Swedish Tunes
Kristina is a "Riksspelman" (national folk musician) of tunes from Södermanland in Sweden. In this workshop you'll be learning tunes from Kristina's repertoire, with focus on Swedish fiddle techniques and groove.
3.45 – 5.15pm Christine Kammerer Concert Lecture/Workshop: A shared soundscape of an ancient Celtic World: where Celtic and Nordic music meet Using her voice and lyre, Christine brings history to life within a soundscape where Nordic and Celtic Music meet, in the process articulating the deep connections between Nordic and Celtic Music, rooted Europe’s oldest musical traditions. Includes a small element of audience interaction.
Songs, Tunes & Dance Evening Concert & Ceilidh, 7.00-10.30pm featuring:
A first part with: Outi Karhu & Glasgow’n Laulu Finnish Women’s Choir, and a longer second Ceilidh with Joss Cameron & Amy Dudley (Song & Piano) leading on songs and Kristina Leesik & Séamus Ó’Baoighill from Cuan a Tuath playing for dances being ‘called’/taught from Scotland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
Sunday 20 April
Open Music & Song Session 2.00 - 5.00pm – Storytelling Court FREE entry
Round off the festival by playing, singing, maybe dancing or simply enjoying great music made together. Free entry *! (*NB: If venue capacity is reached we may have to restrict entry. Donations are welcome to help cover the room hire costs)
Tickets & booking information
Tickets are being sold by our venue, The Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH1 1SR for us. There is a booking fee of £1.50 per transaction (not per ticket) for online www.scottishstorytellingcentre.com (search for Northern Streams) and phone bookings 0131 556 9579. In person sales at the Box Office do not attract a booking fee. You can also use the direct links on the Tickets page of the Northern Streams website https://northernstreams.org/tickets/
Prices: Concerts £14/£12/£10 each; Workshops £10/£8/£6 each (Full price / Concession / Under 18)
Concessions are TMSA Members; Over 60; Student; In receipt of income benefits; u26s/Young Scot Card; under 18s*; d/Deaf and disabled people (plus a carer is free) and Arts Workers. Please contact the SSC if have any difficultly adding a carer to your online booking.
Please note that we may ask for evidence of the concession at the time of booking or venue.
Children under 18 attending must be accompanied by a ticket holding parent/guardian or equivalent.
More event details are at: www.northernstreams.org