By Isla Scott
Last December, I had the brilliant opportunity of taking part in Hit The Road, a touring project for young musicians across Scotland. The idea behind it is you headline a home gig, then support the other acts in their home towns. Well, usually you do.
Unfortunately, plans for my Thursday night headline gig in Talla na Mara took an unexpected turn for the worst, when the Loch Seaforth was turned back at the last minute, leaving the tour managers and other artists aboard for six hours and eventually ending up back in Ullapool. Meanwhile, I'm in Harris getting set up for the gig as I had no news of the disruption until later in the afternoon.
Despite the disappointment, I gathered myself, packed a bag, and caught a flight to Inverness that evening, where the tour manager was able to arrange a spontaneous gig.
We all had aspects of our music which differentiated us. My set included covers of popular songs I enjoy, some Gaelic trad songs, and a couple of originals. It was interesting to hear different styles of writing, instrumentation, and interpretations of different topics. I can definitely see their music influencing mine as I look to broaden my repertoire and songwriting skills.
After the long journey to Dundee, Friday night brought an intimate performance at Assai, a local record shop. Sin-è headlined the sold-out show and it suddenly felt very real that we were actually on tour across the country. It's funny to think now how worried I was on the first night compared to towards the end.
Next we headed for Glasgow where the venue was Websters Theatre in the West End. Holly J headlined the show alongside guitarist Jack Whittaker.
The following morning we made for MacArts in The Borders for Devin Casson's headline gig. By far the biggest show of the tour, we performed to an audience of around 150. It was a fitting conclusion to an incredible tour which had flown by so quickly.
Thank you so much to everyone who reserved tickets for the Talla na Mara show and supported the project. The others told me how excited they were to visit the island (they had never even been to the Highlands, so I’m glad to have given them that chance at the very least!) Fingers crossed that a potential reunion of sorts can be organised so we can bring Hit The Road to Harris at long last.