Opening night at Summer Trad Festival is an electric occasion and this year it's another cracker, with the mighty Dallahan + Toby Shaer, Jack Warnock & Archie Moss + KICK taking to the stage in the Festival Marquee for an incredible night of traditional music from Scotland, Ireland and England!

DALLAHAN
Forged out of the traditional music scenes of Scotland and Ireland—yet influenced by the sounds of the Balkans, North America, and far beyond—Dallahan have spent over a decade guiding audiences through a musical world tour of their own making. Their dazzling live show, marked by restless creativity and stunning virtuosity, has come to be defined by its refusal to sit still. Guitarist and singer Jack Badcock, banjo player Ciaran Ryan, accordionist Andrew Waite, and fiddler Benedict Morris form the band that has evolved continuously while somehow remaining rooted in the traditions that first brought them together.

From the moment their debut album When The Day Is On The Turn arrived in 2014—hailed by fRoots as “the most exciting Irish music I’ve heard in a long time… Lunasa for the new generation”—Dallahan quickly found themselves propelled onto the international stage. Extensive touring across Europe and North America followed, with appearances at major festivals including Milwaukee Irish Fest (USA), Festival de Ortiguiera (ESP) Celtic Connections (SCO), Tønder Festival (DK), Festival Dranouter (BE), Woodford Folk Festival (AUS), and so many more.

In their first year, the band received the Emerging Excellence Award from Help Musicians UK, while their debut was shortlisted for Album of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards. Their 2016 follow-up, Matter Of Time, took them even further afield: 103 performances across the globe that year alone, including a trip to Nepal for the British/Nepalese bicentenary celebrations on behalf of the British Council. Again shortlisted for Album of the Year, Dallahan also earned Instrumental Cut of the Year at the LiveIreland Awards (USA).

The journey continued with their third album, Smallworld (2019), their first release on European label Westpark Records. Critically acclaimed and shortlisted in the Folk category of the German Music Critics Choice Awards, it marked a new chapter in the band’s expanding international identity.

Along the way, Dallahan have brought their music to 25 countries, earned five nominations for Folk Band of the Year (2016, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025), and undertaken notable collaborations—from performing with songwriting legend Dougie MacLean, to composing and appearing with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at a WWI commemorative concert, to collaborating on stage in Kathmandu with Nepali folk innovators Kutumba.

Now, with well over a decade together, Dallahan stand as a veteran touring outfit whose sound has matured without ever losing its exploratory spark. Their worldwide cult following—built slowly, show by show, across several continents—reflects a band that has grown into its own identity while continually pushing its boundaries. Their latest studio album, Speak of the Devil (June 2023), captures this ongoing evolution: seasoned, adventurous, and unmistakably Dallahan.

Archie Moss, Toby Shaer, and Jack Warnock
A brand-new trio formed by three seasoned session musicians, this collaboration between Archie Moss, Toby Shaer, and Jack Warnock was born out of a shared love for traditional music from the UK, Ireland, and mainland Europe. Since meeting in 2019, the trio have established themselves not only as dynamic performers but also as sensitive reinterpreters of the tradition.

Each artist is well respected in their own right: Archie Moss (accordion) is a BBC award-winning musician, a celebrated composer, and one of the most in-demand button accordion players in the UK, has performed alongside Seth Lakeman, Sam Sweeney, and Eliza Carthy.

Toby Shaer (fiddle, flute, whistles, cittern) is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer from the southeast of England. Over the past ten years, he has toured extensively across Europe, Australia, and China with revered artists such as Cara Dillon, McCusker, McGoldrick, Doyle, and, alongside Archie Moss, with Sam Kelly & the Lost Boys.

Jack Warnock (guitar, vocals) hails from Co. Derry in Ireland. An award-winning guitarist and singer, he is also an avid Gaeilgeoir (Irish speaker), performing songs in both Irish and English. His compositions and repertoire are steeped in storytelling as he embraces the lineage of folk music in its truest form.

This trio approach their craft and arrangements with delicacy and thought, drawing influence from a plethora of traditions. A collaboration of three like-minded musicians presenting folk music through a contemporary lens.

“Jack Warnock's voice could entice the birds from the trees” – Robert McMillen, The Irish News
“Archie Churchill-Moss - Great player, great tunes” - Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2

KICK
KICK are a trad and folk band based in Glasgow, made up of Kisna Panesar, Ciaran Crumlish, and Isaac Baptist. Rooted in Scottish and Irish traditional music, the band bring together fiddle, concertina, and guitar to create warm, energetic sets shaped by both tradition and contemporary folk influences.

Playing together through events connected with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Celtic Connections, KICK have developed a natural and collaborative sound that moves easily between lively tunes, quieter moments, and modern arrangements while staying connected to the heart of trad music.

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