Ali Levack (BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2020)

BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year for 2020, Ali Levack specialises in piping and whistles and has been immersed in Scottish traditional music since the age of nine when a family friend started teaching him the pipes.

Ali spent 4 years at the National Centre of Excellence for Traditional Music in Plockton before attending the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Ali is also a member of neo-trad band Project Smok who are perfoming at this year's Festival.

With support from Creative Scotland, this year's Festival has a significant focus on showcasing some of Scotland’s best young folk musicians of the last few years, giving long overdue exposure to Scottish artistes whose careers and profile building was halted by the pandemic. This will include a special feature concert hosted by Hands up for Trad Director, Simon Thoumire featuring the winners from the last three years (and hopefully the title holder announced in February 2023 too!)