A musical family from Highland Perthshire are attempting to organise a free ceilidh in every care home in Scotland this Christmas.
Martin MacLeod Jr and Sr, from Pitlochry, have seen their Tunes in the Hoose project travel to every corner of the globe, garnering hundreds of hours of traditional music performed by musicians from the comfort and safety of they own homes.
The project, which aimed to give artists a platform while gigs weren’t being held, has grown into a Trad-nominated initiative and the father and son duo are launching their first songbook of traditional tracks this month.
But their pair’s final target before the year is over is to have residents in every care home in the country dancing to their anthems.
With hours of footage stitched together by professional filmmaker Martin Jr, there’s no shortage of songs to choose from.
And once the party has been finalised, Martin wants every residential home from Lerwick to Berwick to join in, after enduring a torrid 2020.
Organisers are looking to work closely with the Care Inspectorate, Scottish Care and various other organisations to utilise their networks in the care sector.
Martin Jr said: “This Christmas, we will be producing an original, virtual ceilidh for every care home in Scotland.
“This year has been incredibly difficult for the country, but particularly for our care homes. Many residents have lost contact with the outside world, having been separated from their loved ones and we want to remind them that they’ve not been forgotten.
“With the inevitable restrictions on visits and festive parties, we want residents to experience something really special this Christmas, so we are producing a unique virtual ceilidh to be played in every care home in Scotland.
“We are trying to involve the First Minister in the project, potentially to open the show with a short message for the residents directly, as well as feature some known Scottish personalities introducing the acts.”
The finalised free ceilidh, featuring music from artists around the globe, will be available to play online. All that care home staff will need to do is plug a HDMI cable into their laptop to show the band on a larger TV screen.
Set to be posted online by mid-December the show will include many Scottish dance band sets, some traditional folk performances, dancing and festive choral pieces. An official launch date will be announced this week.
“One simple link will be sent out to every care home in Scotland,” Martin added. “With over 1,000 productions in our archive, crafting the perfect show will be easy.
“We will create a one to two hour virtual ceilidh and send digital copies to every care home in Scotland.
“The virtual ceilidh will be publicly available for everyone, including hospitals, hospices and church groups.”
