Scotland Introducing / English Folk Expo 2026

Scotland Introducing is a new initiative designed to introduce artists to new audiences across England. This follows on from the year-long Scotland Unwrapped at Kings Place, the focus at Cambridge Folk Festival and The Visit focusing on the English market, which were all delivered last year.

Showcase Scotland Expo understands England is an important market for artists' career development and aims to introduce artists to new audiences through a number of initiatives. English venues who attended The Visit 2024 have teamed up to create a concert series taking place in March, June, September and November 2026. These will be marketed under the banner of Scotland Introducing.

The project will be launched on 26th November 2025 at the Scottish Government's headquarters in London, followed by a launch concert that evening at St Pancras Old Church as part of London Roots Festival.

Participating artists for the November launch and the March and June tours will be selected by the venues from the 21 artists who showcased at The Visit 2024, and those artists are also on the shortlist for the September and November runs, BUT we are also opening up September and November 2026 to other artists.

The dates are:

September 2026
3rd Masham Town Hall
4th Settle Victoria Hall
5th The Junction, Cambridge
6th The Live Room, Saltaire

November 2026
18th Lakeside Arts, Nottingham
19th The Junction, Cambridge
20th Kings Place, London
21st Folk in the Barn, Canterbury

Artists will be paid fees of £200 per musician per show, plus accommodation and a contribution towards travel costs.

English Folk Expo

We have also secured a partnership with English Folk Expo in Manchester for March 2026 and will be hosting a special Scottish showcase at the conference, followed by a concert which will be open to the public as part of Manchester Folk Festival.

Three artists/groups will be selected to showcase on the afternoon of Friday 20th March 2026, followed by a performance at Manchester folk festival on Saturday 21st March 2026.

Showcasing artists will also receive free passes to the associated artist-focused conference, trade fair and the public festival events programme. Hotels and travel will be covered and artists will also be paid for performances.

You can apply for either or both Scotland Introducing and English Folk Expo by completing this application form https://bit.ly/scotlandintroducing-efex-2026