One of Renfrewshire's longest-running bands is producing a new seasonal album, thanks to a five-figure funding boost.

The Tannahill Weavers have been handed £15,587 from The National Lottery through the latest round of Creative Scotland's Open Fund awards.

The album will be a Celtic musical celebration, collecting melodies from many sources as well as composing their own and knitting traditional seasonal music together with a Celtic twist. 

Born after a session in Paisley and named for the town's historic weaving industry and local poet laureate Robert Tannahill, Tannahill Weavers is an internationally renowned traditional Celtic band.

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They keep their repertoire diverse and innovative, endeavouring to reimagine seasonal tunes into new and unique pieces. 

Producer Phil Smillie said: "Traditional Scottish music is at the heart of the Scottish identity and brings together people from so many different age groups and backgrounds. 

"It's one of the strongest bonds between communities. 

"Like so many other bands in Scotland, we like to think we bring a lot of pleasure and fun to communities far and wide as well as providing inspiration and encouragement to a younger generation to learn an instrument.

"The Open Fund from Creative Scotland is allowing the Tannahill Weavers the luxury of creating new material without the concern of how to fund the ever-increasing cost of recording it.

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"The time alone invested in creative practices and being able to pay every participant a fair rate for their participation in making this recording makes us appreciate all the good work that The National Lottery, through Creative Scotland, does for the arts." 

Tannahill Weavers will be releasing a track from the album in December ahead of their Australian tour in January and will be back touring in Scotland in March next year.

Tannahill Weavers is one of 44 funding awards from The National Lottery made by Creative Scotland’s Open Fund in August 2023, totalling £897,099.

Paul Burns, interim director of arts at Creative Scotland, said: "Creativity is woven into the fabric of Scotland's physical and social landscape, whether it's our agriculture, our heritage or our communities. 

"These projects demonstrate the wide variety of activity constantly being supported by National Lottery players through our Open Fund, tied together through the threads of Scottish culture."