Brian McAlpine of Session A9 has added his voice to the chorus of support for Perth Concert Hall's nomination as Venue of the Year in the Scottish Traditional Music Awards.
Keyboard player with ‘Scotland's Supergroup' Session A9, which is up for an award at the same event in the Scottish Folk Band of The Year category, Brian, who lives in Perth, said:
"As a musician who has toured all over the world promoting Scottish Traditional Music, performing in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall New York with The Chieftains, I cannot stress how important Perth Concert Hall is to the City of Perth and Scotland as a whole.
"Through the events, concerts and exhibitions which have taken place in our Concert Hall, audiences have had the chance to see, hear and experience acts from every continent. Because of the world class nature of this venue, we are able to enjoy bands and performers, which up until now; we would have had to travel to Glasgow or Edinburgh to have any chance of watching.
"Perth Concert hall has brought our city to the attention of every world class artist. It has brought top artists to our doorstep. This venue is already proving itself to be an essential part of our cultural lives by supporting local and national talent alike.
"Perth deserves our Concert hall. I think our Concert hall deserves to be Venue of the Year. Get on the net and give it your vote!"
Brian was also instrumental in the organisation of the Gordon Duncan Memorial Concert held at Perth Concert Hall and nominated in the Event of the Year category. In fact, the 2008 Scots Trad Music Awards are a real celebration of the Perth traditional music scene, with local favourites, singer songwriter Jim Malcolm and piping wizard Ross Ainslie, also in the running in the Scots Singer of the Year and Live Act of the Year categories respectively.
Renowned for its exciting live performances, Session A9 is set to get 2009 off to a rousing start as part of the Perth Concert Hall Hogmanay celebrations.
There is still time to vote in the Scots Trad Music Awards which close on Friday 21 November.
Votes can be registered online at www.handsupfortrad.co.uk/tradmusicawards.