The 76th Perth All Scotland Accordion & Fiddle Festival will take place on
Friday 24th & Saturday 25th October 2025!

*** ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THE 2025 FESTIVAL***

(GOOD LUCK TO ONE AND ALL)

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***NEW COMPETITION FOR 2025 – STRATHSPEY & REEL SOCIETY CLASS***

This is a class inviting groups of musicians who meet, rehearse and perform as a “Strathspey and Reel Society” the playing criteria for the festival will be for groups to play a

(Slow Air, March, Strathspey and Reel)

For this year only, the winning group will receive the “Mickie Ainsworth Award and Trophy” £200.00 Prize Money

***2025 EXCLUSIVE***

The “INVITATIONAL” Year

The Perth Accordion & Fiddle Festival have decided to mark the year 2025 as a special year and are inviting the 3-time champions back to compete with a direct route into the final.

ACCORDION: Competing to win Class 10:

All-Scotland Senior Traditional Accordion Solo (M/S/R)

FIDDLE: Competing to Win Class 23/24: (Combined for 2025)

All-Scotland Senior Traditional Fiddle Solo (Slow Air-M/S/R)

Other competitors in both these classes are allowed to submit a virtual entry and can submit this online. The adjudicator/s will pick a further 2-4 qualifiers (depending on the qualifying standard) to join the 3-time winners in the Final Play Off on festival day (Maximum of 8). All finalists will be playing for the coveted All Scotland Senior Accordion and Fiddle Solo title and £500 winner’s prize money awarded for each class.

The 3-time Accordion winners accepting the invitation are:

Robert Black (1979,1988 & 2011)

Tom Orr (2004, 2007 & 2016)

Liam Stewart (2003, 2013 & 2020)

Alan Small (2002, 2018 & 2023)

The 3-time Fiddle winners accepting the invitation are:

Perdy Stallard (1999, 2000 & 2002)

Shona MacFadyen (2011, 2019 & 2021)

Anne Mitchell (2007, 2012 & 2023)

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY NOW:

We will publish a step-by-step guide how to upload your entry to be adjudicated by our judges. (See SENIOR SCOTTISH ONLINE ENTRIES PAGE)

4 qualifiers will be selected to join the 3-time winners in the FINAL on festival day.

Each competitor will only perform once on the day.

info@perthaccordionfestival.co.uk

Enter Competitions

Entries for the 2025 Perth Accordion & Fiddle Festival competition are now closed. Best of luck to everyone taking part!

Enter Competitions

Competition Information

Information, performance requirements and criteria for the competitions taking place at this year’s festival.

Information

Make a Donation

Your support helps keep the vibrant spirit of the Perth Accordion & Fiddle Festival alive. Donations are warmly welcomed and greatly appreciated.

Donate

Perth Accordion & Fiddle Festival

The Perth Accordion & Fiddle Festival is an institution which has run every year since 1950. The festival was first created to encourage players to strive for their own goals and thereby raising overall standards, which remains the core principle of the festival today.

It is primarily based around a range of solo and ensemble competitions for all age groups. The festival weekend is also firmly renowned as an annual highlight of the calendar where friends & fellow enthusiasts come together to play, listen and enjoy the competitions, concerts and ceilidhs.

The very first festival in 1950 was run in association with the NAO (National Accordion Organisation) and consisted almost entirely of classical accordion sections. There was only 1 traditional Scottish accordion section which was open to all ages, continental, chromatic or piano accordions where competitors were to play a March, Strathspey & Reel. This solitary Scottish class had been suggested by Jimmy Shand MBE, who donated the much-coveted shield which bears his name. The Jimmy Shand Shield has become the ultimate goal for traditional accordion players. The ‘All-Scotland Championship’ or alternatively known as the ‘Perth Senior Scottish’ is to our music what the St Andrews Open is to golf.

The festival has developed over the years with new competitions and features. It is now very much an Accordion & Fiddle festival and includes a range of solo and group competitions to test a variety of skills and styles of each performer. This provides a great spectacle for the audience which is often made up of fellow musicians and keen enthusiasts therefore despite there only being a few official adjudicators nominated to judge each class, there is often a full hall of unofficial adjudicators which all adds an extra test to the nerves of each competitor.

Ultimately it is all fun and the festival provides great enjoyment celebrated by the fact that festival goers return annually and the last weekend in October is firmly booked out in their calendar every year!