Music funding blast to 'out of tune' SNP

SCOTS music lovers are to picket the Scottish Parliament in protest at the withdrawal of their funding.

Supporters of the Scots Music Group will gather outside Holyrood with their instruments on September 4 to raise awareness of the funding axe by the Scottish Arts Council.

They say that the loss of their annual £60,000 grant – which makes up a third of the volunteer group's overall budget – will strike a terrible blow to Scottish music.

Last year, it was recognised as Community Project of the Year at the Scots Traditional Music Awards.

The group's Alastair Cameron said: "If Scotland doesn't support our own culture, it will struggle to survive. The governments in Ireland, Denmark, Hungary and other countries all put resources into nurturing their own traditions. You'd expect Scotland, especially under an SNP administration, to do the same."

Councillor Paul Godzik, whose motion for the city council to support the group's campaign was defeated in June, said: "It's extremely unfortunate that the SMG continue to find themselves in this position. They're an award-winning organisation and one would hope that the SNP government could be supporting groups like this."