The List

The Barn

The Barn is Aberdeenshire's award-winning multi-arts centre. The Barn provides an ambitious and inclusive cultural programme, encompassing music, theatre, film, dance, comedy, talks, visual art, workshops and environmental projects. We also support artists, makers and designers to research and create artwork inspired by our location and context.

What's On @ The Barn

Malin Lewis

Malin Lewis

15 Aug 2025 - 4 May 2026

Innovator, award winning, multi-instrumentalist Malin Lewis marries West coast groove with a newly invented, self-made bagpipe alongside stars Sally Simpson (Fiddle) and Ali Hutton (Guitar). Malin will perform tracks from their SAY Award nominated album Halocline as well as several brand new pieces inspired by the flora and fauna of the Highlands. Malin's unique timbre is born from the deep connection that comes from making and composing for their own instrument. Their one of a kind two-octave Smallpipe creates a whole new world of sound, captivating audiences at every opportunity.
Boo Hewerdine

Boo Hewerdine

18 Jul 2025 - 10 Nov 2025

For over 30 years Boo Hewerdine has been considered one of the UK’s finest singer-songwriters. As lead singer of seminal band, The Bible, through his subsequent solo work and his long-time collaboration with the incredible Eddi Reader he has become something of a national treasure. Since Swimming in Mercury was released in 2017, Boo has been writing, recording and touring with Eddi Reader, Chris Difford, Kris Drever and Emily Barker among others. He is in demand as a writer, producer and performer. This Autumn he will be undertaking an extensive tour, singing songs from his new album ‘Before’ and his extensive back catalogue. A naturally gifted raconteur his gigs are always a total joy.
Bruce Fummey: Scotland Made The World

Bruce Fummey: Scotland Made The World

12 Aug 2025 - 15 Nov 2025

Discover the unparalleled charm and comedy of Bruce Fummey, where humour meets Scottish history and insightful storytelling. Bruce, the comedian behind the 230k subscriber YouTube channel Scotland History Tours, returns home to Perth with a new show packed with laughs as he explains how Scotland Made the World in his own inimitable style. His unique approach showcases and celebrates Scottish culture and history in a way that will not only keep you fully engaged, but have you roaring with laughter. Every Saturday morning UK-time, Bruce posts a story from Scotland’s history on his hugely successful YouTube channel. This live show will deliver more jokes than you get from the videos, and some might even make you blush, but you’ll leave having learned about Scotland’s role in the world while laughing along the way. Nominated for comedy awards in Australia, at home in Scotland and even named Scottish Comedian Of The Year, Bruce has appeared on ABC series Stuff The British Stole and many UK TV and radio shows.
Carved Bowl Workshop

Carved Bowl Workshop

29 Aug 2025 - 29 Aug 2025

With expert tuition from Wooden Tom, you will be guided to safely use the tools needed to create your own unique carved wooden bowl to take home. You will spend the first part of the day laboriously axing out your bowl shape before hollowing it out in the afternoon. Learn how to use the carving axe and shaping with a gouge to create the hollow form. No experience needed. However, please note that arm strength and/or enthusiasm are highly recommended! Bring a packed lunch for our short break.  Tom has taken knife to wood since he was a teenager growing up just outside Newcastle. Sixteen years ago, his move to the Cairngorms for a job in forestry only kindled his passion for all-things wood. He is a greenwood worker, which is somebody who carves the wood whilst it is still fresh using mainly traditional tools to create animal sculptures and utensils, but he is mainly known for his cups.   Age 16+
Sketching Nature with Jenny Blair

Sketching Nature with Jenny Blair

1 Aug 2025 - 1 Aug 2025

Join artist Jenny Blair for a day of exploring and documenting Nature through mark making, and sketching. The workshop will begin with making a mini accordion 'sketchbook', to be used in our day of Nature exploration. You will then be guided into a playful intuitive approach to document what is around you in a way that is unique to you. Using simple tools and combining play, creativity and Nature, you will discover what inspires and delights you, step away from perfectionism and deepen your connection with the Natural world. Please bring a packed lunch for our break.  Jenny Blair is a multi-media artist & designer, who has been making nature inspired art for over 15 years. She has seen her products and hand-crafted art fly around the world and has had the privilege of getting her creative hands on many exciting projects. From collaborations with magazine publications, to hosting creative workshops all while exploring the bounties and benefits of the Natural world that surrounds her. 
David Attenborough: Ocean

David Attenborough: Ocean

14 Jul 2025 - 30 Oct 2025

This compelling documentary takes viewers on a breath-taking journey showing there is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise, than the ocean. In the film the legendary broadcaster and filmmaker reveals how his lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Through spectacular sequences featuring coral reefs, kelp forests and the open ocean, Attenborough shares why a healthy ocean keeps the entire planet stable and flourishing. Stunning, immersive cinematography showcases the wonder of life under the seas and exposes the never-before-seen realities and challenges facing our ocean, from destructive fishing techniques to mass coral reef bleaching. Ultimately the story is one of optimism, with Attenborough showcasing inspirational stories from around the world to deliver his greatest message: the ocean can recover to a glory beyond anything anyone has ever seen.
Ellie Beaton Trio

Ellie Beaton Trio

21 Aug 2025 - 21 Aug 2025

Ellie Beaton is an award-winning folk singer from Rothienorman, Aberdeenshire. With a rich, commanding voice, she blends the region’s traditional singing style with global folk influences. In 2025, she won BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year, following her earlier Citty Finlayson Scots Singer of the Year award at the Scots Trad Music Awards. Deeply connected to her Aberdeenshire roots, she embraces the Doric dialect in her music, captivating audiences across the UK and Europe with her heartfelt, authentic performances.
Flow

Flow

19 Jul 2025 - 15 Nov 2025

Cat is a solitary animal, but as his home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences. In the lonesome boat sailing through mystical overflowed landscapes, they navigate the challenges and dangers of adapting to this new world.
Exhibition on Screen: Michelangelo -- Love And Death
A fresh biography of Michelangelo, who is considered one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. This film explores his relationship with his contemporaries and his immense artistic practice that included painting, sculpture and architecture. The documentary coincides with a glorious new exhibition at the National Gallery of London.
Fred MacAulay - No Podcast  LIVE!

Fred MacAulay - No Podcast LIVE!

26 Sept 2025 - 18 Oct 2025

Scotland's best and much-loved stand-up comedian, Fred MacAulay is getting ready to hit the road again with a 2025 tour around Scotland. Now in the fourth decade of his comedy career, Fred MacAulay still loves being on stage doing what he does best.......quite simply it's STAND-UP ! "At my age it's sometimes an achievement to be actually standING up" jokes Fred, but his appetite for performing is as strong as it was all those years ago when he took a massive side-ways step from a career as an accountant and company secretary into the world of entertainment. A career which has taken him all over the world (apart from South America) (and some other continents) where he has worked in television and radio. But it's always been and always will be as a stand-up that Fred wants to be remembered. It's because of Stand-Up that I've been asked to do all the 'celebrity' things that I've done. (See below). He might talk about some of them, but he's more likely to talk about what is current - having been a guest on the famous Radio 4 News Quiz show for almost 18 years he has some previous in this respect. And as a family man he'll no doubt be talking about the latest stage of that aspect of life.....Grandchildren. " I can remember the joy of having our kids just after I'd embarked on my career in comedy......what a great source of material they were! I mean, that wasn't the main reason for having kids ...... but I hope the same applies to the grandkids!"
Deeside Cello Project Summer Concerts at The Barn: The Neary-Adams String Trio
This fantastic family trio is comprised of David Adams, leader of the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera and violinist with the London Bridge Trio, Alice Neary, principal cellist of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and cellist in the London Haydn Quartet, and their daughter, Isobel Neary-Adams, co-principal viola of the National Youth Orchestra, viola!  The instinctive ensemble, which comes from their relationship, is augmented by their combined years of experience playing chamber music at the highest level.  Their programme at the Barn will include some of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, arranged for trio by Sitskovetsky, works by Mozart and Dohnányi and a lovely string trio by Huw Watkins, which was written especially for them.  
TRIP

TRIP

6 Nov 2025 - 6 Nov 2025

TRIP are a Glasgow based six-piece band whose music unites the kindred Celtic traditions of Scotland, Ireland, Northumbria and the Isle of Man; a reflection of where each band member hails from. Their powerful, driven and distinctive sound is underpinned by a versatile top-line featuring accordion, fiddle and flute/whistle, along with a dynamic rhythm section of piano, guitar and bodhran. Their considered arrangements feature a blend of traditional melodies and self-penned tunes and songs, which celebrate the band’s roots in traditional music, while showcasing their contemporary, cross-genre influences. The impressive line-up features Newcastle accordionist Michael Biggins (BBC Young Traditional Musician of the year 2021), Sligo flautist Tiernan Courell (All-Ireland champion) and Manx fiddler Isla Callister with fellow Scots, Alasdair MacKenzie (guitar and voice), Rory Matheson (piano) and Craig Baxter (bodhran).
Lauren Collier

Lauren Collier

13 Sept 2025 - 13 Sept 2025

MG Alba Scots Trad Awards 2024 ‘Up and Coming Artist of the Year’ Nominee Talented emerging Scottish musician Lauren Collier, is making a name for her virtuosity on the fiddle and captivating vocals. Originally from Irvine in Ayrshire, Lauren now lives in Glasgow and has been writing and playing her own music for the last six years. She has toured all over Scotland and has played in Canada, India, Ireland, Denmark and Sweden. With her illustrious band: Ali Hutton (Old Blind Dogs, Treacherous Orchestra), Paul Jennings (Wolfstone, Shooglenifty) and Gus Stirrat (Fat Suit, Blue Rose Code), Lauren masterfully crafts a live performance portraying a sense of place, emotion, and time.
Anna Massie

Anna Massie

21 Oct 2025 - 21 Oct 2025

Equally at home as accompanist or melody player, Anna Massie is one of Scotland’s foremost guitarists. As well as being a skilled multi-instrumentalist and singer renowned for her work with Blazin’ Fiddles and RANT, she also presents BBC Radio Scotland’s award-winning flagship trad music programme, Travelling Folk. (Trad Music in the Media, Scots Trad Music Awards 2023). Three-time nominee for Best Instrumentalist at the Scots Trad Music Awards, 2021 winner of the Trad Music in the Media award for her Black Isle Correspondent work and 2022 Producer of the Year award, Anna is a highly talented musician, presenter and producer. 2024 has seen her release her long-awaited solo album Two Down and embarking on solo touring throughout the year and into 2025.
Wild Brooch Pin Workshop

Wild Brooch Pin Workshop

5 Sept 2025 - 5 Sept 2025

Take a pause and reconnect with nature through a hands-on creative experience. Join jewellery artists Maria Laidlaw and Pauline Paxton for a relaxed session, where you'll create your own brass or copper brooch pin. Whether you prefer a sleek minimalist design or the textured beauty of aged metal, your pin will be a unique expression of your style and connection to the earth. Perfect for nature lovers, these brooch pins are ideal for holding a small posy of wildflowers, lichen, or thistle. They also make stunning, one-of-a-kind boutonnieres or daily adornments that bring nature into your life. To finish, we’ll take a gentle wander through the Barn’s wild gardens, gathering seasonal blooms to add a personal, foraged touch to your creation. No experience needed — just bring your creativity and a love for nature. Working under AB11 Creative Workshops, Maria Laidlaw and Pauline Paxton are innovative jewellery designers whose work fuses craftsmanship, bold creativity, and a deep connection to materials. Both are passionate about sharing their expertise, inspiring others through collaborative workshops that encourage play, exploration, and the creation of unique, meaningful jewellery.
The Big Bike Film Night 2025- Banchory

The Big Bike Film Night 2025- Banchory

25 Sept 2025 - 25 Sept 2025

The Big Bike Film Night is on a mission- bringing the best short cycling films from around the world together for you. Showcasing 2.5 hours of moving bike films that has everything a cycle-centric audience could want – action, drama, humour, and plenty of inspiration; the evening is unashamedly and utterly, utterly, utterly designed and devised for the two-wheel devotee! These short films are a great reminder of why we love to ride our bike; with stories that captivate us, stories that make us think, and most importantly of all – inspiring us to get out and ride. All celebrate the fun, adventure, and joy that cycling enables. So...listen to the voice inside you; it’s telling you to go. Grab your mates, grab your tickets, GO ON… grab your bike and come along for the ride!!
The Big Bike Film Night 2025 - Scotland
Action
Adventure
Documentary
The screening sensation known as The Big Bike Film Night will be celebrating cycling across Scotland with a programme proclaimed as ‘a feast of short films devised and designed to delight two-wheel devotees’. Showcasing 2.5 hours of moving bike films that has everything a cycle-centric audience could want – action, drama, humour, and plenty of inspiration that will leave you with a smile on your dial! These short films celebrate the fun, adventure, and inspiration that cycling enables. So...listen to the voice inside you; it’s telling you to go. Grab your mates, grab your tickets, GO ON… grab your bike and come along for the ride!!
The Bad Guys 2

The Bad Guys 2

25 Jul 2025 - 28 Sept 2025

In the new action-packed chapter from DreamWorks Animation’s acclaimed comedy smash about a crackerjack crew of animal outlaws, our now-reformed Bad Guys are trying (very, very hard) to be good, but instead find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes, globe-trotting heist, masterminded by a new team of criminals they never saw coming: The Bad Girls.
Mairi Campbell: Living Stone

Mairi Campbell: Living Stone

20 Sept 2025 - 20 Sept 2025

Mairi Campbell: Living Stone is the award-winning final part in the trilogy of solo shows co-created by Mairi,director/devisor Kath Burlinson and musical collaborator Dave Gray. Following Pulse and Auld Lang Syne (Made in Scotland showcases 2016 and 2018) Living Stone completes the trilogy. 'Incredible storyteller… voice is like no other'(EdinburghGuide.com). ‘An exquisite 60-minute show full of wisdom, peace and contemplation.’ (Joyce McMillan,Scotsman). The journey begins with the discovery of an ancient quern stone on the site of Mairi’s great-grandmother’s croft at Ballymakillichan, Lismore. Mairi shares her explorations of the stone’s stories and mysteries, the images she finds within it and some of the 100 drawings she made of it. Living Stone is a rich mix of live and recorded music, song, storytelling, audience participation and projected visual images on two different on-stage surfaces, featuring images of the stone created by Roddy Simpson, from footage shot by Julia Fayngruen, and Mairi’s related artwork. During the performance, Mairi builds a pendulum from three hazel sticks and a piano string, from which hangs the 25 kilo stone, swinging gently to create the pulse that Mairi searched for in the first show in the trilogy. Mairi engages with the history of the stone itself – from its geology to its use for milling, and includes a fictional account of a woman named Peigi who, in the 1700s, was a victim of the change in the law, when home-milling became illegal and landlords sent men to break the crofter’s millstones. The old ways of working are evoked by the singing of Gaelic waulking songs – the grief of Peigi is expressed through Mairi’s own wails of ancestral agony. The show’s soundtrack is based on notes created when Mairi plays the piano string with her viola bow, creating an eerie resonance that Mairi and Dave Gray used as a springboard for the densely layered backing tracks over which Mairi’s live voice and viola soar. Mairi shares her own dark time, when lockdown and overwhelm isolated her and she lost her way, until a sequence of events involving the Living Stone bring her back into exhilarating community engagement on Lismore, including teaching fiddle to the children at the Primary School, and forming the Lismore Dance band with local residents. In sharing these experiences, audiences are gently invited to sing along and to harmonise, held by Mairi’s decades-long experience as a facilitator. Mairi Campbell: Living Stone is suitable for audiences who enjoy: true stories, music, storytelling, visual arts, ecology,mysticism, community engagement and history – especially of Scotland and its land. It is a show the dives deeply and shares generously – finding humour in dark places and joy in community and connection. It does not shy away from troubled personal and collective history, but ultimately invites us to listen more attentively to the land and to each other as we navigate these challenging times.
Mairi Campbell’s 2-hour Companion Workshop Songs of the Earth
Mairi Campbell is a skilled music educator and facilitator.  The Songs of the Earth singing workshop will introduce participants songs that celebrate land and nature.  In a safe and warm environment, you will learn the songs and their harmonies in an accessible and fun way. No reading music or previous singing experience is required and all voices are welcome.  

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