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They have been friends since the first day of primary school in Elgin and, since then, have assiduously pursued their aim to establish themselves on the Scottish music scene. They are Dan O’Shanter. Hayden Peace, Max Robertson and Aiden Smith – The Zebecks. Back in lockdown, they each made the move to Glasgow to pursue a career in music. After gaining BBC Introducing radio play with demos alone, the band were given their first support slot at Broadcast. By contributing to an advanced sell-out, they were offered their first headline before they’d even stepped on a Glasgow stage. Intimately depicted in an awardwinning documentary from a student filmmaker, their debut headline kick started a busy 18 months of 30 shows. This led to the opportunity to headline King Tut’s in September 2022, an impressive achievement at such an early stage in their career.

The show declared The Zebecks one of the most exciting new names on the Glasgow underground scene. Throughout this period, the band developed a more mature, modern sound that transcends genre boundaries. This ranges from energetic post-punk anthems to mesmerising, dramatic ballads that take the audience on a journey of emotions, with vivid, introspective lyrics woven throughout. Breakthrough, their first fully-produced single, perfectly encapsulates this new era and forefronts the band’s drive to national success. The song was released on all major streaming platforms on the 7th of April. In the first weekend it amassed over 2,000 streams on Spotify alone.

They have set out to create a dynamic, upbeat post-punk track that is first and foremost Scottish and portrays their unique, inspired writing style. Whilst recording at Castle of Doom, producer Jamie Holmes stated his excitement that they are bringing back the early 2000s Scottish Indie sound with modern flair. After recording, they created an artistic vision to complement the music. www.facebook.com/thezebecks

This is just the beginning: they have grand plans for 2024 and they will be concentrating on writing a debut album and securing a recording contract. Who knows what they will have achieved by this time next year – and we wish them all the very best for their future musical careers.

@thezebecks @thezebecks www.youtube.com/@thezebecks

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The much-loved Moray folk festival Speyfest is gearing up for its 26th edition this summer.

The three-day event will take place between Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd July, and is set to bring the very best in Scottish and Celtic culture to the beautiful village of Fochabers.

The festival was founded by James M Alexander in 1995 who sadly passed away last year. Having played with the Fochabers Fiddlers and a number of Scottish trad bands, James realised what a spectacular setting Fochabers would be for a summer event showcasing traditional music, dance and crafts.

The festival was founded on the premise that it would give keen young musicians a chance to meet and learn from the best-known musicians on the scene while they were in town.

With help from the local Fochabers Gala Committee, some fellow musicians, the local headteacher and pupils of Milne's High School and many others, Speyfest became a reality.

Over the last 25 years, it has grown from a local event with one small tent holding around 300 people, to a 1500-capacity tented village welcoming visitors and families of all ages, from pre-school children to senior citizens.

What an amazing lineup they have for 2023:

Genre-bending trio Talisk, innovative modern female folk band Kinnaris Quintet, beloved Gaelic crossover act Norrie MacIver Band, and the inimitable musical combination of John McCusker, Michael McGoldrick and John Doyle.

Scottish favourites Skerryvore, Celtic supergroup Mànran and folk singer Siobhan Miller and her six-piece band were announced earlier this year, and also set to perform at the festival’s Tented Village are Glasgow-based five-piece Ímar, female-led fiddle sensations FARA and energetic quartet Mec Lir.

Calum Stewart returns to his native Speyside with a quartet featuring double bass, bouzouki and step dancing, all held together by Calum on pipes, flutes and whistles.

Scottish ska outfit Bombskare, and Irish traditional duo Daithí and Adèle, will have hands clapping and toes tapping across the weekend. Of course local sensations and festival favourites the Milne’s High School Fiddlers and Auld Fochabers Fiddlers will as ever be joining the Speyfest party.

Highland accordionist and BBC broadcaster Gary Innes will take to the stage to compere Speyfest’s Family Sunday, keeping audiences of all ages entertained with stories throughout the day.

The festival’s much-loved music workshops, a bustling craft fair, whisky and gin tastings, prosecco afternoon tea and the well-attended Celtic Kirk service are included in the packed programme.

The last day is one definitely not to be missed, with the beloved Auld Fochabers Fiddlers, local duo A Louth Lilt, energetic quartet Mec Lir, innovative modern female folk band Kinnaris Quintet, Glasgow-based five-piece Ímar and contemporary trad band Ruach all performing. Headliners Skerryvore will be bringing the 2023 festival to a triumphant close.

Speyfest Chair Ashleigh Macgregor said: “Excitement is certainly mounting as we look forward to welcoming faces old and new to our beloved festival.

“As always, we will be showcasing the very best in traditional and Celtic music across the three days, as well as running family-fun activities for all ages, food and crafting events, and musical workshops, all while injecting economic opportunities into the local community.

“We would like to extend our gratitude to all of our sponsors and supporters without whom Speyfest wouldn’t be possible.”

A range of tickets are available for Speyfest, including weekend passes, specific concert tickets, specific stomp tickets, combined tickets and all-day Sunday tickets. Entry to the craft fair, which is held on Saturday afternoon, is free.

Food vendors and the bar will be open from 5pm on Friday 21st July, and from 12 noon on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd.

For more information and tickets visit www.speyfest.com

Facebook @Speyfest

Twitter @Speyfest

Instagram @speyfest

Bang on the shoreline, at the end of a tarred road (therefore no passing traffic), oodles of parking and a generous helping of disabled bays – welcome to The Beach Hut, situated in what has to be one of the most enviable postcodes in Lossiemouth.

On arriving, it does not appear to be anything other than a seaside town eatery but, on closer inspection, it reveals little details, the sum of which make this a definite place to visit. For starters, there is a substantial outside area where you can sit and soak up the sun (fingers always crossed that the sun does put in an appearance, that is), read a book, chat with friends or simply stare out over the North Sea into the middle distance and wait for the Lossie jets to show up.

And you can bring your four legged friend too! A huge bonus. There are two little barrels at the front door that dispense fresh drinking water into squeaky clean stainless steel bowls for the dogs, who are also permitted to come with you inside the café. Another bonus.

The gleesome threesome are meeting again, to chat and catch up over supper and also to give The Beach Hut the once over. It is some time since we all sat down together and so this is going to be a fun few hours and we most emphatically don’t want indifferent service and mediocre food. We will be in critical mode!

We needn’t have worried. The cheerful smiling waitress who welcomes us into the interior of the café could not be more delightful. We can sit wherever we fancy – and the interior is arranged such that you do not have anyone overhearing your conversation or squeezing past you to get to their seats. Perfect – another box ticked.

A table by the window is chosen, drinks are ordered and menus are left for us to peruse. You can chose from soft drinks, through several interesting mocktails and on to the beers and spirits should you wish. And a very comprehensive bar it is too, unobtrusively tucked into the corner of the room. It’s soft drinks for all three as all three are driving.

The menu is not hugely vast but covers breakfasts, light lunches and supper dishes, with interesting sides. A note on the menu says that new and exciting dishes are in the embryo stage at the moment – watch this space! This is good, as the chef is not resting on his laurels and wants to keep the menu evolving.

Talking of the chef, we all would like to meet him. We know he is called Lewis and is originally from Belfast but is now firmly rooted in Lossiemouth: the waitress says she will go and ask him to come out. Which he does. Lewis strides out of the kitchen, all six feet and however many inches of him, oozing charm and bonhomie and with a smile that would light up the Royal Albert Hall. He is instantly likeable and very funny as well, so our chat with him about what we should choose from the menu is sort-of serious interspersed with laughter.

Finally – we choose. A large hot dog with Lewis’s special peppercorn sauce, a cheeseburger with all the trimmings and three cheese macaroni cheese with a crispy onion-based topping. Lots of chat and looking around the interior, noticing the special little touches, while we wait and then huge ‘oh my goodness’ cries when the food arrives. The portions are definitely not small. The hot dog and burger arrive in individual cardboard boxes with replica newspaper linings – the intention here is that you grab with both hands and open wide, but neither of us has a snake-like jaw so plates are brought to make things easier. The macaroni is in its ceramic dish which is placed on a larger plate, allowing for the garlic bread and a mammoth portion of chips and salad. Oh yes, as if all this is not enough, out from the kitchen comes a vegan burger (for us to try) and two boxes of chips – one cheesy and one dirty fries (very spicy). Both boxes carry a cheeky hand written message and smiley face. The food is good, very good and I can only imagine what the breakfasts must be like on the strength of our suppers. Quite frankly, we struggle to finish everything because there is so much, not because it is not good. No problem – out come the take away boxes and in goes the balance of the food: just like us, the management does not like waste and whatever you cannot finish can go home with you. Our cheerful waitress asks if we would like dessert – oh heavens, no! We are chock-a-block full and could not possibly manage another mouthful and not even cheesecake would tempt us. (That just goes to show how full we are!)

Another hour or so passes while we chat and not once do we get the impression that we must pay and go. This is so refreshing, when some establishments bring the bill along with the coffee and you start to feel that you must relinquish the table. It has been a super early evening get together and we have enjoyed every minute in this welcoming licensed café. By the way, they play terrific music from the 70s and 80s – and no doubt from other decades too, but what I heard ticked a big box for me.

It is a fun place, unpretentious and generously welcoming. Go visit.