A host of talented folk singers are inviting traditional song-lovers on a tour of rural Aberdeenshire to explore the towns and villages behind the North-East's best-loved ballads.
The 'Ballad Bus' is the first event of its kind organised by the Friends of the Elphinstone Institute at the University of Aberdeen.
The unique outing, sponsored by FirstBus, will be held on Saturday, May 29, from 10am until 5.30pm, and will feature traditional singing favourites Elizabeth Stewart, Barbara-Ann Burnett, Gordon Easton, and Stanley Robertson.
Stanley Robertson is one of Scotland's leading storytellers and ballad singers, while Barbara-Ann Burnett is one of the brightest young singers from the North-East. Elizabeth Stewart is part of a family steeped in the oral traditions of the Travelling People and she has a wonderful talent for Scottish traditional music on the piano. Providing the traditional music for the Ballad Bus outing will be Gordon Easton, of Tyrie. He has been singing and playing a range of instruments, including the fiddle and the moothie, all his life.
The four singers will lead the group in song as the coach tours some of the sites where favourite ballads were set including Fyvie, Udny, Monymusk and Inverurie, to name a few.
The Ballad Bus will be filled with the sounds of classic ballads, including 'Bonny Udny', 'Banks o Inverurie', 'Bonny Lass o Fyvie', 'Mill o Tifty's Annie', and 'Battle o Harlaw'.
Dr Ian Russell, Director of the Elphinstone Institute, said, "It will be a wonderful opportunity to live the history of the ballads and visit the beautiful locations that inspired them."
The numbers are limited, and anyone wishing to book a place on the Ballad Bus tour should contact the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, on (01224) 272996.