Queen II confirmed as Tall Ships finale headliners

The full line up for the four-day event, from 26 to 29 July in Lerwick, has now been finalised. Queen II, who previously visited the islands in 2017 and 2018, will be topping the bill on the Saturday night.

That will follow headline slots from Peat and Diesel, Tide Lines, and the Peatbog Faeries earlier in the week. Over 50 acts, including a wide cross-section of the islands’ own musical talent, will perform during an event expected to attract thousands of visitors.

Entry will be free to most of the live music programme. It will be split between the main 5,000-capacity outdoor arena at Holmsgarth and a smaller stage at Victoria Pier in the centre of the old town. There will also be nightly DJs at Mareel.

The Thursday and Friday night programmes, headlined by Tide Lines and Peat and Diesel respectively, and the Queen II closing concert will be ticketed. Those events will go on general sale in early May.

Another visiting act likely to get the crowd dancing are Banjo Lounge 4. The Edinburgh-based acoustic mash-up band are set to deliver classic old school hip hop, funk, dance and rock music featuring three-part harmonies, banjo, guitar, double bass and drums.

Banjo Lounge 4 set to perform at Tall Ships 2023

Other local acts confirmed on the bill include The Roadside Crows, a new band put together by Gina Paolo Ritch that are drawing comparisons with Tom Waits and the Violent Femmes. 

There will also be daily Shetland folklore tales from Marjolein Robertson in Mareel.

Visit the official Tall Ships Lerwick website for full details of the final programme of entertainment. 

The full list of activities including a busy programme of family entertainment will be announced in the coming weeks.