Shetland Mandolin Band is for players of all ages and abilities. It started life in November 2015, and meets fortnightly in Islesburgh to play music and have a laugh.

In November 2017, the band recorded its first CD - named after its regular meetings, ‘Always on a Monday’, which can be bought online from www.shetlandmandolinband.com.

The band's regularly performs at the Shetland Folk Festival, and its existence is developing a healthy interest in the mandolin in the islands.

In 2018, Voluntary Arts Scotland sent poet Christie Williamson (a Shetland native now based in Glasgow) to visit the band, watch them rehearse, then write a poem about them. And here it is . . .(written in Shetlandic!)

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Mainsails doon, masts asunder

Dey kent l’inconnu de Limoise
owerweel i da Dale o Waas
but here in big Islesburgh
dey wir nae pipes ta skirl.  Hallelujah!

Fae aa aerts dey cam ta plick
an pluck dir fower dooble stringed
roond bellied, slender necked
bundles o musical joy.

Tuned laek a fiddle sans da owertones
o tortured cat at sent me howlin fur da hills
dey super-trouped aa da wye fae Greenland
mirriment tae douse Venetian harmonies

turned mi camino oscuro tae sole nostro.
Wha widna play dis haund until dir fingirs bled?
Birl da bus tae whitivvir mead du fancies – wave
da wand at canna help but faa anunder da spell
o da Shetland Mandolin Band.

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Here's what Christie had to say about the band: "It was great to go back to Islesburgh, and meeting the Band was a treasure I will carry from this day forth. They were warm, open and full of vim.  Back in Glasgow, their new CD gets me through that sludgy hour of getting the kids ready for school, and blares sunshine out of the car window for any and all to hear.  I'd encourage anyone who has the chance to get along and hear those strings ring out."

To find out more about the Shetland Mandolin Band, visit their Facebook page.