Trail West will headline The Gathering Festival when it returns to Northern Meeting Park, Inverness, on Saturday 29 May 2027, leading a line-up that brings familiar Highland favourites together with fresh voices and new collaborations.
Entering its ninth year, the festival will welcome Valtos & Friends, Torridon, RuMac, NATI, Cala and Josie Duncan, alongside Còisir na h-Òige and the City of Inverness Youth Pipe Band.
For regular Gathering audiences, several names come with memories attached. Others offer a first chance to discover what they can bring to the park.
Trail West return at the top of the bill
Trail West’s relationship with Inverness audiences is already well established. Our review of The Gathering in 2021 found them delivering the high-energy set their audience had come for, with singing and dancing carrying through their appearance.
More recently, we photographed the band supporting Torridon at a sold-out Inverness Leisure Centre show in November 2024. Their return as Gathering headliners gives that local connection another chapter.
The six-piece have continued to build their reputation beyond the Highlands, winning Live Act of the Year at the 2023 Scots Trad Music Awards. They marked their 15th anniversary in 2025 with two sold-out nights at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom, before taking Trail West Fest to SWG3 Galvanizers Yard in 2026.
Valtos bring friends—and a growing Gathering connection
Valtos will return with special guests Kim Carnie, Lewis McLaughlin and Isla Scott, adding further voices to the Skye duo’s meeting of electronic music and Highland tradition.
Speaking to iGigs ahead of The Gathering 2026, Valtos described their relationship with local audiences simply: “Highland crowds are homecoming crowds for us.”
That interview also explored how their live show was developing, with more instrumentation planned around The Last Light. Having previously brought Julie Fowlis onto the Gathering stage, collaboration is already part of their history at the festival.
Kim Carnie arrives with her own recent connection to the event. Our 2026 Gathering review picked out the warmth and storytelling of her afternoon set, before Valtos shifted the park towards a more club-like atmosphere. Bringing those different strengths together makes this an intriguing return.
There is local coverage to revisit for McLaughlin too, including our gallery from his October 2024 Tooth & Claw appearance.
Torridon and Cala keep the Highland connection strong
Torridon return with their blend of folk-rock, bagpipes and big choruses, bringing material from Polaroid alongside established favourites such as “Highland Girl”.
Their connection with the audience runs deeper than a dependable festival singalong. In our 2022 interview with Kenny Smith, he spoke about the importance of Break the Chains in encouraging conversations and helping listeners through personal struggles.
That emotional thread was still evident at The Gathering in 2026, where “Lighthouse” carried its message about men’s mental health alongside the band’s familiar onstage energy.
For Inverness band Cala, the return offers another marker of their progress. Back in 2021, our reviewer watched them move from early nerves into a confident, crowd-engaging performance after being moved from the tent stage to open the main stage. We were there again to photograph their Gathering appearance in 2024.
Since releasing debut album From the River in 2023, Cala have taken their blend of Scottish traditional and contemporary sounds as far as France’s Festival Interceltique de Lorient.
RuMac, NATI and Josie Duncan add contrasting voices
RuMac brings a live show capable of taking sharp turns between Gaelic song, accordion tunes and heavy metal.
Our review of his January 2026 Celtic Connections show caught that unpredictability, alongside the broader scale of his Poaching Days material. It also recorded his plans for an accordion-fronted band, making his continuing development worth watching ahead of next May.
Kirkcaldy singer-songwriter NATI makes her Gathering debut. Having first attracted attention through lockdown performances of traditional Scottish songs on TikTok, she brings folk-tinged pop-rock, a TRNSMT appearance and the EPs Older and Golden to her first visit to the festival.
Isle of Lewis singer-songwriter Josie Duncan, a BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winner, adds a voice that moves between Gaelic, Scots and English. Còisir na h-Òige and the City of Inverness Youth Pipe Band complete the announced bill, keeping younger Highland performers at the heart of the day.
“Let’s do it all again”
Claire Clark from The Gathering Festival said:
“After the success of last year’s sell-out festival, we are buzzing to announce our 2027 line-up. We can’t wait to showcase the amazing talent we have here in Scotland. If there’s one thing our Gathering crowd know how to do, it’s party, so let’s do it all again at Northern Meeting Park next May!”
Alongside the music, the festival will feature a Scottish food village, drinks from local distillers and brewers, market stalls, children’s entertainment and Highland dancing, with more details to follow.
The Gathering takes place at Northern Meeting Park, Inverness, on Saturday 29 May 2027. Tickets are available through the official Gathering website.
Ready for another Gathering? Revisit our 2026 review for the performances, atmosphere and moments that kept Inverness singing.
