Button Boxes & Moothies - Various venues: Aberdeenshire

Button Boxes & Moothies offers a unique opportunity to learn more about a wonderful family of small free reed instruments - button boxes, concertinas, melodeons, mouth organs and Jews harps! There is plenty of tuition on offer all weekend for players of all levels, and also non-players with free come-and-try sessions on the Saturday.

Discounts for under-18s and full-time students who can also enjoy free entry to the Saturday and Sunday lunchtime concerts.

Button Boxes & Moothies is set in the stunning location of King's College, right in the heart of Old Aberdeen. What better way to spend a dreich November weekend. Concerts, workshops, 'come and try' events, talks, displays, sessions and more!

Button Boxes and Moothies is a celebration of the lesser known and often overlooked small free reed instrument family (button boxes, mouth organs, Jew’s harps, concertinas, and melodeons). The festival aims to offer rare opportunities to learn the instruments, meet the finest players, take part in workshops and sessions, and attend concerts.

The 2025 festival, directed by Dr Frances Wilkins of the Elphinstone Institute and a concertina player herself, is the fifth Button Boxes & Moothies festival to take place.

The weekend festival, which includes concerts, workshops, talks, displays and informal sessions, will be an unrivalled opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together, listen to, and play small free-reed instruments. Local support is being provided by Aberdeen City Council’s Cultural Investment Programme, the Friends of the Elphinstone Institute, TMSA, and SC&T.

See you there!