SCOTTISH MUSICIANS will be firmly in the limelight at next weekend's Cambridge Folk Festival, one of Europe's premier events in its field, thanks to a new Scottish Arts Council promotion. While music from Scotland has long featured prominently among Cambridge's famously eclectic line-ups, this year's 15,000-strong gathering will include a designated Scottish Showcase, with eight acts flying the Saltire alongside headliners kd lang, Joan Armatrading, Billy Bragg and Martha Wainwright.

Given the festival's international reputation among key music-industry and media players - and its proximity to London - it's hoped that this elevated platform will aid Scottish artists in reaching those often rather resistant metropolitan ears, as well as exposing them to Cambridge's diverse, discerning audience.

"Cambridge was massively important for me in terms of opening doors," says multi-award-winning singer-songwriter Karine Polwart, who'll be making her fourth or fifth visit to the festival among the Scottish delegation. "It just exposed me to a huge number of new people who then bought loads of my CDs, and came to other gigs.

"You've got all the movers and shakers hanging out backstage, too, so it's great for networking, and then there's all the TV and radio coverage: you just can't beat that for getting your music out there. If the Scottish Arts Council are going to support one UK folk festival outwith Scotland, Cambridge definitely makes the most sense."

With Cambridge director Eddie Barcan being a long-time annual visitor to Celtic Connections, including that festival's original Showcase Scotland promotion, launched in 2000, the new initiative evolved naturally out of well-established relationships, according to the SAC's head of music, Ian Smith.

"Eddie was already booking lots of Scottish acts every year - he knows the scene and the people involved up here; he knows how good the music is.

"We haven't even particularly increased the number of acts this year, we're just highlighting them collectively in a more focused way. For me, the most important thing I can do in this job is get the best possible opportunities for our musicians to show people what they can do, and Cambridge is an ideal partner in that strategy."

THE actual tactics involved vary from a dedicated Scottish Showcase section on the festival's website, enhanced PR resources and a VIP reception, to - in the case of up and coming Orkney outfit The Chair - helping them get booked in the first place, whic happened after Barcan heard them at Celtic Connections this January. "We're still pretty much an unknown quantity in England," acknowledges band member Brian Cromarty, "and with an eight-piece line-up, it costs a fortune to get from Orkney to anywhere, never mind down there, so without the extra funding it just wouldn't have been viable."

Between them, the chosen artists and bands represent an aptly diverse cross-section of Scotland's current folk scene, from Polwart's literate, lyrical balladry to the Peatbog Faeries' euphoric Celtic/rave fusion; from veteran singer and multi-instrumentalist Brian McNeill to fresh-faced traditional duo Siobhan Miller and Jeana Leslie, current holders of the BBC Young Folk Award. Others include jazz drummer Tom Bancroft's acclaimed children's show Kidsamonium, quirky contemporary songs from Findlay Napier & the Bar Room Mountaineers, and the fiery Scots/Irish piping partnership of Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson.

"There's been a lot of wonderful music coming out of Scotland in recent years," says Barcan. "As an outsider, I'm struck by the sheer concentration of artists up there, and the amount of innovation and creativity going on across so many different musical strands. It's always been a key element of the Cambridge mix, and I'm really pleased to be promoting it on a more formal basis: it can only be good for all of us."