“The Music Bus was getting rather shabby,” said Jean Atkin, Marketing Officer for DGAA , “so we’re delighted that support from the Holywood Trust and the Scottish Arts Council Youth Music Initiative has made it possible for us to give the bus this colourful makeover and re-equip it.”

The Music Bus has already been very active across the region this year, visitng 32 schools before the summer holidays and many youth sessions, as the Kirkcudbright Children’s Festival and The Wickerman Festival.

John Dinning, who leads workshops on the Music Bus, said: “We’ve had some great feedback from the kids, who’ve really responded well to the new look of the bus and are making some great music on the new software and computers we’ve been able to install.”

Dinning explains: “For younger children and for those with no previous music making experience we have an excellent programme by Sony called Super Duper Music Looper.”

In recent weeks DGAA has bought Sequel, a new software package which is the perfect transition between the beginners’ software and the more complex Reason which is also available on the bus).

On Saturday, August 29, the Music Bus will be at Muckle Doo Homecoming Burns Tribute event at King George V playing fields.

The Music Bus is available to hire, and is suitable for both schools and youth groups. A session on the Music Bus, supported by trained staff, offers the opportunity for kids to try their hand at creating new music on the bus’s specialist software, which allows each participant to go home with their own track on a disk.