The 2025 festival, directed by Dr Frances Wilkins, senior lecturer at the Elphinstone Institute and a concertina player herself, was the fifth Button Boxes & Moothies festival to take place. Established in 2003 by Professor Ian Russell, Button Boxes and Moothies is a celebration of the lesser known and often overlooked small free reed instruments:

• Button boxes

• Mouth organs

• Jew’s harps

• Concertinas

• Melodeons

The festival aims to offer rare opportunities to learn the instruments, meet the finest players, take part in sessions and attend concerts.