|
Saturday Night Concert
Two of the
world’s premier traditional
bands, Aly Bain & Phil
Cunningham and Four Men
and a Dog make a welcome
return this year following their
earlier successful appearances
at the Festival. This year they
return to play in the Victoria
Hall with the ever popular
Arthur Johnstone as MC and a
support band which will be
confirmed shortly.
This new concert
has been created due to the
Picture House being unavailable
this year. The committee felt
that they had to accommodate the
long term Festival fans who
would otherwise have lost out on
the long standing and popular
Saturday Night traditional
concert. The venue will be laid
out with tables and chairs and
an area for the dancers to let
off steam as the night
progresses.
Aly Bain and Phil
Cunningham:
In 1988, two members from two of
Scotland’s leading bands, “The
Boys of The Lough” and “Silly
Wizard”, came together to work
on a television series. You
could say “the rest is history”.
Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham
enjoyed performing together so
much that they decided to have a
small tour that year. Their
first tour to 8 small venues
across Scotland was a resounding
success, and the beginning of a
remarkable working relationship
and friendship that has endured
and continued to thrive taking
them all over the world.
22 years on, they are filling
not only small village halls,
but all of our major performance
venues. In these years their
dedication to their music has
earned them both the title of Dr
and the honour of an MBE. During
2007, the year that Scotland
celebrated Highland Culture, it
was a fitting coincidence that
they embarked on their 20th
anniversary tour, travelling the
length and breadth of Scotland
over the course of two months
during August and September.
Attending an Aly and Phil show
is an unforgettable experience.
Not only have they been
described as “the best
traditional musicians you are
ever likely to hear” they also
have a reputation for their
irrepressible sense of fun and
quick-witted story telling.
Aly Bain is the
best known and most significant
fiddle player in the celtic
tradition. He is rightly
regarded as Scotland's supreme
fiddler- arguably the finest of
all time. As a founder member of
Boys of the Lough, Aly has
toured extensively in America,
Europe and the UK. In 1994 Aly
was awarded an M.B.E. in
recognition of his services to
music and was further honoured
in 1999, receiving the degree of
Doctor of Music from the Royal
Scottish Academy of Music and
Drama.
Phil Cunningham
is a world famous accordion
player and composer. At sixteen
he joined his brother John in
the highly acclaimed band Silly
Wizard. He was nominated in June
1996 in The Scotsman as one of
Scotland's most influential
people. In recent years Phil's
work load has included numerous
commissions for TV and film and
an increasing amount of work as
musical director for television
and large theatrical events. His
Highlands and Islands Suite and
other collaborations have been a
highlight of Celtic Connections
in Glasgow. In 2002 Phil
received an M.B.E. for his
contribution to Scottish music.
Aly and Phil have been touring
together since 1988 to packed
concert halls. They recorded
their first album The Pearl in
1994. In January 1999 they left
for the United States where they
spent a year touring coast to
coast. This was their second
tour as a duo and it proved an
outstanding success. They were
guests on Prairie Home Companion
the internationally acclaimed
radio show hosted by Garrison
Keiller, which has over 2
million listeners. Since then
they have toured extensively in
Spain, Scotland and a host of
festivals in Europe.
Web Site:
www.philandaly.com
Four Men and a
Dog
have made a name for themselves
with their eclectic and
vivacious blend of traditional
Irish music with a wide spectrum
of other genres, including rap,
Southern rock, jazz, blues,
bluegrass, polka, country swing,
and even salsa. They wowed the
Campbeltown audiences on their
two previous appearances in 2001
and 2002 and this year they play
with guest fiddler Ciaran
Tourish from Altan.
Four Men and a
Dog made their debut performance
as a band in 'Murphy's Bar',
Dungiven, County Derry, in 1990
before going on to steal the
show at the Belfast Folk
Festival later that year, with a
high-energy approach that
combines furious traditional
dance tunes with irreverent new
music and inimitable covers.
Barking Mad,
their debut album from Cross
Border Media, snagged an award
for Album of the Year from Folk
Roots magazine in 1991, marking
the first time that an Irish
group had ever won the prize.
Four Men & a Dog's music is
enthusiastic and infectious.
During live shows
it is also spontaneous, since
band members do not rehearse.
The group emerged in 1990 with a
high-energy performance during
the Belfast Folk Festival. Its
name stems from the nickname of
its original vocalist, Mick "the
Black Dog" Daly.
Other original
members included percussionist
Gino Lupari, accordionist Donal
Murphy, mandolinist and banjoist
Brian McGrath, and fiddler
Cathal Hayden. Kevin Doherty
later replaced Daly as lead
singer.
Around the same
time, the group added James
Blennerhassit on bass and Rod
McVeigh on piano. Early in
1992,Conor Keane took over for
Murphy on the accordion. By the
following year, Gerry O'Connor
stepped in for McGrath on banjo.
A later line-up
consisted of guitarist Arty
McGlynn, Doherty, Lupari,
Hayden, O'Connor, and Keane.
McGlynn, who produced the
group's first album, formerly
played with Patrick Street, the
Clancy Brothers, and Planxty.
Kean hails from the group Arcady,
while O'Connor previously played
with Skylark. The band has gone
on to produce 6 CD’s releasing
their latest “Wallop the Spot”
in 2007on the Hook record label.
Arthur Johnstone,
a great friend to the festival
Arthur, a founder member of “The
Laggan”, returns to compere the
Saturday evening Traditional
Concert. Arthur who started the
Star Folk Club in the 1970’s is
known for his clear, strong and
passionate voice is still
regarded as one of the best in
Scottish folksong.
Arthur’s latest CD, “North By
North” was last year published
on Lismor Recordings
Tickets £25.00
from (ticketweb link) |
