Sunday 21st August 2011

The Mitchell's Glengyle Distillery

Dalriada Connections Concert

Heritage Centre, Campbeltown

Tickets - £10 (incl sponsors miniature), Doors 1.30pm

 Ali Hutton & Kevin O’Neil

Lorne MacDougall’s Hello World Band

TBC

Kay Johnston

Scooter Muse

Frank Rochford

The Dalriada Connections Band

The MOK Festival committee are pleased to announce that the Dalriada Connections Concert in the Campbeltown Heritage Centre on Sunday 21^st August will again be sponsored by Mitchell's Glengyle Distillery.  The concert this year again boasts a top class line up featuring artists from Northern Ireland to North Argyll.  The sponsors have again generously offered a free miniature with every ticket, which can be picked up at the venue on the day of the concert.

Ali Hutton: Ali’s abundant multi-instrumental talents have already earned him an impressive list of band and session credits, including Back of the Moon, the Mick West Band, Dougie MacLean and Capercaillie.   Ali specialises in pipes, whistles and guitar. He began to play pipes at the age of seven and joined the World famous Vale of Atholl Pipe band where he received tuition and guidance from the late, great Gordon Duncan.   

He currently performs with The Treacherous Orchestra, Old Blind Dogs and the Mick West Band while also playing guitar with the Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson Trio. Besides his performing credits, Ali has recently produced a number of records including Maeve McKinnon’s ‘Don’t Sing Love Song’s’ (along with Duncan Lyall) which was part of the Celtic Connections Classic Album’s series and the latest Old Blind Dogs release, ‘Wherever Yet May Be’.

Ali has previously appeared at the MOK Fest with Back of the Moon, Deoch n’ Dorus and as a session musician.

Web site: www.treacherousorchestra.com  &  www.oldblinddogs.co.uk

Kevin O’Neil

Kevin draws both on his Scottish/Irish background and a broad variety of international folk influences, to create a vibrant, inventive style that’s uniquely his own. Performing a diverse repertoire of traditional and contemporary tunes from throughout the Celtic world, he also plays with Treacherous Orchestra and The Maverick Angels. He has been commissioned to write new work and his tune ‘Superfly’ is becoming increasing popular by recording artists. 

Web Site: www.treacherousorchestra.com

Lorne MacDougall’s Hello World Band: Three times BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the year finalist, Lorne is one of Scotland’s leading young pipers. Born and brought up in Carradale, in the piping stronghold of Kintyre, Lorne was awarded a BA in Scottish Music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2005 and has performed at many local and international festivals and has been involved in a number of recordings including UK Top 40 hits and albums achieving platinum disc status.

On leaving school, Lorne studied for his music degree at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, graduating with honours in 2005, one of the first graduates on the RSAMD’s piping course. He has played in Grade 1 pipe bands at world championship level from an early age including such leading bands as Scottish Power.

He has toured Scotland and Europe with his principal folk band Canterach, Brian McNeill’s “Baltic tae Byzantium”, The Muckle Loons and Bodega. He has performed at many significant festivals including Lorient, Aviles, Celtic Connections, Mull of Kintyre, Jura, and Orkney Folk Festival and the Cooperative Cambridge Folk Festival.

A versatile musician who plays Highland bagpipes, smallpipes, Border pipes, whistles, piano and keyboards, as a composer his tunes have featured on albums from such bands as Skerryvore, Deoch ‘n’ Dorus, Stuart Cassells, the House of Edgar Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band and the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.  They have also been used in various media events such as the theme music for Sky Sport’s SPL coverage.

In 2010 Lorne released his debut CD, Hello World and performed with his Hello World Band at this year’s Celtic Connections.  Lorne has played many times at the MOK Fest but this will his first outing with his new Hello World Band.

Lorne’s Web Site is www.lornemacdougall.com 

Scooter Muse: Scooter is well known to audiences in Campbeltown having played at the Festival on several occasions, twice with Full Moon Ensemble and once with Ed Miller and Friends and at last years Dalriada Connections Concert. Scooter has his roots in Bluegrass Music and has won ten State of Alabama & Tennessee Valley Championship titles for 5 String and Old Time Banjo. From 1994 till 2002 was founder and leader of one of the country's finest Celtic bands, The Full Moon Ensemble, touring the US, Canada and Scotland.

After the FME went their separate ways in December of 2002, Scooter joined Henri's Notions (www.henrisnotions.com) after being a big fan of the band for many years!

He has released his first solo guitar CD, "Saddell Abbey" featuring 14 tracks of music. The CD includes 12 original compositions for acoustic guitar including music set to the poetry of Robert Burns, and 3 songs by the Full Moon Ensemble's Allison King and Jil Chambless of Henri's Notions. Saddell Abbey is available through Henri's Notions Website and CD Baby.

In between gigs with the Notions, Scooter handles all the 5 string banjo work for the Muscle Shoals recording industry as well as hitting a few bluegrass festivals and competitions.

My Space: www.myspace.com/scootermuse

Kay Johnston: Kay is a well known face at the MOK Fest and has been the MC at the Festival Ceilidh Night for the past 5 years.  She has sung for many years at during Festival sessions and she also sang at the Gigha Music Festival when she was also an MC at the event in 2008.  At the Music of Kintyre Night in 2009 Kay, sang and compered the event and this will be her second appearance at the Dalriada Connections Concert.

Frank Rochford: Frank, who recently came first in the Robert McCallum Memorial Trophy at the Royal National Mod, has performed at the MOK Fest as a fiddle player since the age of eight.  He makes a welcome return solo appearance at this concert and as a member of the Dalriada Connections Band. 

The Dalriada Connections Band, This unique band comes together each year under the name of the Dalriada Connections Band, consisting of all the artists who have performed over the course of the concert and more.  Last year’s band finished of the concert to a rousing ovation which ended a truly special concert.