Julie Fowlis and Laura Wilkie who close this year’s Edinburgh Tradfest
Edinburgh Tradfest is now in full swing and seeing a fantastic turnout of audiences to its 11 day programme of events across the city.
The Festival runs until Monday 13 May and this weekend sees a continuation of its packed programme of traditional live music, storytelling and folk film.
Highlights coming up include: Edinburgh Tradfest’s closing concert at the Assembly Rooms (13 May) with vocal superstar Julie Fowlis andhighly respected fiddler Laura Wilkie. Julie Fowlis, forever recognised for singing the theme songs to Disney Pixar’s Brave, and singing live at the opening ceremony of the Glasgow XX Commonwealth Games. will grace the stage with her crystalline and intoxicating vocals, accompanied by special guest Laura Wilkie whose debut solo album Vent – an instrumental exploration or traditional Gaelic waulking songs, is released on 5 July. Laura will perform with musician Ian Carr on guitar/harmonium.
International musicians will also take centre stage, including raucous fiddlers Lena Jonsson and Brittany Haas (8 May), whose powerful fiddle playing is intricate and heart-rending.
Plus, two of Finland’s most visionary musicians Lau Nau and Pekko Käppi will perform their accompanying music score for Je’Vida the first every film made in the Skolt Sami dialect (spoken by only around 300 people) on Fri 10 May, followed by a concert at the Scottish Storytelling Centre that same evening.
Newly formed bands and new work coming up includes Triptic (Greg Lawson, Phil Alexander and Mario Caribe from Moishe’s Bagel) on Fri 10 May and Birdvox (Sarah Hayes, Jenny Sturgeon, Charlotte Printer and Inge Thomson) on Thursday who will debut this Festival. Plus, Malin Lewis launches their new album Halocline (Wed 8 May), Norman&Corrie whose music transcends both jazz and folk will present new music created in Shetland for their forthcoming album later this year (Thu 9 May); and storyteller Daiva Ivanauskatie and musician Gaynor Barradell explore the silence between generations in Fire from the Woods at the Storytelling Centre this Saturday.
New young bands showcasing their talents at our ETF Spotlight event on Sunday 12 May include Miguel Giräo whose latest release The Northern Isles Suite is a collection of music for solo guitar composed of traditional melodies from Orkney and Shetland; Elír who take traditional songs from Scotland and Ireland and merge them with an eclectic range of influences to produce a unique sound (Niamh MacKaveney, David Lombardi, Calum McIlroy); Noah Scott & Ciorstaidh Chaimbeul from Skye who won the Danny Kyle Award at this year’s Celtic Connections; and Beatha a vibrant folk trio (Iona Reid, Kenneth Macfarlane, Cam Lawson) whose traditional folk melodies are infused with a contemporary flair.
Plus, there will be a full weekend of workshops on everything from traditional Zimbabwean song and Scottish step dance, to how to sign, how to improve your onstage patter, and how your favourite music can provide a springboard to your own songwriting ambitions with Evie Waddell, Bruce Ncube, Svend-Erik Engh, Anna-Wendy Stevenson and Karine Polwart.
And, finally, on Friday and Saturday night there will be late night music in the Traverse bar from 22:30 until late with Isla Ratcliff and Dominic Blaikie, and Simon Bradley and Anna-Wendy Stevenson leading the sessions.
Douglas Robertson and Jane-Ann Purdy, co-producers of Edinburgh Tradfest said: “It’s fantastic to see so many people enjoying this year’s programme and the artists are just having THE best time.
“We’re only half way through and we have a huge weekend coming up, so we really hope that the crowds continue and first-timers and regulars will come along, support the artists and have a great time.”
Edinburgh Tradfest runs from Friday 3 May to Monday 13 May.
For tickets and more information visit edinburghtradfest.com
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