Talisk in town

Music fans have the opportunity to enjoy performances from two top acts at the Tolbooth this weekend.

Up-and-coming folk band Talisk will be joined on the bill by fiddle and guitar duo Ross Couper and Tom Oakes on Friday evening.

Audiences are sure to be entertained by the sounds of Talisk – made up of Mohsen Amini on concertina, Hayley Keenan on fiddle and Graeme Armstrong on guitar.

Their sound, which is described as captivating, energetic and dynamic, has earned them a number of top awards and accolades.

They were nominees of the 2017 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards’Horizon Award, winners of the 2015 Young Folk Award, and Amini alone won the 2016 BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of theYear.

The music of Ross Couper from Shetland and Tom Oakes of Devon is said to be deeply rooted in the traditions of Scotland and Ireland – but with a vital modernity that chronicles their many musical journeys so far.

The crowd are told to expect a dynamic mixture of power and fragility combined with warmth and humour.

Ross’explosive fiddle playing lies at the heart of some of the biggest acts on the Scottish folk scene including the mighty Peatbog Faeries.

And Tom Oakes is a mult-award winning guitarist and flautist who, as well as being a founder member of the genre defying Auvo Quartet, is also known for his work as a solo flautist.

Tickets are £14/12.