Blazin’ Fiddles promise a fiery performance
Scotland’s most celebrated fiddle band Blazin’ Fiddles with vocalist Karen Matheson will perform at Stirling’s Albert Halls on Friday, August 31.
To mark 20 years of touring and recording the band are performing throughout Scotland with their special guest.
Each member of Blazin’ Fiddles draws the distinct flavour of music from their part of the Highlands and Islands.
Fiddlers Jenna Reid, Bruce MacGregor, Rua Macmillan and Kristan Harvey are joined by Anna Massie on guitar/fiddle and Angus Lyon on piano.
Bruce MacGregor, founder of Blazin’ Fiddles, said: “It was only meant to last for four concerts back in 1998 but here we are 20 years later still going strong.
“I can’t wait to take this special show on the road and to have Karen Matheson perform alongside us will be fantastic.
“When the band started in 1998 it was born out of a desire to showcase the Scottish fiddle, in all its guises.
“We drew on influences from all of the fiddle playing regions of Scotland and put these together in one band; this is why for us, in our 20th year, it is so important to tour Scotland and bring our music to as many areas of the country as we can.”
As a solo performer, Karen Matheson has been involved in various projects of collaboration worldwide including the award winning BBC series Transatlantic Sessions, where over the last decade she has filmed tracks with artists like James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, The McGarrigle Sisters, Nanci Griffith, and a host of respected Scottish musicians.
Her many collaborations include Algerian singer Idir, Breton guitarist Dan Ar Braz and Portuguese star Dulce Pontes.
She has produced four acclaimed ‘solo albums – ‘The Dreaming Sea’, ‘Time to Fall’, ‘Downriver’, and most recently ‘Urram’, with a collection of timeless Gaelic songs that evoke the character and atmosphere of island life.
Karen has also enjoyed a stellar career with Capercaillie who have sold more than a million albums and performed in more than 30 countries and written and starred in the blockbuster movie ‘Rob Roy’, with Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange, in which Karen performed a solo rendition of a Gaelic lament