Transatlantic session date
Pair bring musical talent to Comrie
James Hickman and Dan Cassidy will perform their transatlantic folk in an intimate concert in Comrie’s WRI Hall on Saturday this week.
Virtuoso fiddler and singer Dan grew up in a musical family in Maryland, USA.
His upbringing saw him absorb many musical styles, drawing inspiration from a diverse range of sources – including Shetland fiddler Aly Bain.
Dan, who has a continuing interest in Celtic music, has spent the last 15 years in Iceland as a successful session musician, and has been returning to the UK regularly to perform with his own group, The Dan Cassidy Swing Quartet.
He also appears on several recordings of his sister, the late Eva Cassidy.
James, meanwhile, was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, where he was raised on a diet of folk and bluegrass music.
At the age of 13 years, he started performing with his father at sessions and folk clubs.
Destined for a career in music, after leaving music college he travelled the world with his guitar, ending up in Iceland where he met Dan – forming what has progressed to become an inspiring musical partnership.
James went on to join folk group Uiscedwr and now performs in the UK and Europe in several different bands.
James’s emotive, soaring vocals and driving guitar are complemented by Dan’s ingenious and virtuosic fiddling in a show bursting with humour, heartbreak and excitement.
The latest in a series of events promoted by locally-based Chris’s Gigs, doors open at 7.30pm for an 8pm start.
Tickets are £ 12 from Hansen’s Kitchen and Comrie Post Office and from Eventbrite.co.uk. There’s no bar so it’s BYOB. The evening follows on from an absolute stormer of a gig in Comrie White Church recently from Session A9, which had the audience dancing in the aisles and yelling for more.