Folk bands celebrate mental health charities work
Two of Scotland’s most celebrated folk bands, Mànran and Dàimh, take to the stage at Fort William’s Nevis Centre in July.
Both bands feature a number of musicians hailing from Lochaber and the surrounding area, and a percentage of money from each ticket sold will be donated to local mental health charities, Lochaber Hope and Ewen’s Room.
Gary Innes from Mànran said: “We can’t wait to share the stage at The Nevis Centre with the mighty Dàimh this July. This will be a homecoming gig for many of us and we wanted to do what we can to support the fantastic work that local charities Lochaber Hope and Ewen’s Room provide for mental health challenges in the area. It’s sure to be a great night of live music and it’s always a special night playing in front of a home crowd.”
Alyson Smith, executive manager of Lochaber Hope, said: “We at Lochaber Hope are delighted that Mànran has chosen us along with Ewen’s Room to raise funds for, we are very grateful to Gary and the band for championing us and the work we do.
“Funds raised will help us pay for more counselling hours and to subsidise the cost of counselling to support more people experiencing vulnerable or crisis periods in their lives, as we see evidence of poor mental health, increasing rapidly among so many people in our community.”
The Nevis Centre gig is on Saturday July 1.
Mànran ended 2022 on a high when they headlined Hoolie in the Hydro at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow.
The world-first event was the biggest night of traditional music to ever have taken place and was organised by one of the founding band members, Gary Innes.
The band then finished the year playing the Hogmanay Show on BBC One, alongside Lewis Capaldi.
Mànran have also recently returned from a tour of Denmark for a run of Scottish shows.
The multi-award-winning group has been at the heart of the Scottish traditional music scene for over a decade.
Internationally recognised as one of the most iconic and respected Scottish bands on the road today, the seven-piece show no signs of slowing down as they continue to push boundaries and explore new musical and geographical territory, bringing their uplifting and unique live performances to stages across the world.
With four hugely successful studio albums under their belt, Mànran added to their success in late 2021 when lead female vocalist, Oban’s Kim Carnie, was crowned Gaelic Singer of the Year at the Hands up for Trad Awards.
Their 2021 single Crow Flies is currently being used as the soundtrack for Crerar Hotels’ national television adverts.
Taking their name from the Gaelic word for kinship, Dàimh (pronounced dive) are a long-established folk band who are regulars on the Scottish, Irish and European festival scenes.
With their contemporary take on Highland and Gaelic music, from pyrotechnic jigs and reels to achingly poignant ballads, Dàimh have performed in more than 20 countries worldwide.
Their accolades include the award for the Best Folk Band in Europe at the prestigious Folkherbst competition in Germany in 2019, as well as being crowned Folk Band of the Year twice at the Scots Trad Music Awards, in both 2015 and 2018.
Tickets for the July 1 gig are available at: www.manran. co.uk/gigs