Clifden Arts Festival hosts special concert
The Clifden Arts Festival will mark its 40th anniversary this year and is kick-starting the celebrations this month, with a special concert in association with Music Network Ireland.
The event on Monday next, January 23, features Scottish performers Kris Drever and Julie Fowlis, who will be joined by Aoife Ní Bhríain and Pádraig Rynne.
Singer-songwriter and guitarist Kris Drever, who hails originally from Orkney, has been to the forefront of the Scottish folk revival, both as a solo performer and with his ground-breaking band, Lau. His compatriot Julie Fowlis who sings – mostly in Scots Gaelic – and plays pipes and whistles is the leading traditional singer from her country. She grew up on North Uist in the Outer Hebrides and is a leading expert on traditional Scottish music. Fowlis will be familiar to viewers of TG4 for the series Port, co-presented by Irish singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh. This co-production between TG4 and BBC Alba, is dedicated to traditional Irish and Scottish music and ran over two series, in 2015 and 2016.
The multi-awardwinning Aoife Ní Bhríain whose music spans the genres from traditional to classical, is currently First Violin/Leader of the Irish Memory Orchestra and also continuing her classical studies in Leipzig. Clare concertina player Pádraig Rynne, who comes from a traditional music background, has earned a reputation as an innovator with ensembles such as Guidewires, Dán and Triad which have re-defined the boundaries of the traditional music world, and most recently for his creations with the group Notify.
■ The concert from this specially created ensemble will take place on Monday at @8pm, in the Clifden Station House Theatre, Clifden. Tickets available at the door or online, visit www.clifdenarts festival.ie for more information.