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The Hebridean Celtic Festival takes place annually in the Outer Hebrides, with the focus of the festival being on the Isle of Lewis, Folk and Roots are at the 2010 festival and will be adding to the report below over the weekend...
Wednesday
After weeks of muggy sticky hot weather in London it was a relief to head north to the Hebrides for the 15th HebCelt festival, held in Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis.
Stornoway is a long long long way away. Despite leaving home at 6am and using planes, trains and ferries, I still didn’t arrive until late evening. Just in time to book into the Bridge- Stornoway’s university accommodation and youth centre for the island. The Bridge is the base for Radio Nan Gaidheal/ BBC Alba for the festival and I hope to see some of the bands appearing here over the next few days as warm ups to their main stage appearances.
I headed to An Lanntair for Norrie MacIver’s Ceilidh Band, which started just after 11pm; it was easy to find my way- I just had to follow the kilt wearers heading up the main street ! Gary Innes (Box Club) and James Mackenzie were part of Norrie’s band, so not only was the dancing a top way to make friends and enjoy yourself , the music was great too, and it was 2am before I left to go home through the shining wet streets.
Thursday
A bit of a swim at the local pool, tea back at the Bridge, and then it was time to follow the Lewis Pipe Band along the footpath leading to the castle and the big blue top, where all the evening bands play.
Thursday
Thursday was a typical Hebridean day, weather wise, particularly on the Isle of Lewis- wait five minutes and it’s bound to change! Drizzle turns to rain to mist to wind to sun and I’ve got used to carrying a brolly- ‘just in case’!
The weather doesn’t stop the good music though, and after collecting my festival pass from the new Heb Celt Festival office in Church Street, I went back to the Bridge to watch a short set from Oidhche Chiadain, a local band who had opened the Festival yesterday afternoon at An Lanntair. The band- four girls and two boys- take their name from the time of their practice sessions and seemed a little nervous in front of the microphones of Radio Nan Gaidheal- understandable, given their youth.
Despite the lure of a set by Adrian Edmondson I left to go to An Lanntair to watch local boy Alasdair White play fiddle with ex pupil Jane Hepburn. Wise move, as Alasdair is brilliant and has a relaxed stage manner, joking with the audience. Now in the Battlefield Band he formed the successful Face The West and protégée Jane has now taken his place in this band. They were joined on stage by the other founder member- Keith Morrison on piano, and together produced a sound so full it was hard to believe there was just a trio on stage.
A bit of a swim at the local pool, tea back at the Bridge, and then it was time to follow the Lewis Pipe Band along the footpath leading to the castle and the big blue top, where all the evening bands play.
Adrian Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds were on first, and who’d have thought that punk and folk would mix so well together? Any misgivings and misconceptions I had were swept aside as I realised that Adrian can really sing and play, any comedy being limited to banter with the audience. Whilst not strictly punk, the set did leave those under twenty five looking fairly mystified as to why everyone else was singing along and knew all the words to ‘Sound of the Suburbs’ , ‘Once in a Lifetime’ and ‘Making Plans for Nigel’.
The stage crew worked hard to turn the set around for the return of the hi-tech Afro Celt Sound System, but even so it was after 11pm before the band that celebrate their fifteenth birthday with the festival, took to the stage. For anyone who has never heard of the Afro Celts, they are simply what their name suggests, and their set comprises of African and Celtic influences, overlaid with electronica. Some element of this worked brilliantly at the HebCelt. The huge stage, the light show, the African dancers and the thumping drums filled the tent with sound, noise and light, the mixture of cultures blending seamlessly and fitting the Hebridean environment perfectly. Emer Mayock was effortlessly sublime on uilleann pipes and Johhny Kalsi his usual brilliant self when he had the opportunity to showcase his dhol drums. Simon Emmerson is one the original members and plays a background role in the band, leaving the theatrics to James McNally who appeared on stage in sunglasses and long black coat, despite the dark rainy Stornoway night. Wearing a headmike, he was free to walk the stage as he played whistle and bodhran.
After an hour, the crowds had thinned, presumably because of the lateness of the hour, so I headed back into the town for the warm and dry of An Lanntair and Festival Club. Everyone generally ends up in Festival Club, it’s the perfect way to relax, have something to eat, dance, meet friends and see unlikely collaborations. Tonight I managed to see an extended version of Blazin’ Fiddles; with Alasdair White, Adam Sutherland and Allan Henderson’s brother meaning the fiddles were seven strong. Just as well, as at one point Allan joined the conga line down on the dance floor! Finally, at 3 am, all danced out, I made my way back through the clear night skies to the Bridge.
Friday
Friday dawned fresh and breezy and started with Mŕnran tuning up at the BBC Alba studio across the courtyard; a six piece made up of musicians already successful in their own right including Norrie MacIver, Gary Innes, and Ewen Henderson and now collaborating to form a fresh exciting Scottish sound. I wandered across for a listen and also saw Fčis Rois, a group of teenagers who have grown up through the traditional music schools in this area.
The Mhairi Hall Trio were performing in An Lanntair for the afternoon concert, the Festival Club becoming a formal sit down theatre event. The dark setting was perfect for the atmospheric music of ‘Cairngorm’, the trio’s debut album, released last year. Mhairi plays piano and is joined by Mike Bryan on acoustic guitar and Fraser Stone on drums. A seemingly unlikely trio, the music varied wildly, from the gentle piano-led melodies to the wah wah pedal of guitar, but all entwined into one common thread, evocative of the music of the area: as well received here in the quiet hush of a Friday afternoon as it was at two in the morning at Celtic Connections Festival Club, when I last saw them.
After briefly sticking my head round the door of MacNeill’s to listen to a multi-island session that was going on, and taking part in the ceilidh outside it was back to the Bridge before the main events took place in the Big Blue.
Julie Fowlis, who is one of HebCelt’s Hall of Fame ambassadors, has a long association with the festival and was well received as the first act in Thursday’s line up. There are still traces of the young Uist girl from Dochas in her performance, but Julie has matured into a gentle, calm and graceful woman who reflects the beautiful music she effortlessly creates. Joined by her husband Eamon Doorley, fellow band mates Tony Byrne and Duncan Chisholm and stand in Duncan Lyall on double bass, (Martin O’Neill being busy supporting Stevie Wonder on tour!) Julie played whistle and sang ballads in her pure clear voice, before encouraging the crowd to join in with the Gaelic choruses of puirt a beul.
I slipped away from the big blue tent, with exhortations from the band to ‘jump, jump, jump’ ringing in my ears and made my way to the slightly quieter An Lanntair, where a young six piece fiddle band were playing. Used to supporting people like The Chair in their native Orkney, these teenage girls were confident and seemed right at home on the Festival Club stage.
After a set from Mŕnrun which filled the dance floor, there was a brief lull to recover before the Treacherous Orchestra arrived on stage at 3am, ready to party until 4am!
Saturday
There were blue skies above Stornoway when I finally woke up on the last day of the festival. No BBC Alba from the Bridge today, so keen to make the most of the good weather I went for a wander around the town, which had the feel of one recovering from a good night out! The inter island shinty challenge started in the afternoon, and by the time I’d come back from there the small port town had begun to fill with Runrig fans over to see the final concert in the Big Blue.
I’d opted instead to make my way to An Lanntair for the last concert there, a performance by Iain Morrison and his band. Performing a piece of work called ‘Ceol Mor’, or ‘Little Sea’, which had originally been commissioned for Celtic Connections, Iain drew on his experiences of life on the Hebrides where he grew up and learned the pipes from his father, also called Iain. Iain Senior was on stage too, and sang in the canntaireachd style- this is the original Gaelic chanting method of passing on pipe music. Iain Junior then built this into new songs, whole band affairs with electric bass and drums.
A tall willowy man hunched over his microphone, his hands cupping the stand, Iain Morrison initially seems hesitant at the start of each new tune, but as the music grows and swells he becomes more confident and self assured. Certainly the audience respected this insightful man, with quiet, respectful applause in response to his sensitive, evocative music; definitely a night for deep thought and reflection.
A far cry from what has happening in the Big Blue, where I made my way while An Lanntair prepared itself for Festival Club. The tent was packed with people singing along to Runrig; men, women, small children, teenagers, pensioners. Five thousand people who knew all the words and delighted in the knowledge that their heroes had come to Stornoway. The video screens behind the band played moving shots of Scottish mountains, hills and seas, rousing the crowd into big rugby style sing a longs to songs like ‘Loch Lomond’. There was something very moving about being at a gig like this, seeing so many people so happy, and being able to share in their enjoyment. An experience I’ll remember for a long time.
The feel good factor was still with me as I went to Festival Club for the last time this year. An early finish to comply with Stornoway’s strict Sunday trading rules meant that the club had to close its doors at 2am, but there was still time for some music. Iain Morrison had just finished his second set of the evening when I arrived and it wasn’t long before Breabach got the party started, fresh from their success on the main stage supporting Runrig. They were followed by Face The West, a very popular Stornoway band who carried on with the party atmosphere and made it seem like New Year’s Eve.
And so another HebCeltFest was over; the most successful to date in terms of tickets sales. It is a long way to go, but every single mile is worth it to experience the warmth, the kindness, and the good nature of the Hebrideans, their island, and their music.
See www.hebceltfest.com for details of the festival and see highlights from the festival at www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00t4nrq/Hebridean_Celtic_Music_Festival_17_07_2010 until 1st August 2010.