Various venues, Shetland, 30 April-3 May 2009

Cara Dillon

WITH VIRTUALLY all of its 21 main programme concerts sold out – many within days of the box office opening – the 29th Shetland Folk Festival notched up yet another resounding success. Unusually, too, for a Scottish island festival, the vast bulk of those 5000-plus tickets were snapped up by local audiences, for whom the four-day event is primarily laid on. (Some of the islands’ crofters carefully time their spring lambing so it starts only once the festival’s over.)

Despite its worldwide renown, Shetland’s annual spree isn’t really aimed at attracting extra outside visitors – though there’s always a smattering in attendance, including some who make the long northward trip every year. But given this phenomenal level of home-grown support (from a total population of around 21,000), and that some of the village halls outwith Lerwick – where nearly half the concerts take place – hold only a hundred people, there simply isn’t the capacity for many more.

Thanks to its far-flung location, Shetland rarely features on touring itineraries, so the festival’s key programming objective is to pack in as much international and stylistic variety as possible. This year’s line-up was drawn from ten different countries across three continents, with most of the musicians shipped up on the same overnight ferry from Aberdeen, and calm seas ensuring that the customary warm-up session in the bar onboard continued well into the wee hours – resulting in some seriously bleary eyes on arrival in Lerwick at 7am.

Come that same night, though, there was no sign of boat-lag among the acts featured at Hamnavoe, on the south-west coast of Shetland’s main island – just a few miles, in fact, from the town referenced in the well-known tune ‘The Scalloway Lasses’, which featured in a typically tight, exhilarating set from Highland stalwarts Dàimh.

The other Scots on the bill were Box Club, with their wilfully unlikely four-accordion frontline, vigorously backed by guitar, double-bass and percussion, who once again proved just how far they’ve come since their debut gigs three years ago. Back then, the concept was arguably – and understandably – stronger than their actual sound, but now the latter has firmly resolved and integrated into something genuinely original and exciting, based on a vibrant foundation of original tunes, and confidently aligning all manner of influences – from Celtic to calypso, reggae to jazz – with a touch of self-mocking comedy.

Danish five-piece Zar, back by popular demand after their Shetland debut five years ago, once again went down a treat, mixing airily captivating vocals – pitched somewhere between Eddi Reader and Edie Brickell – with dynamic, imaginative instrumental work on twin fiddles, guitar, mandolin and double bass.

To say that Irish star Cara Dillon stole the show implies no discredit to these other bands – rather it’s a measure of just how stunning her performance was, buoyed by the kind of intent audience appreciation that singers dream about. Matching gorgeous honeyed sweetness with compelling emotional intensity and minutely nuanced phrasing, she re-minted such classics as ‘Black is the Colour’, ‘The Parting Glass’ and ‘P Stands for Paddy’ with spellbinding eloquence, while the self-penned title track from her latest album, Hill of Thieves, underlined her impressive development as a songwriter.

Expertly accompanied by husband Sam Lakeman (guitar/piano), James O’Grady (uilleann pipes/whistles) and Ed Boyd (guitar), she also took turns on both fiddle and penny whistle in a couple of tune sets, all served up with an abundance of unassuming charm.

Besides all the professional visiting acts, an additional highlight of this year’s programme was provided by the Nordic Tone project, instigated by the festival, which brought together 22 young musicians, aged 16-25, from Shetland, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark, to explore and build upon their common cultural ground during a week’s intensive rehearsal, culminating in a performance at Saturday’s biggest concert in Lerwick.

Featuring fiddles, accordions, cello, guitars, double bass, flute, percussion, vocals and the zither-like Finnish kantele, their lush, sophisticated, densely layered ensemble sound comprehensively belied the brevity of its preparation, imbued as it was with a polish and finesse that plenty of established bands would struggle to emulate.

Also reflecting Shetland’s vibrant Nordic heritage, later on the same night, were the Finnish/Norwegian seven-piece Frigg, another big hit of the weekend. Fronted by four dynamic fiddlers, they blended old and new tunes from their own traditions with the hoedown twang of bluegrass, and terrific musical verve with brilliantly extrovert showmanship. Representing the extended family of Celtic music, meanwhile, were the Asturian outfit Felpeyu, whose line-up of bagpipes, fiddle, accordion, bouzouki, guitar, bass and bodhran meshed in winningly bright, vivacious, richly coloured instrumentals, complemented by stirring contemporary songs.

As ever, too, the officially programmed gigs were only half of the Shetland festival story, the rest unfolding via late-night/early-morning sessions and parties at the Festival Club and in local homes, where the tunes flowed as freely as the craic, leaving vistors and locals alike, by the end, as inspired as they were exhausted.

© Sue Wilson, 2009

Links

• Shetland Folk Festival