Glenuig Hall in Moidart has a taste of the East on Saturday 4^th June when they play host to the highly popular Budapest Café Orchestra who play an impassioned but often tender mixture of Hungarian Czardas, Russian and Ukrainian folk songs and dances from Romania and Bulgaria, as well as their own electrifying compositions.

Casting an intoxicating spell on all who hear them, the band plays powerful and driving folk-based music from Eastern Europe, inspired by the music of European gypsies. Comprising four fabulous players of violins, guitar, accordion, double bass, saz & balalaika the Budapest Café Orchestra plays an impassioned but often tender mixture of Hungarian Czardas, Russian and Ukranian folk songs and dances from Romania and Moldavia as well as their own electrifying compositions.  The music evokes vivid images of Tzigane fiddle maestros, Budapest café life and gypsy campfires.  Good enough to make you want to book a holiday in Budapest!

Doors open 7:30pm (bar from 5pm); start time 8:00pm, tickets £8 (under 18s £5) available now online at thebooth.co.uk and all our usual local outlets.

Saturday 2^nd July

HIGHLAND – BRETON VOYAGE (Montagne Voyage)

Angus MacKenzie  &  Ross Martin (Daimh) with Yann-Fanch Kemener and Arnaud Ciapolino

The first Scottish concert from a band combining two duos in an exciting new musical collaboration.  Already well known from their work with Daimh, Highland musicians Angus MacKenzie (pipes/whistle) and Ross Martin (guitar) team up with two Breton stars for a night of top international music.

Hailing from Brittany in the north west of France Yann-Fanch Kemener is one of the best loved singers and collectors of songs in his native Breton tongue, Breizh which is related to Scottish Gaelic. Still mainly sung at dances, or fest noz, the reportoire that Yann Fanch draws on contains many up beat dance numbers with some slower ballads concentrating on many of the same themes as old Gaelic songs such as the sea, emigration and unrequited love.

The newly formed quartet sets these hypnotic vocal rhythms with the powerful and rich tones of Arnaud Ciapolino on the wooden flute and the driving west coast Pipes and Guitar of Angus MacKenzie and Ross Martin.

This is a world premiere of what could become a very well known and popular quartet. Don’t miss the chance to be there!

Start time 8:00pm, tickets £10 (under 18s £6) available online at thebooth.co.uk and from all our usual local outlets.

Friday 15^th July

DONALD BLACK BAND

Featuring Donald Black (Scottish Celtic harmonica), Allan Nairn (guitar, banjo & percussion) and Ross Wilson (keyboards).

Being a native of Benderloch, Argyll, Scotland, ace harmonica player Donald Black’s roots are firmly steeped in the West of Scotland Highland Bagpipe and Gaelic tradition – but his repertoire extends well beyond this to embrace the idioms of Ireland, the Shetland Isles, Cape Breton / Nova Scotia and mainstream Scotland. Donald’s live performances have delighted audiences from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, UK-wide, through Europe – and from Moscow to Kansas City. His playing of thoroughly challenging jigs, hornpipes, marches, strathspeys and reels, and emotionally charged slow airs and laments can only be described as spellbinding.

Donald is joined in his band by:

Allan Nairn from Kentra, who is at home on most stringed instruments and percussion, mainly the guitar and drum kit, playing all types of music from traditional to the more contemporary. Now residing in Glasgow, Allan attends Glasgow University where he studies Electrical engineering with music.

Ross Wilson from Bunessan on the Island of Mull, is known for playing in many bands, usually in the back-line playing Piano/Keyboards, Accordion and Double Bass. He is now becoming a fairly prominent player in Scotland’s traditional music scene and has been very busy over the past two years playing in numerous bands and doing session work on BBC Scotland, BBC Alba.
Start time 8:00pm, tickets £10 (OAPS £8, under 18s £5) available now online and from all our usual outlets.

Saturday 3^rd September

All or Nothing Aerial Dance Theatre present Uncharted Waters: an aerial circus dance theatre triple bill in collaboration with Strange Bird Zirkus

An aerial adventure through the ebb & flow of worlds on the edge of reality.

All or Nothing was set up to cross the boundaries between the floor, the air and the space in between.  Merging aerial skills with dance theatre and its choreographic principles and processes, whilst exploring the space on many realms, All or Nothing aims to produce work that engages, excites and challenges whilst connecting with emotional intent.

Climb aboard with All or Nothing & StrangeBird Zirkus as they navigate between 3 short stories of new wave circus theatre.

Full details & tickets to be confirmed.

Saturday 10^th September

BLAS 2011

MAGGIE MACINNES AND COLUM SANDS: The Seedboat

GLENFINNAN CEILIDH BAND
FÈIS LOCHABAIR

Inspired by the fascinating story of the boat which once plied the waters between their ancestral homelands, Maggie MacInnes from Barra in the Outer Hebrides and Colum Sands from County Down have woven a bi-lingual tapestry of songs old and new, reaching across the waves that divide and join their homeplaces.

West Lochaber has always been a fertile ground for attracting and nurturing traditional talent and this grouping of musical giants is testament to that. All based in Glenfinnan, the members of the GLENFINNAN CEILIDH BAND (Iain MacFarlane,, Colm O’Rua, Dougie Hunter and Ingrid Henderson) are stalwarts from the traditional music world, at home playing large concert venues and bothy cèilidhs.

Tickets: Adult  £12, Senior Citizen £10; Children and school pupils £5, Family ticket (2 adults+2 children) £ 30.

Wednesday 14^th September in ACHARACLE PRIMARY SCHOOL

CHERISH THE LADIES with KRISTAN HARVEY AND THE SANNA

Celebrating 25 years as the most successful and sought-after Irish-American group in Celtic music history, Cherish The Ladies share their timeless Irish traditions passed down from fathers to their daughters.  The all-female ensemble’s spectacular blend of virtuosic instrumental talents, beautiful vocals, captivating arrangements and stunning step dancing showcases all the facets of traditional Irish culture.
“It is simply impossible to imagine an audience that wouldn’t enjoy what they do.” -The Boston Globe

The Sanna features 2011’s BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year, fiddle player Kristan Harvey, joined by guitarist Seán Gray of the Paul McKenna Band, multi-instrumentalist Megan Henderson and All Ireland Bodhran Champion Adam Brown. The quartet creates an exciting and fresh sound: a blend of Irish, Bluegrass and traditional Scottish styles, with quirky arrangements from Danish fiddle duets, to ‘Honky-tonk’ hornpipes, and Gaelic song.

Tickets:  Adult  £12, Senior Citizen £10; Children and school pupils £5, Family ticket (2 adults+2 children) £ 30.

When applying for tickets by post please make cheques payable to The Highland Council and include a stamp4ed addressed envelope. Please note that tickets cannot be reserved until payment has been received.

All events are promoted by The Highland Council unless stated otherwise. The Sunart Centre arts programme is funded by The Highland Council and the Scottish Arts Council (Lottery Funded).

Source: Glenuig Hall