Who is Brìdghe Chaimbeul?
Well, we’ll get to that. Let’s first take a wee look at Brìghde’s debut album, The Reeling.
The album has had an extraordinary response since it’s launch at a sold out Celtic Connections show at the start of 2019. It was named as Folk Album Of The Month by The Guardian, given five star reviews in both fRoots and Songlines, lavished with praise by BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction and listed as one of The Quietus’ Albums Of The Year So Far. The Reeling was voted one of the 20 Scottish Albums Of The Year by the Say Awards (out of 293 submissions) and secured a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nomination for Brìghde.
Not bad eh? We need not add to that praise, but we will. We here at Ceòl Cholasa think ‘The Reeling’ to be one of the very best trad records of the last decade. It’s that good.
So who is behind this mastery? Growing up in a musical family in Sleat on the Isle of Skye, Brìghde was no stranger to the sound of the pipes. Indeed she took up piping when she was just four years old! A native Gaelic speaker, her style is rooted in her indigenous language and culture, but draws inspiration from a variety of piping traditions such as Cape Breton, Eastern Europe and Ireland.
As winner of the 2019 BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award, and 2016 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk award, Brìghde has cemented herself as one of Scotland’s most exciting young musicians.
Why bring her to Colonsay?
Did you read that last sentence?! ‘One of Scotland’s most exciting young musicians’. Did you see those album reviews?! Five stars! Why wouldn’t we bring her here?!
We’re all suckers for the sma’ pipes here at Ceòl Cholasa HQ. And our love for the avant garde is balanced by our love for tunes played they way they were originally intended. Tunes for tunes sake. No gimmicks.
And no-one does that better than Brìghde. Except maybe a certain Aidan O’Rourke, who just so happens to be the producer of The Reeling and will be accompanying Ms Chaimbeul with his exquisite fiddle playing.
A gig not to be missed!
When can I see them?
We’re not 100% if we’re are honest. One thing we do know is that Brìghde will not be playing on the same night as Lau, owing to Aidan’s not insignificant commitments with the experimental superstars.
A Saturday night gig therefore seems most likely at this stage.
How do I get to see them?
By purchasing a ticket of course! Festival passes for Ceòl Cholasa 2020 are £100, but an early bird discount of £20 is applied to all tickets purchased before the 29th February. Click on the tickets page to see all the options. The full weekend pass gains you entry to all the concerts in the hall, the stomping late night Ceòl Ceilidh and the workshops. It also entitles you to a seat at hotel gigs (though this is strictly first come, first served).
Remember, Ceòl Cholasa is a limited, bijou event. It’s best to purchase your ticket as soon as possible as then you can rest assured that you will be one of a maximum of only 250 people attending the best wee music festival in the west!