THE inaugural BBC Music Day takes place on Friday 5 June, and to coincide with the occasion, BBC ALBA will be showcasing a range of musical talent featuring live performances and a look at Scotland’s musical heritage.
The evening gets underway with Ceòl Air A’ Chluaidh, a concert from Pacific Quay on the River Clyde.
Linda MacLeod hosts the best of Scottish and Gaelic traditional music with sets from an exciting and diverse musical bill including Finlay MacDonald and guitarist Ross Martin; Maeve MacKinnon; Top Floor Taivers, featuring BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year, Clare Hastings; top tunesmiths Rura featuring much-lauded vocalist, Adam Holmes, and Gaelic supergroup, Dàimh, with fabulous singer Ellen Macdonald as the latest addition to their ranks.
The celebration of traditional music and song continues as musician and broadcaster, Mary Ann Kennedy, presents the first glimpse of Seirm, part of the BBC ALBA autumn season.
Filmed at the atmospheric Cottiers Theatre during Celtic Connections, Seirm features an amazing array of artists who lit up freezing January nights with some exhilarating music.
According to Kennedy, part of the attraction of Celtic Connections lies in the unexpected; discovering new music from all over the world and renewing old friendships. It’s hard to disagree.
Over the course of the half hour, viewers will see familiar bands and singers – Màiri MacInnes, Adam Cohen, Luka Bloom and Breabach – and discover some that you’ve never heard before, including Canadian five-piece Fish & Bird and The California Feetwarmers, a jazz and ragtime outfit, making their first visit to Glasgow.
Mary Ann Kennedy and Seirm return to BBC ALBA in the autumn
To round off the musical evening, Julie Fowlis presents Stòras, a personal journey through Scotland’s musical archives. In addition to the musicians and singers who influenced Julie, Stòras is a showcase for almost seven decades of musical talent that make up a large part of Scotland’s television and film archives.
Tracing the continuum of Scotland’s music, Julie Fowlis takes us from the formal parlour music of early recordings in the 1950s, through the populist light entertainment shows of the 60s and 70s before surveying the broad contemporary traditional music scene.
Seminal performances and key musicians form the narrative, taking in prime-time favourites such as Anne Lorne Gillies, impresario Calum Kennedy, pioneering rockers Runrig and the much-missed visionary, Martyn Bennett.
If the music was shaped around the prevailing fashions of the decades, then the actual programmes underwent radical changes; technology and trends impacting on how music was presented onscreen.
A reflection on traditional music, Stòras is a fitting way to close a stellar evening of music on BBC ALBA.
Produced by Bees Nees Media for BBC ALBA, BBC Music Day gets underway on BBC ALBA on Friday 5 June from 9.00pm.
ENDS
Tickets for the Ceòl Air A’ Chluaidh concert – to be staged on Wednesday 3 June at 9.00pm – are still available through the BBC website:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/date/shows/quay_bbcalba_20150603
For further information please contact Gary McQueen or Rachel Woodford at Media House on 0141 220 6040 or email gary@mediahouse.co.uk / rachel@mediahouse.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
BBC ALBA is available on the following platforms:
- Sky 143 (UK)
- Freeview / You View 8 (Scotland only)
- Virgin Media 161 (UK)
- Freesat 110 (UK)
- BT Vision 8 (Scotland only)
- Smallworld 170 (Ayrshire and North West England)
- BBC iPlayer
BBC ALBA is run by MG ALBA in partnership with the BBC. MG ALBA is the operating name of Seirbheis nam Meadhanan Gàidhlig, the Gaelic Media Service.
Find out more about MG ALBA and the partnership at www.mgalba.com or visit www.bbcalba.co.uk for scheduling and programme information.
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Email: gary@mediahouse.co.uk
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