Tolbooth to Ring with a Blend of Klezmer, Scots Folk and ... Hydro Power?

The Scotsman › March 06, 2006

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Summary

WITH Shetland fiddling and Orcadian poetry set to rub shoulders with both Jewish klezmer and a celebration of the radical firebrand who created the Hydro Board, The Blend - Stirling's five-day festival of traditional and contemporary "roots music" - promises a heady brew of intriguing ingredients.

Based largely at Stirling's Tolbooth arts centre, this year's programme, running 15-19 March, includes tunes from the up-and- coming young Shetland fiddler Jenna Reid - known for her playing with the bands Dchas and Filska - in the company of the seasoned folk-jazz guitarist Kevin Mackenzie, and contemporary Scots songs from the hugely popular Dougie MacLean and his band. The bill also features the acclaimed new-generation folk singer-songwriters Chris Wood and Alasdair Roberts, and what promises to be an exuberant double-bill of the Edinburgh-based klezmer and Balkan music specialists, Moishe's Bagel, and the folk-jazz trio Bachue - on this occasion their harp-piano-drums format will be bolstered by the ace trumpeter Colin Steele. Add to this an open workshop on improvisational music, and late-night mixing capers from DJ Dolphin Boy as he teams up with Croft No 5 musicians John Somerville and Innes Watson. Meanwhile, Splinters Productions' dramatisation of the life and poetry of the celebrated Orcadian bard George Mackay Brown will be laced through for its Stirling performance by music from the Orcadian singer and guitarist Kris Drever.