Festive Spree of music courtesy of Shetland Folk Festival and Atlantic Edge

Shetland Folk Festival and music management firm Atlantic Edge Music Services have teamed up to put on a three-concert Festive Spree, comprising visiting and local acts, next month.

Spearheading the events will be the popular, talented and diverse trio of Begley, Henderson & Edey, who will be joined throughout their festive excursion by Orkney’s Saltfishforty, Shetland’s very own musical roof-raisers Fullsceilidh Spelemannslag and the young multi-instrumental duo Ryan Couper and Adam Johnson.

Brendan Begley is hailed as one of Ireland’s master accordion players, while fiddle player Kevin Henderson is perhaps best known as a member of Fiddlers’ Bid, Boys of the Lough and Session A9. Joining Brendan and Kevin is guitar accompanist Tim Edey, regarded by many as one of the finest multi-instrumental players of his generation in the celtic folk scene worldwide.

Saltfishforty are already acclaimed veterans of the international festival scene, in demand all over the world, including two appearances at the Cannes Film Festival. Their barn-storming, technically brilliant traditional and contemporary skills prompted one reviewer to observe that they “… seemingly share a delusion that they are a heavy metal band, while their sound belies the fact that there are just two of them”.

Fullsceilidh Spelemannslag need no introduction to local audiences with their blistering approach to high quality music making already legendary throughout the islands. For these gigs they will be fully charged, having just returned from playing at this year’s Scottish Traditional Music Awards in Perth, together with a gig at Aberdeen venue the Blue Lamp.

The line-up is completed, and further complimented, by two of Shetland’s finest young musicians Ryan Couper and Adam Johnson who between them play more instruments than most full bands would ever dare commit to.

The gigs take place in the Whiteness and Weisdale Hall on Friday 10th December from 8pm and in the British Legion, Lerwick, on Sunday 12th December from 4pm-8pm. Tickets for these concerts are now on sale from High Level Music priced £12. On Saturday 11th December a smaller, related event will take place in the Muckle Roe Hall, but please note tickets for this concert are already sold out.