www.sligolive.ie

TO HOST AN EXCITING

DOUBLE BILL AT HAWK’S WELL THEATRE

FIDIL / I DRAW SLOW
LAU / BUILLE

Wednesday 24th – Monday, 29th October 2012

Tickets are on sale now!

Sligo Live Festival and Hawk’s Well Theatre join together to treat audiences to two unmissable musical double-bills over the October Bank Holiday Weekend.   Fidil and I Draw Slow take to the stage on Friday, 26thOctober and the wonderful Lau and Buille delight fans with their music on Saturday, 27th October 2012. Tickets are on sale now. Sligo Live 2012 plays host to an amazing line-up which spans 6 days over the Bank Holiday Weekend 24th – 29th October 2012.  They join legends Van Morrison and Joan Armatrading, as well as Wallis Bird, Pokey LaFarge and The South City Three, Bell X1 and many more.  See www.sligolive.ie for more details.

FRI. 26TH OCT 2012:  FIDIL/ I DRAW SLOW
‘Fidil’ are a fiddle trio from Co. Donegal, rapidly forging a reputation for exhilarating and challenging music that draws on the rich heritage of their native place and its famous unique fiddle style.

The band formed in late 2008 when Aidan O’Donnell and Ciarán O’ Maonaigh invited Damien McGeehan along to perform with them at the launch of their duet album, entitled ‘Fidil’. They immediately became a TRIO and were awarded the ‘Young Musicwide Award’ by Music Network After only a few months of playing together, and started touring internationally with performances in the UK, U.S.A, Canada and in mainland Europe.

Their debut album, simply entitled ‘3′, was released in November 2009 to widespread critical acclaim and impressively received the coveted title of  ‘Album of the Week’ with a five star rating across all musical genres in ‘The Irish Times’.

Using playing techniques such as strumming, fingerstyle, and percussion, Fidil are pioneering a truly original, fresh and exciting sound in the field of world music while still managing to maintain and respect the fiery exuberance of Donegal traditional fiddle music. This is music for the 21st century, mindful of its origins, marked by an intricate and intelligent approach but most importantly, breathtakingly exciting in its ambition and delivery.

Dublin roots band I Draw Slow have been drumming up enthusiastic reviews in Ireland since the release of their top 10 selling second album, Redhills. Irish national broadcaster RTE made Redhills album of the week and it has been welcomed to the playlists of stations across the country. However, their impact abroad is redrawing the map for these Irish/Americana songwriters.

They have been described in the UK press as “American top league equivalents” destined “to blow the opposition away”, drawing favourable comparisons with Gillian Welsh and Alison Krauss. The band has played to audiences in the UK, Germany, Denmark andBelgium and started 2012 with a performance with the Legendary Béla Fleck and the Flecktones and an appearance at the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow,Scotland.

I Draw Slow is a five-piece outfit comprising vocals, guitar, fiddle, banjo and double bass. Holden siblings Dave (guitar) and Louise (vocals) have been writing together for two decades. In 2008 the pair teamed up with Violinist Adrian Hart, Claw hammer banjo player Colin Derham, Double bassist Konrad Liddy to form I Draw Slow

The Sound: Alt-country, folk, roots, old-time, Americana The five have created a new sound, rooted in the old time style of theAppalachian Mountains, drawing on Irish traditional music and modern Americana. However, this is a whole new songbook of stories and melodies. These are dark tales of debauchery and trouble swinging from the kind of well-crafted melodies that survive.

SAT. 27TH OCT. 2012: LAU / BUILLE

Lau have been described by channel 4 as “Quite frankly, the best band in the world, right now”. Voted top folk group three years in a row in the BBC Radio 1 folk awards, their melodic entrancing layers of musicality have made them hugely popular in the UK and they are rapidly building a following in Ireland.

What LAU have achieved, in so few years, is staggering. The warmth and excitement they generate with each new release, and at every gig, has culminated in armfuls of plaudits, including three consecutive years of being crowned ‘Best Group’ at the BBC Folk Awards.
Lau’s creativity transcends all the music they hold dear, creating a cutting edge sound which extends far beyond the roots scene. They are not married to any staid concept of folk or any other music, with seemingly telepathic musical communication pushing their compositions and each other to new heights, creating the perfect foil for Kris’s poignant vocal numbers and stage banter.  Their strength partly lies in the pool of knowledge they draw on, each member of the trio took a stellar musical career into the group and this wealth of experience and creativity is immediately evident in Lau’s music.

Award-winning fiddler and composer, Aidan O’Rourke hails from the Scottish coastal town of Oban. A founder member of Blazin’ Fiddles, He has worked with, amongst many, jazz artist Andy Sheppard, Gaelic singer Alyth McCormack, Eddi Reader and KAN. An accomplished musician, singer and guitarist, Kris Drever grew up on Orkney and is a well loved performer in his own right in Scotlandand throughout the UK. Whereas Martin Green is a true maverick from Cambridge, who is in constant demand for his accordion playing and has toured with Eliza Carthy, Joan Baez and Linda Thompson’s bands.

Buille was formed in 2004 by Armagh born brothers Niall and Caoimhín Vallely along with Paul Meehan and Brian Morrissey as a vehicle to perform a body of new tunes written in a traditional style with contemporary arrangements. The resultant sound was picked up by Donald Shaw and Vertical Records who immediately offered to produce and release the groups’ debut album.

The group went on to tour extensively across Ireland, the UK, Europe, USA and Canada and along the way performed at such prestigious festivals as Celtic Connections in Glasgow, St. Chartier Festival in Central France, Festival de Cornouaille in Quimper, Brittany, Beo Festival at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, and the Winnipeg Folk Festival in Canada.

Buille are back now with an exciting new project featuring former Solas singer,  Karan Casey, Sean Og Graham from Beoga, Jazzman Kenneth Edge and dancer extraordinaire, Nic Gareiss from the U.S. supported by the Arts Council.

Now Ireland’s premiere folk, roots and Indie festival, SLIGO LIVE brings together established Irish and international acts with some of the best emerging talent on the scene. A limited number of weekend tickets at €112 will enable music lovers to enjoy all of Sligo Live including Van Morrison and Joan Armatrading. More acts will be announced in the coming weeks so keep an eye on www.sligolive.ie

For further information contact:
Carmody Smith PR
Tel: 01 207 0496 / 086 1741 882
aine@carmodysmithpr.com / niamh@carmodysmithpr.com
www.sligolive.ie