Bangor Celtic Crossroads

Heron Valley is an exciting group of very talented young musicians who hail from various parts of Scotland’s Argyll region. The band name derives from their local area, Strachur, meaning “Valley of the Herons,” said band member Arlene Mackechnie. You can expect to hear a lot of original tunes from their debut album, “ROAM.” Band members joining Mackechnie, who plays piano; are Nick Hamilton, drums and banjo; Abigail Pryde, vocals, guitar; Euan McNab, bagpipes, whistles and guitar; and Callum Cronin, bass guitar.

Heron Valley’s music is inspired not only by tradition, but their love of the wild Scottish landscape as well. “Quite a few of our new songs are influenced by my home,” said Pryde, who is from the Glencoe area of the Scottish Highlands. “Our sets are based mostly on traditional pipe tunes,” she added. “Our songs are more modern. In Scotland there is a modern folk scene going on.” Heron Valley’s songs “are not quite poppy, but not quite traditional either.” “We like that young people enjoy our music,” said Mackechnie, which is also evident when you tour their website.—Independent Record, UK.

Festival crowds love them. The effect of their music “was electric.” They and another Scottish band at the festival had folks “jumping, dancing (and) singing.”—Johnny Whalley, Folk Radio.

The band’s love of what it is doing is patently clear in the crisp, fresh arrangements in the group’s album ROAM.” The mix of songs ranges from “energetic, driving tune sets to thoughtful songs. Their technical ability is beyond good, and everything gels together into a natural-sounding maturity that belies their years. If this is what they’re sounding like now, then the future can only hold great things for them.” —Gordon, Potter, Living Tradition.

Heron Valley are an energetic, young folk band from Scotland who have serious enthusiasm for the music they play. Their roots lie in Scottish and Irish traditional music, while taking influence from various Folk, Country and Bluegrass styles. Their style sees traditional Scottish pipe tunes played with a modern twist, along with a varied set of traditional and contemporary folk songs. Their live performances are full of excitement and fire, not to be missed!

Due to their early success, Heron Valley quickly made a strong impact on the folk scene in Scotland. 2016/17 saw the band take to more than twenty festival stages throughout the UK and Europe. With a demand for more, Heron Valley released their debut album ‘Roam’ in May 2017. This was extremely well received by their fan base, and contributed to two successful tours of the USA.

March 9, 8pm!

For the last decade, Richard and Gordon have been performing and touring as a duo. Enthusiastic audiences have been taken on a roller coaster ride of exhilarating – even exhausting – jigs and reels, strathspeys and hornpipes, and beautiful airs, many composed by Richard himself. This is complimented by Gordon’s engaging songs, some humorous and some poignant, warming things up for the next fiddle blaze.

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MASTERS OF THE CELTIC HARP

Gráinne Hambly and William Jackson. Coming up March 31, 2018 at 7 pm at Bangor Arts Exchange Ballroom. 193 Exchange St. Bangor, ME.

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Gráinne Hambly and William Jackson are two of the foremost harpers of Ireland and Scotland. Combining their extraordinary talents on harp as well as concertina, tin whistle and bouzouki, The Masters of the Celtic Harp, have been performing all over the country and dazzling audiences with their artistry. Their Two Sides of Celtic show is a special treat.

“…the most creative interpretations of Irish and Scottish traditional music you’re likely to hear.”-IrishPhiladelphia.com

Since 1998 Gráinne Hambly has been touring extensively throughout the United States and has garnered an ever-growing following of devoted harp enthusiasts and has captured the Irish music fan with the taste for the fast, driving reels and jigs of traditional music. A lifelong County Mayo resident, Gráinne has won the senior All-Ireland titles on harp and concertina in 1994 and then the prestigious Keadue and Granard harp competitions. Her three critically acclaimed solo CDs, The Thorn Tree (2006), Between the Showers (1999) and Golden Lights Green Shadows, (2003) are “must haves” for every Irish harp player and fan. She and William Jackson teamed up and began touring as “The Masters of the Celtic Harp” in 2005 and have been traveling together ever since. They live now outside of Claremorris in County Mayo.
William Jackson of Glasgow has been at the forefront of Scottish traditional music for more than 40 years. Besides his stature as one of the leading harpers and multi-instrumentalists in Scotland, William has gained an international reputation as a composer. His “Land of Light” won the international competition in 1999 as the new song for Scotland. William was a founding member and creative tour de force of Ossian in 1976, which became one of Scotland’s best-loved traditional bands. The band, whose music influenced a generation of musicians, extensively toured the U.S. and Europe. Besides harp, he also plays tin whistle and bouzouki. William Jackson and his band Ossian were inducted into Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame Sept. 11, 2015 in Inverness Scotland and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Somerset Folk Harp Festival in July 2016.The Swannanoa Gathering awarded William its Master Music Maker award for Lifetime Achievement in 2004.

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