Anxo Lorenzo
Anxo Lorenzo is a virtuoso award-winning Galician piper who is renowned for his incandescent live performances, and uses his extraordinary talents to melt different musical styles into fresh and powerful melodies.
Described as a ‘firebrand gaita maestro’, Anxo has taken the piping tradition of Galicia (on Spain’s Atlantic coast) on an exhilarating worldwide adventure, trading tunes and styles with a broad array of alternative music styles such as rock, pop, jazz, flamenco, chill-out and hip hop. In his hands the gaïta becomes an avant-garde instrument without losing its Celtic roots.
Anxo has collaborated with what reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the music world, from the pure traditional folk scene to jazz, not forgetting rock, pop and electronic genre. He has toured extensively throughout the major European festival circuit, having featured in WOMAD, Cambridge Folk Festival, Celtic Connections and Festival Interceltique de Lorient, to name but a few. His exceedingly high octane, mesmerizing performances have left audiences in euphoria, becoming a modern entry in the lore of many of these long-established events. In addition, he has been invited to international conservatories and cultural centres to present masterclasses and performance workshops to learners and enthusiasts of all levels.
Anxo will be performing in Shetland with Pablo Lafuente on guitar (who is also performing at the festival with Josie Duncan) and Eoghan Neff who is an improvisational avante-garde Irish fiddle player, composer and doctor of music.