A “supergroup” and make no mistake, we are bringing together The Friel Sisters and The High Seas, showcasing seven fabulous musicians who will skilfully weave together the colourful strands of Irish music, song and dance into a tapestry of tradition.
Making their debut appearance at the Shetland Folk Festival are three musicians of The High Seas, made up of acclaimed musicians Caitlín Nic Gabhann (concertina, dance), CiaránÓ Maonaigh (fiddles) and Cathal Ó Curráin (vocals, bouzouki, fiddle).
Caitlín Nic Gabhann on concertina is a three time All-Ireland champion and an accomplished dancer, having toured the world with Riverdance. Renowned fiddle player Ciarán Ó Maonaigh hails from Co. Donegal and is heavily influenced by the unique Donegal style of fiddling, recording six albums to date. The youngest member of the High Seas is Cathal Ó Curráin, who was immersed in the song tradition growing up.
Cathal also performs with The Friel Sisters, but he was unable to join them at the Shetland Folk Festival back in 2018 (and he’s never gotten over it!) So welcome to Shetland Cathal, Ciarán and Caitlín and welcome back Anna, Sheila and Clare Friel along with guitarist Marty Barry from Co Down.
The Friel Sisters are traditional musicians born and brought up in Glasgow, Scotland with their family roots firmly entrenched in the Donegal Gaeltacht in North West Ireland. They have released 2 albums to date, playing all over the world in various venues and festivals and have appeared onstage and toured with acts such as Altan, The Chieftains, Lúnasa, Sharon Shannon,The Máirtín O’Connor Trio, Cherish the Ladies and Solas. The girls have won many prestigious titles and competitions over the years, including Clare receiving the huge honour of TG4 Young Musician of the Year in 2018.
This is a collaboration not to be missed. They did a one off show together at Celtic Connections back in 2020 but how lucky are we to have them all 4 days. We can’t wait!
The Friels’ intuitive no-nonsense mix of flute, fiddle and pipes reflects a gene pool rich in Donegal songs, and shot through with a refined capacity to mine the finer points of a tune…
The Irish Times
Anna, Sheila and Clare are, without doubt, among the brightest musical prospects on the horizon of traditional music.
Living Tradition Magazine
Cathal's singing is accurate and expressive, a delight to listen to
Musical Traditions
This highly talented trio enjoy a great musical heritage through their families and home places and play with respect to the traditions they have inherited but add skilful arrangement and variations
Musical Traditions (of High Seas)
Find out more at frielmusic.com and www.caitlin.ie/the-high-seas.
