Brìghde Chaimbeul

Monday 4th November | 8pm
Brìghde Chaimbeul
The Wardrobe Theatre, 25 West St, Bristol BS2 0DF
Tel:01179020344
Tickets: £12adv / £8 (Young Persons Under 30)

Winner of the 2016 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award, and 2017 Scots Trad Music Awards ‘Up and Coming’ nominee, Skye musician and piper Brìghde Chaimbeul is one of Scotland’s fastest rising stars. A native Gaelic speaker, her style is rooted in her indigenous language and culture, but draws inspiration from a variety of piping traditions such as from Cape Breton, Eastern Europe and Ireland.
Growing up in a musical family in Sleat on the Isle of Skye, she was no stranger to the sound of the pipes, and indeed the sound of music at home. Inspired by hearing the playing of Rona Lightfoot she began learning at the age of 7 with local tutor and award winning piper Niall Stewart.

Brìghde met pipe makers, players and revivalists Fin and Hamish Moore in 2014 where she was introduced to the smallpipes, and since has developed a unique style which has captured audiences across the globe. Mark Radcliffe of BBC Radio 2 described her playing as “mesmerising”, and Tim Chipping of renowned music magazine, fRoots as “exceptional”. She has collaborated with many established artists over the years, most recently including Ross Ainslie, John McSherry, Paul Meehan, Aidan O Rourke, Carlos Nunez, Allan MacDonald.

Recent performance highlights include appearances at major festivals including Cambridge Folk Festival, Celtic Connections, Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, Piping Live and Wickham Festival, as well as featuring on various TV programmes, series Port, Seirm, Trad ar Fad and the BBC Alba Hogmanay show.

Brìghde launched her debut album on River Lea Records ‘The Reeling’ at a special concert at Celtic Connections 2019. The record is inspired by old tunes from gaelic song and canntaireachd traditions, as well as global piping traditions that have been of significant influence to Brìghde’s music. It is performed entirely on smallpipes in C, and features acclaimed fiddler Aidan O Rourke (Lau), the legendary Rona MacDonald Lightfoot of South Uist, and the amazing Radie Peat (Lankum) on concertina.

“A talent beyond her years.” – Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2 Folk Show

“Simultaneously ancient and modern, profound and direct.” Folk Album of the Month – The Guardian