FLUTE LEGEND McGOLDRICK JOINS BRISTOL FOLK FESTIVAL

LINE-UP ON ALL-STAR SUNDAY

“A hurricane let loose” - Q Magazine 

“Moorish calls to prayer infused with the soft air of western Ireland; floating African whispers building into whirling dervish Celtic jigs- hearing is believing” – MOJO

~Trio of Irish traditional music stars join Cara’s party!~

Mancunian-Irish flute, whistle and Uilleann pipes legend Michael McGoldrick has been confirmed for next month’s Bristol Folk Festival.

The inspired, in-demand McGoldrick toured last year with both Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler but on May 6 he will head to the South West festival as a special guest of the superb Irish songstress Cara Dillon.

McGoldrick is one of a trio of traditional Irish music stars who will joining Derry-born Cara for her headline show at Bristol’s Colston Hall. Stand-out musicians Donal Lunny and Máirtín O'Connor have also been announced for her headline evening show for which separate tickets are now available, price £16 in advance.

Between them the three musicians have performed with some of the most iconic bands in traditional music including Planxty, De Dannan, The Bothy Band and Capercaillie.

A huge name on the Celtic music scene McGoldrick was born in Manchester to Irish parents and won the Radio 2 Young Tradition Award in 1995, the same year that he formed the band Flook with Sarah Allen and Brian Finnegan.

A co-founder of vibrant Irish instrumental band Lunasa and current member of Scottish powerhouse band Capercaillie he has toured with Afro Celt Sound System and also has his own band.

In 2000 he was voted Instrumentalist of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and he has worked with some of the biggest names in the business from Kate Rusby and John McCusker to Youssou N'Dour and John Cale. See McGoldrick in performance here

L to R: Máirtín O’Connor, Cara Dillon, Donal Lunny

County Kildare’s Donal Lunny has been at the forefront of traditional Irish music for more than 35 years and has popularised the bouzouki in the Irish music sphere, whilst also playing guitar, keyboards, bodhran and mandolin, Christy Moore, Moving Hearts and The Bothy Band are just some of the artists he has worked with.

Máirtín O’Connor is one of the most renowned accordion players in Ireland and has been a member of numerous traditional music groups including The Boys of the Lough, Midnight Well, Skylark and De Dannan. He has performed with the RTE Concert Orchestra and Riverdance and received the Traditional Musician of the Year award in his home of Galway in 1995. He has four albums to his name.

Sunday headliner Cara Dillon was born in County Kerry in 1975. She is a spellbinding performer who has been described as “one of the best Irish female singers of all time.”

Her album Hill of Thieves won the Best Album title at the 2010 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards while Cara was named Best Female Singer in the 2011 Spiral Awards.

See Cara performing The Verdant Braes of Skreen from Hill of Thieves which won Best Album at the 2010 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 

A former member of folk supergroup Equation, Cara has toured all over the world, including Japan. She is now most often seen on stage with her husband, keyboard player Sam Lakeman.

Brought up in an area steeped in Irish traditional music, Cara now mixes both traditional and original songs in her captivating repertoire. Never in a Million Years from her album After The Morning was playlisted on Radio 2. Cara has also featured on the BBC Radio 2 Radio Ballads and recorded the official 2009 Children In Need single All You Need Is Love alongside Peter Gabriel, Sir Terry Wogan, Hayley Westenra and others at Abbey Road Studios. Last year Cara sang the opening song Summer's Just Begun for Disney's Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue as well as narrating the opening sequence. 

Recently Cara has recorded one of the world’s most famous poems, "Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day" for a new album featuring 11 of Shakespeare's Sonnets that have been set to music in a groundbreaking project.

It is due to be released on April 23(Shakespeare's birthday) as part of the Cultural Olympiad 2012. Hear it here 

All the instruments used on the album are early 17th century - including the Lirone, Theorbo, Viol, Cornett, Sackbut, Curtal, Shawm, Lute, Harpsichord, Virginals, Dulcimer and early Trumpet - but the musical arrangements are contemporary. www.caradillon.co.uk

As well as weekend and day festival tickets, advance tickets for the Cara Dillon and guests Sunday evening concert are now available to buy separately, price £16. Book via Colston Hall box office on 0117 922 3686 or online at www.colstonhall.org,

Top value 3-day weekend tickets are now available price £80 (concessions £70) whilst family tickets are £250 (2 adults and two children aged 5-15).Under 5s go free.

The much anticipated 2nd Bristol Folk Festival will be buzzing over the early May Bank Holiday (May 5-7)-a guaranteed “rain free” event as it returns to the revamped Colston Hall. Other headliners are Show of Hands, hotfoot from their fourth sell-out at the Royal Albert Hall and the towering Afro Celt Sound System