Fiddle music legends bring party spirit to The Stables in Wavendon

Scottish fiddle music legends Blazin’ Fiddles bring their famous flair and energy to The Stables in Wavendon on Sunday 15th November.

Their current tour comes at an exciting time for the band who, for over a quarter of a century, have captured Scottish fiddle music’s variety, vigour and sensitivity in a way that no other band has achieved.

“Our latest album, Incendo, is the first without Blazin’ Fiddles founder, Bruce MacGregor,” says the band’s pianist Angus Lyon. “It was Bruce’s idea to bring players together from the different fiddling styles of the Scottish Highlands and Islands, and he made the band a showcase for these styles with solo spots as well as the ensemble playing with passion.”

When MacGregor decided to step back from touring and concentrate on his business interests in Inverness last year, he gave the remaining members his blessing and Incendo has been enthusiastically received across the world.

“We launched it during Celtic Connections in Glasgow in January and it’s been getting great reviews and accolades including Album of the Week on the Gaelic station BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal,” says Angus Lyon. “On top of that, we’ve had almost daily reports of radio plays in the U.S., Canada and Australia as well as here in the UK. One presenter in Vermont played five tracks in a row, so I think he must have liked it!”

The current Blazin’ Fiddles line-up is a quintet and features Shetland fiddle virtuoso, Jenna Reid, Kristan Harvey, from Orkney, and Rua Macmillan, from the Highlands. They’re accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Anna Massie, who adds guitar, mandolin and tenor banjo alongside Angus Lyon’s piano in the rhythm section and who can expand the fiddle frontline to a foursome on occasion.

Winners many times of the Live Act and Folk Band of the Year titles at the Scots Trad Music Awards, Blazin’ Fiddles will set out to thrill audiences with their mix of traditional tunes alongside self-penned work and other modern compositions on tour.

“Jenna, Kristan, Rua and Anna are all award-winners in their own right,” says Angus Lyon, whose CV includes work with Paul McCartney, Cat Stevens and vocal magician Bobby McFerrin. “So people know to expect high-quality playing. But what’s also important is that we really enjoy what we do and I think audiences can sense that. It’s more than a gig when you come to see Blazin’ Fiddles – it’s a party.”