Blas 2012 Early Bird Ticket Savings Till 31st July

24th July 2012

A blast of top musicians from all over the world will head for the Empire Theatre at Eden Court in Inverness when Blas 2012, the Highlands' premier Gaelic festival, kicks off in a few weeks' time.

This year's festival will run from Friday September 7 until the 15th and will feature a wide variety of stage performances from the exotic to the exciting. Mixed in with the annual commission for the festival will be special tributes to the legendary Gaelic singer Calum Kennedy, the Highlands' own Blazin' Fiddles and the Senegalese singer Samba Sene. Not to mention Breabach, Kristan Harvey and Sanna and Linda Macleod, amongst a long list of notable others.

The opening night at the Empire, Saturday 8th September, will set the ball rolling with some of Scotland's finest pipers musicians and dancers - high kicks, blistering reels, boundless energy, bagpipes and break dance. With Breabach, piping father and son Hamish & Fin Moore, high octane break dance and the full ahead musicianship of MOVE with John Saich, Neil Primrose of Travis, jazz guitarist John Goldie and Scotland's number one Hip Hop crew, Random Aspekts. A special surprise will appear on the night.

There is no surprise in the excellence of the line-up on the evening of Thursday September 13 with Gaelic singer Maeve MacKinnon leading a celebration of the power and beauty of the human voice in An Guth - The Voice. Maeve presents her cross-cultural epic project "The Exile", joined by Senegalese singer Samba Sene and the combined forces of Inverness Gaelic choir and Maeve's own band. Multi award-winning Scots singer and songwriter Emily Smith, joined by her band, gives us her fresh and evocative interpretations of traditional Scots songs. Julie Fowlis and Muireann NicAmhlaoibh, together with Ross Martin and Eamonn Doorley, present DUAL, showcasing the links between Scots and Irish Gaelic song and culture. Còisir G, drawn from all over the Highlands and led by Eilidh Mackenzie, completes a stellar line-up.

The Blas Grand Finale is always a show-stopper and this year's offering is no exception. Performing alongside the award-winning Battlefiield Band, the Highland's own fiddle stars Blazin' Fiddles and the jaw dropping talent that is Fèis Rois, the beautiful Blas 2012 commission from Margaret Stewart, "A' Bhanais Ghàidhealach - The Highland Wedding", will bring the Festival to an exhilarating close for another year.

Donna Macrae, Blas Festival Director said of this year's programme: "I firmly believe that the events lined up for Eden Court and the other venues throughout the Highlands are as good, if not better than ever. There is a fantastic mix of talent from all parts of the globe, along with some of the very best of Highland music and song. The Empire Theatre will be leaping all week with something for everybody and I look forward to it all to kicking off. Earlybird tickets are available at reduced pieces until 31 July and we would encourage Blas festival goers to take advantage of the significant savings they offer."

Blas organisers, building on the outstanding success of last year's events, have attracted new sponsorship from RBS and Business Gateway to enable them to build the platform for this year's festival. The event will also be supported by The Highland Council, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Creative Scotland and Highlands & Islands Enterprise.

For more information about the full programme of events and for the chance to buy earlybird tickets with significant savings up to 31 July, visit www.blas-festival.com

PHOTO
From 2011 Blas festival - Roots and Shoots [AT] Strathpeffer Pavillion, Strathpeffer