An Gealladh / The Promise

/in , , /by

Julie is delighted to be involved in this beautiful project – The Promise.  Written by Nicola Davies, with illustrations by Laura Carlin, Julie was invited to read the Gaelic version of this powerful story which examines our connection to nature and the importance of green spaces in our urban landscapes.  It is a story of hope for change, and also includes readings of the Acorn poem by Robert Macfarlane with accompanying music from the Lost Words Spell Songs.

For educators – there are resources available here: https://www.thepromise.earth/screening

A’ Ghàidhlig le Raghnaid Sandilands.  Nach sgaoil sibh an naidheachd?

The thoughtful Gaelic translation is by Raghnaid Sandilands. Please share the story, and enjoy!

 

/in , , /by

TV alert! 📺

Julie and Éamon will be playing a song for Susan Calman tomorrow night on BBC Scotland alongside Janey Godley, Ashley Storrie, Robert Florence and Joe MacFadden on her new show, Socially Distant.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000hd2h

Tune in at 8.30pm.

Folk on Foot Front Room Festival

/in , , /by

**Watch from 2pm today at the Folk on Foot YouTube Channel**

Julie is delighted to be part of this amazing virtual folk festival on Easter Bank Holiday Monday. Supporting UK musicians whose livelihoods have been decimated by the coronavirus lockdown, 50% of all the proceeds will go to the charity Help Musicians UK.

You can donate here: https://www.folkonfoot.com/festival

The festival will have performances from Bella Hardy, Beth Porter plus the Bookshop Band, Jon Boden, Karine Polwart, Kerry Andrew (You Are Wolf), Kris Drever, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Diver, Martin Simpson, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, Peggy Seeger, Rachel Newton, Sam Lee, Seth Lakeman, Steve Knightley plus Julie and Éamon Doorley. Folk on Foot will stream back to back on their YouTube channel and Facebook page in a virtual festival hosted by Matthew Bannister starting at 1400 on Monday 13th April. You’ll be able to kick back with a foaming pint or a cuppa in a front row seat in your front room and enjoy the show.

Seirm, BBC ALBA

/in , /by

Julie recorded a session with husband Éamon Doorley, Zoë Conway and John Mc Intyre in the stunning Mackintosh Church, Glasgow for the BBC ALBA series ‘Seirm’, from Celtic Connections last month.  You can watch the first programme of the series here  plus you can also catch a clip of one of their songs here.

BBC World Service: The Cultural Frontline

/in , , /by

Julie was recently invited to talk to The Cultural Frontline on the BBC World Service about Gaelic language and song.

Faodaidh sibh èisteachd ris a-rithist aig a’ cheangal gu h-ìosal.

Unlike other BBC services, anyone worldwide can listen at this link below.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07wnnfs

Upstream

/in , , /by

Tonight on BBC 4 TV at 2030:

Upstream is a new film by the writer Robert Macfarlane and the director Rob Petit. The film, which is shot entirely from the air, follows the course of the River Dee in Scotland all the way to its source in the Cairngorm mountains, the highest of any river in Britain. With a prose poem written especially for the film by Macfarlane (and voiced by Julie) and an original score by the Oscar-nominated composer Hauschka, the film takes as it epigraph the words of the Scottish writer Nan Shepherd (1893-1981): “One cannot know the rivers till one has seen them at their sources”, wrote Shepherd, “but this journey to sources is not to be undertaken lightly.” (The Living Mountain, 1977).

Eerie, hypnotic and experimental, this groundbreaking polyphonic film weaves together field-recordings of the river, and the birds and creatures which live along it, the place-names and stories – dark and light – of the Cairngorms, creating a ‘songline’ that draws the viewer up, against the flow, into wildness, winter and strangeness.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008z3c

New single release: Selkie-boy

/in , /by

A new song has been released into the wild today – ‘Selkie-boy’ by Spell Songs, the collaborative musical response to the incredible book by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris.  The full backstory to the writing of the song can be found on Julie’s Facebook page  and you can listen from today on Spotify

The stunning book and album combo is available to pre-order here.  Watch out for performances from the Spell Songs group at Folk by the Oak on July 14th and at the Albert Hall, London during The Proms on August 25th.

Summer shows

/in , , /by

Fresh from her performance at Carnegie Hall, New York, Julie has recently announced two more Summer shows, the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival (August 3rd) and Live by the Loch (June 1st).

These two festival slots are Julie’s only planned band performances in Scotland this year.

This weekend sees her and the band travel to Gran Canaria for the World Music Festival Música en el Parque

BBC 2 Scotland Celtic Connections Highlights

/in , , /by

Julie will be presenting two programmes of musical highlights from the renowned Celtic Connections Festival on BBC 2 Scotland this week. Featuring music from Graham Nash, John Grant, Gretchen Peters, Ímar, Strung and Loudon Wainwright III.

Tuesday 2200 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0c1r1vm

Thursday 2200 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0c1r4sz

‘An Treas Suaile’ (The Third Wave)

/in , , /by

Just announced – on January 27th 2019, Eden Court Theatre in Inverness will host ‘An Treas Suaile’ (The Third Wave) which I was commissioned to write with fellow musician Duncan Chisholm.  Late on New Year’s Eve 1918, HMY Iolaire set sail from Kyle of Lochalsh carrying nearly 300 seamen home to the Isle of Lewis after the war. But the ship was lost at the entrance to Stornoway Harbour and 201 servicemen perished in one of the worst maritime disasters in modern British history.  Written to commemorate 100 years since the disaster, this is a deeply reflective audio-visual piece which has taken 12 months of research and writing.  It will feature newly composed music, traditional material and archive recordings with onstage visuals and projected images. The title and central concept refers to John Finlay MacLeod, who leapt overboard from the stricken Iolaire with a rope and was carried onto the rocks on the third wave. Half of those who survived, did so by means of this rope.  One of only four planned performances around the country, tickets are available now here.