Music Network Tour, Celtic Connections and Hogmanay

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Julie is delighted to announce her involvement in an exciting and brand new musical line-up for the Music Network Tour project 2017.  Performing alongside award-winning Kris Drever from Orkney, violin virtuoso Aoife Ní Bhriain and ground-breaking concertina player Pádraig Rynne, this group will perform nine shows throughout Ireland in January 2017.  Full line-up information and tour dates can be found here at the Music Network Tour site or at the Tour Dates page.
It’s almost Celtic Connections time again, and Julie will be involved in several shows.  Along with the band, Julie will perform at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Main Auditorium in an exciting triple bill with Altan and Mary Chapin Carpenter on January 30th.  She will also sing as part of the ‘Starless’ concert with Paul McGeechan in the Mitchell Theatre on January 27th. Full ticketing links and details can be found here. There will also be some surprise appearances from Julie during the festival…keep your eyes peeled!
Finally – Julie’s last performance of 2016 will be as part of the BBC ALBA ‘Cèilidh na Bliadhn’ Uire’ Hogmanay celebrations, live from Stirling and broadcast on BBC ALBA.

St Andrew’s Night Concert LIVE STREAM

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Tomorrow night (November 26th) Julie will perform as part of a special St Andrew’s night celebration which will be streamed live online to audiences around the world.

Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain will join forces with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for a St Andrew’s Day Party.  Julie will perform specially arranged songs with Phil, Aly and the orchestra and other special guests include the incredible Eddi Reader, students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and pipers from the Youth Pipe Band of Scotland.

You can tune into the live stream at 7.30pm tomorrow on the RSNO website, Facebook or YouTube channel.  Links below.  Enjoy!

http://www.rsno.org.uk

https://www.facebook.com/royalscottishnationalorchestra/

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRSNO

Perthshire Amber 2016

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Following a successful tour of the USA, Julie returns home to perform at the wonderful Perthshire Amber Festival next week.  Her duo performance with husband, Éamon Doorley, at Murthly Castle has been sold out for several months, but there are a few tickets left for the ‘Dougie MacLean and Friends’ concert in Perth Royal Concert Hall, where Julie and Éamon will perform as guests, on Saturday 5th November.  For tickets and further information see http://www.perthshireamber.com

Julie Features in ‘Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands’ TV Programme

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In the final episode of the series; “Off the Map: North Rona and the Monach Islands”; presenter Paul Murton, embarks on his most difficult island Grand Tour to date. Every destination has been long abandoned by people, there are no ferries, no piers or proper landings at these islands making it quite a challenge to get there. Paul’s journey sees him travel to the once-inhabited island of Heisgeir (The Monach Islands), sail around the gannet city of Sula Sgeir and endure rough seas to finally make landfall on the extraordinarily remote island of North Rona.

Julie, who has family roots on Heisgeir that go back generations, joins Paul in this Episode as she searches for her great great grandmother’s house.

The programme will be broadcast tonight (Monday 10 October) at 7.30pm on BBC1 Scotland. For full programme details/information, video clips and to watch the programme in full again (after the broadcast) via the BBC TV iPlayer, visit this link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07xyvq4

TÈARMANN (HOME FROM HOME)

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This evening on BBC ALBA, Julie narrates a documentary which explores the work of the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland. They are the sole charity in the country who offer respite care children and youngsters with life threatening conditions. In Tèarmann/Home from Home we meet five families who depend on the hospice service for respite care and support.

This is a world where people aren’t afraid to talk about death, but prefer to focus on living life. The hospice staff and volunteers – from the housekeepers, to the chefs, to the nurses – all ensure that Rachel and Robin Houses provide a warm welcome and a home from home for families. Over 60 minutes, in a film which will make the audience both laugh and cry, we experience joy and sadness in Rachel and Robin Houses in an intimate portrayal of families coping with both life and death.

Tune in and watch the work this amazing charity does.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07y6xgt

Julie opens the 2016 BBC Quay Sessions with KT Tunstall

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Morning peeps! I am here with news of a new song and a radio broadcast…

I was delighted to be invited to open the new series of the The Quay Sessions with Roddy Hart and alongside my pal, the talented Scottish fireball KT Tunstall a few weeks ago.

I was joined by the finest company a girl could wish for – Éamon Doorley, Duncan Chisholm, Tony Byrne and Donald Shaw. As part of our set, I decided to feature a new work – a work in progress – a poem called Air an Somme by Donald MacDonald, Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna, which I was moved to write music to whilst preparing to go and sing at the BBC’s 100 year commemorative service of the Battle of the Somme in Thiepval Memorial, France in July. You can hear Donald and I performing it for the very first time this evening as part of the BBC Quay Sessions set.

KT and I also had a bit of fun, and if you like The Boss, tune in to BBC Scotland at 9pm tonight to hear our duet…..here’s the link to the show, and to some pics to give you a flavour of the night! Lots of fun was had by all. Feel free to share the links, and hope you enjoy.

Love, Julie xx

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07v016j

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p047tdrj/p047tdhb

The Lost Songs of St Kilda (Decca)

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The Lost Songs of St Kilda (Decca Records) was released today – an album with an intriguing backstory.
Trevor Morrison was a ten year old boy on the Island of Bute when he took piano lessons from a former resident of St Kilda, the islands which were finally evacuated in 1930. As an old man, he recounted these melodies whilst playing the piano in his care home in Edinburgh. They were recorded by Stuart Mackenzie, and eventually found themselves in the hands of Decca Records – who invited top composers to rework these beautiful melodies. Composers such as Craig Armstrong and James MacMillan have contributed to the album, and Julie was delighted to feature in a small way to the track ‘Dùn’ which her great friend Francis Macdonald (Teenage Fanclub) used as the basis for an arrangement and new setting of a poem by Norman Campbell (Tormod a’ Bhocsair) ‘Dha Fionnlagh MacDhòmhnaill à Hiort – To Finlay MacDonald from Hiort/St Kilda’ which was written circa 1990.
Here is more about the story:
And further info, the website and playing links are below.
Amazon – http://po.st/3hxLgh
Bu mhath le Julie taing a thoirt do Chatriona Lexy Chaimbeul agus do Mhàiri Sìne Chaimbeul airson an cead, taic agus brosnachadh seo a dhèanamh.

Julie and KT Tunstall to open the Quay Sessions 2016

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Julie is delighted to have been invited to perform alongside remarkable Scottish singer KT Tunstall at the Quay Sessions with Roddy Hart on August 29th.  There are a small number of tickets available for the inaugural show of this series, and you can apply for them here:

Julie Honoured to Perform at the Somme Centenary Commemoration Service

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Julie was proud and honoured, to perform a very special song as part of the Battle of the Somme Centenary Commemoration service held at the famous Thiepval Memorial in Northern France on Friday 1 July 2016.

Julie; beautifully accompanied by Tony Byrne (guitar), Patsy Reid (viola) and Alistair Iain Paterson (harmonium); performed a very moving and poignant song entitled ‘An Eala Bhàn’ (‘The White Swan’). This is a song composed by Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna (Donald MacDonald of Coruna), a Scottish-Gaelic poet from North Uist, whilst fighting in the battle of the Somme.

Speaking on arrival at the Memorial site yesterday (1 July; the morning of the Service), Julie said:

“It’s a huge honour to be here in Thiepval this morning to mark 100 years since the Battle of the Somme. It’s difficult to put into words how it feels to be here – it’s beautiful, peaceful, solemn, sad, humbling, thought-provoking. It is overwhelming at times to think of what happened here”

The BBC iPlayer  coverage of Julie’s performance is unfortunately, no longer available to view.

Julie to headline Findhorn Bay Festival 2016

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The Findhorn Bay Festival 2016 was launched today, with the news that Julie is to open this year’s festival on Wednesday September 21st.

A biannual event, the festival will showcase a vibrant mix of theatre, music, dance and visual art in a six-day celebration of the Arts in Moray and beyond.  In Scotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, the festival will also host a programme of architecture, design and innovation-led events, exhibitions, talks and tours all set in unexpected spaces and locations.
Julie will perform on the opening night amidst the stunning neo-gothic splendour of St Laurence Church in Forres, which is sure to be an unforgettable and atmospheric start to the festival.  The Nairn Gaelic Choir will perform during the concert, and local musician and composer Calum Stewart will also join Julie and the band as a special guest for this show.
Tickets are available now at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/265472