@ The Fringe

Deaf Shepherd are set to play 3 nights at the Edinburgh Fringe, Acoustic Music Centre @ St. Bride’s, 10 Orwell Terrace 0131 346 1405. Gigs take place on 13th at 9:00pm, 15th and 17th August at 7:15pm each night. The band received a Fringe Sell Out Award for their two gigs in 2006 and finished to standing ovations on both nights.

It is a rare opportunity to see the band play on home territory and tickets are once again set to sell quickly. Tickets can be purchased and booked at St. Bride’s by telephoning the number above.

“West Coast with a dash of Irish rhythm, Gaelic airs and Lowland songs”, Edinburgh Guide

The Band

Breathing vibrant new life into old musical traditions, Deaf Shepherd perfectly embody the buoyant cultural confidence of 21st century Scotland. Six superbly talented musicians, on fiddles, bagpipes, whistle, bouzouki, guitar, bodhran and vocals, Deaf Shepherd draw their influences and material from the length and breadth of Scotland, combining traditional tunes and songs with hand–picked contemporary compositions, including many of the band’s own.

Deaf Shepherd have performed to consistently rapturous acclaim and sellout crowds at many of the world's leading Celtic music gatherings, including the Cambridge, Edinburgh, Shetland and Skagen folk festivals, the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, Brittany's Lorient festival and the Edinburgh Fringe.

Their three albums to date, ’Ae Spark O’ Nature’s Fire’ (1996), ’Synergy’ (1997) and ’Even in the Rain’ (2002), have won unanimously rave reviews, with Synergy being named by BBC Radio Scotland’s Travelling Folk programme as one of the year’s top releases and earning a maximum five-star rating as “Album of the Week” in The Scotsman. Reviews for ’Even in the Rain’ have continued in this vein earning a 5 star review in the ’Herald on Sunday’, Scotland’s leading quality Sunday newspaper.

The Band...

The band first got together in 1993, and have had relatively few changes in lineup since then. The current members bring together most of Scotland’s major regional traditions, hailing variously from Shetland (Jenna Reid – the finest fiddler of her generation), Glasgow (Finlay McDonald – one of Scotland’s finest young pipers), the Highlands (Malcolm Stitt – multi–instrumentalist) and the Lowlands of Ayrshire (John Morran), with a dash of Scots/Irish influence in the shape of percussionist Mark Maguire and fiddler Clare McLaughlin. While many of their musical contemporaries have pursued a fusion–based approach, Deaf Shepherd have stuck proudly to their traditional guns, introducing a new generation of fans to their rich native heritage.

A Deaf Shepherd performance runs the full gamut of moods and emotions, from the hell–for–leather elation of fiery jigs and reels, through the stirring majesty of Highland pipe marches, to the haunting eloquence of slow airs and ballads. Their instrumental arrangements match power with precision, contemporary inventiveness with authentic traditional taste, while lead singer John Morran, with his richly expressive, subtly poignant voice, is widely recognised as his generation’s leading exponent of Scots song.

Deaf Shepherd’s new album is due for release early next year.

Quotes

“Simply the best folk band Scotland has produced in many years”, Alastair Clark, Scotsman

“They are irresistible, playing with fire and precision”, The Scotsman

“Deaf Shepherd deliver the whole gamut of Scottish traditional music with flair, and it’s a pity that we hear them so rarely in concert these days.”, EdinburghGuide.com

More Info

Deaf Shepherd are playing the following gigs shortly and it’d be great to see you there.

We will be playing with a 7 piece line–up of Clare McLaughlin, Malcolm Stitt, Mark Maguire, John Morran, Finlay McDonald, Gillian Frame (ex-Young Trad Musician of the Year and stalwart of back of the Moon – deputising for Jenna Reid who is on tour) and Marc Duff (ex–Capercaillie and renowned whistle player). It should be a great set of gigs and hopefully follow on from our sell–out shows of 2006 and 2007.

16/8/08 – Glasgow Barrowlands – plus several other groups – 8pm (Piping Live Festival)

26/10/08 – Perthshire Amber Festival (Dougie MacLean’s festival) – Pitlochry Festival Theatre – 7pm

Please see the following links for gig information and directions:
Deap Shepherd and Venue Pioing Festival and glasgow–barrowland.com Perthshire Amber and Perthshire Amber Article
Please note our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/deafshepherdmusic (our web site is proving difficult to rectify but we live in hope)! Also note we are currently recording a new album and hope to have it available early next year.