EVERGREEN Skye-based act Peatbog Faeries are to celebrate their 25th anniversary with a special live release, Live@25.
One of the most influential traditional acts of the past decades, the Peatbogs have come a long way from their first gig in An Bothan in the Skye township of Edinbane way back in May 1991.
The band have been through several line-up changes but while original members Peter Morrison (pipes) and Innes Hutton (bass and percussion) remain with the band, the Peatbog Faeries have become something of a waypoint for many of Scotland’s top musicians.
Fiddler Adam Sutherland (Treacherous Orchestra, Croft No 5, Session A9 among others), Iain Copeland (currently of Sketch) and Alasdair Codona have all spent time with the band, each bringing a different slant to the unmistakable pipes and fiddle-driven Peatbog sound.
Current fiddler, Shetlander Ross Couper, is one of the most exciting musicians working in the country and his on-stage energy helps make a Peatbog Faeries gig a unique event, and one which is now captured with this live release.
During the Peatbog’s 25-year career, they have twice been voted Live Band of the Year at the Scots Trad Awards along with several other nominations.
In 2016, the band was presented with the Landmark Award by Hands Up for Trad for their 25-year contribution to Scottish Folk Music.
They have played and headlined countless events around the world, including Glastonbury, five times and Celtic Connections over a dozen times.
They’ve played to crowds of up to 50,000 people, represented Scotland in Sri Lanka for the successful bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games as well as many Visit Scotland events including in Australia, Canada, USA, Singapore, Borneo, Namibia, Botswana, Mexico and Azerbaijan.
This album was recorded during the Peatbog Faeries anniversary tour, in the autumn of 2016. Though all of the band’s gigs were recorded, they have decided to choose just one show, in order to give the listener a true reflection of our live performance, with the exception of Humours Of Ardnamurchan, which was recorded at this year’s HebCelt Festival, in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis.
If Live@25 can capture the dynamic intensity of a Peatbog Faeries gig, then listeners are certain to be enthralled.
Live@25 is released on December 8
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