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REVIEW OF HALL EVENTS '07Dec 27th Drums and Rockets 2007 with Orkestra del Sol, Breabach, Chris Meredith & Amy Thatcher, and Gabriel Albuquerque.  Were you there? Then you know what an extraordinary night it was. Completely sold out up to the licensed limit (250), the Hall was packed and the floor was bouncing up and down as folk danced, and danced, and danced. And the fireworks were brilliant. A great way to end the year...Pictures on the D&R website. Nov 23rd Shooglenifty with Tanya Tagaq Gillis: SAC Tune Up Tour   They came, they saw... they rocked. Shooglenifty were every bit as wonderful as anticipated - and then some. Starting with an extraordinary performance by Tanya Tagaq Gillis ("I can hear the ice cracking and the wolves howling", whispered Crystal) accompanied by redoubtable percussionist James Mackintosh with Quee Macarthur on berimbau at first, until the entire band came on stage, the first half built up a massive amount of momentum which was then fully unleashed in the second half. Ecstatic dancers filled the floor and an audience drawn from all over the UK went home, or wandered round to the Benleva for the aftershow wind-down, very, very happy. Don't just take my word for it, read Georgina Coburn's review on Hi-Arts' website, here. Having said we knew the hall would like them (and of course it did), it is good to report that the Shoogles liked the hall too, and hope to be back next year. Nov 17th Tim Kliphuis Celtic Swing Trio   Now we understand why Dutchman Tim Kliphuis ranks among the world's finest jazz violinists. Virtuoso doesn't begin to describe his playing. Ably abetted by Roy Percy on bass and Tim Clark on guitar, we were treated to two sets of some of the finest music the Hall has ever heard. "Loch Lomond" has never sounded so interesting...The jokes were pretty good, too. And we don't believe anybody went home without buying a CD, which is not only a record (groan) for the hall, but also for the band. We hope to welcome them back in 2008. Nov 9th DRACULA THE PANTO   Delighted screams of "It's behind you!", boos and hisses, all the fun of the panto with loads of audience participation ("I've got a hot cross bun on a stick and I'm not afraid to use it") , showers of garlic cloves, rats, bats, a hint of the Marx Brothers, a soupcon of Frankie Howerd - Pat Abernethy and Dave Marsden, masters of quick change and ad-lib, kept the audience in fits of laughter from start to finish with physical theatre and jokes for all ages. Nov 2nd THE FUNKY STRING BAND
  The Funky String Band arrives with copies of their longawaited new album titled "And You May Find Yourself...." which they'd just collected from Muir of Ord (of all places). Angus Grant and Luke Plumb (fae Shooglenifty) and Australia's Peter Daffy were joined by keyboardist extraordinaire Jamie Jauncey from Birnam who had just finished tutoring at Moniack Mhor (being a writer is his day job). He is indeed 'the rug that ties (the band) together" and it was another great night. The four recorded the album a year ago but hadn't played together since, they realised halfway through the performance....didn't matter, though. Floorboards were thumped in appreciation and the rafters rang with cheers. They'll be back next year, same time, same place, probably. We'll tell you when. Thanks also to Andrew (Rough) and Teya (Bawden) who opened the evening's entertainment and despite having had only two weeks to put an act together did a wonderful job. We hope to see them back soon.
Sunday October 21st 8pm Colcannon
A Celebration of Traditional Taiko Drumming Tuesday 4th September BLAS 2007 Duncan Chisholm "KIN"  As part of Blas 2007, one of Scotland's finest fiddle players and founder member of Wolfstone Duncan Chisholm presented his commissioned piece, "Kin" , celebrating landscape, language, tradition, community and family, preceded by a half hour set of traditional tunes with Brian McAlpine on keyboards and Marc Clement on guitar. The Hall was sold out and the packed audience gave the musicians a rapturous standing ovation at the end; read the full review on Hi-Arts, here.Thursday August 30th, 8pm Hank Wangford & Reg Meuross bringing Country to the country with their "No Hall too Small" tour, rescheduled from last year.   Really memorable folksy & intimate performance of some classic songs about anything from Religion, Atomic Power, and Class Prejudice to Cheatin’, Drinkin’, & Divorce. Plenty of laughs as Hank deadpanned his way to brilliant effect through tales from the rich seam of misery that country music mines. During his turns under the Standard Lamp of Fame, Reg's voice, despite the Arran cold they had both contracted, soared like an angel. Voted a top night - we had many requests for them to return so see you again next year, folks. Hear Reg's music on his MySpace site, here Friday August 17th 8pm    Ceilidh Dance with Meantime A ceilidh dance with Meantime whose four traditional musicians are making their mark - Gaelic speakers, living across the Highlands, proud of their rich musical heritage, they are also creating new tunes and songs to add to and enrich this great tradition. It was a terrific evening much enjoyed by locals and visitors alike, even the most reluctant wallflowers were soon dancing with the best of them. It was such a success that we will plan to have some more ceilidh dances soon - watch out for news! Tuesday Jun 19th 8pm "Cyprus" Mull Theatre Company  Major revival (**** Edinburgh Evening News)("fiercely intelligent....forensically fascinating", The Herald) ( "a crisp, often witty and very contemporised script" The List) of the original production by Mull Theatre of a gripping political thriller by award winning Scottish writer Peter Arnott which had a successful West End run in 2005. You could have heard a pin drop as the audience sat, rapt, watching the play unfold its all-too-true take on the War on Terror. A three hander, the play dealt with betrayal on several different levels simultaneously. A dizzying perspective on truth - whatever truth is. Well done, Mull Theatre and Peter Arnott. June 1st 8pm Scottish Harp and Cello duo   Another young duo on their debut Highland tour; Cheyenne Brown (harp) hails from Alaska while Seylan Baxter (cello and vocals) is from Milngavie; they met while studying in Glasgow at the RSAMD. An audience composed mostly of visitors were enchanted by the mellow, vibrant tones of the two instruments which complemented each other perfectly, whether in Burns songs or traditional jigs. The evening showcased perfectly the astonishing depth and range of sounds that can be coaxed from cello and clarsach alike by performers of this calibre.You can hear some tracks at www.celloharp.com , or order a copy of their lovely CD, 2: Forty, which has just been released. Beautiful sounds beautifully packaged. Friday April 13th The Duplets  Gillian Fleetwood and Fraya Thomsen were a breath of fresh air as they played their own arrangements of Scottish tunes, songs and self penned compositions.So new that they didn't have a CD to sell, their music showed a very wide range of influences, from Uillean pipes to a haunting arrangement of the old Scots "Twa Corbies". They really demonstrated the range of the clarsach, and the interplay between the two instruments was amazing. Don't just take our word for it, read the review on Hi Arts, here. We look forward to seeing them here again when they've finished recording the CD. Meanwhile you can listen again to some of their tunes on their MySpace site, here. Friday March 30th   Don't say we didn't warn you! As predicted, it was standing room only for The Sirens, as Glen Urquhart welcomed the triumphant return of our very own Olivia Ross. The Sirens features Olivia on vocals and fiddle, together with Fame Academy 2004 winner Shona Kipling, BBC Radio Scotland's Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2006 Shona Mooney, plus rising stars Laura Salter, Lillias Kinsman-Blake, and Rachel Newton. They all met studying music at Newcastle University, where some of them are still students; it seemed quite unbelievable that this was their debut tour, as a spellbound audience listened to their accomplished musicianship and effortlessly stylish arrangements. Graham Moore's classic "Tom Paine's Bones" was a rousing closer to the first half, while Olivia and Rachel's singing in their setting of McCrimmon's Lament was beautiful beyond words. A night to remember; not least for the slightly surreal sight of Peatbog Faeries fiddler Adam Sutherland crawling energetically around in front of the stage with a large Nikon camera taking photographs. You can catch up with a few of the Sirens tracks here on their MySpace site. We can't wait to see them back at the Hall - meanwhile, you'll be able to see them in Fort Augustus at NessFest which is already shaping up to be a rather excellent weekend. Read a recent Daily Record interview with the band, here Thanks to all who stayed and helped us clear up afterwards - we appreciate it! Friday March 16th  The Hall's first world premiere! In Rona Munro's new play there has been some major tinkering with the MsFits Theatre Company format with a drastic shift in location in the second act to where fifty-something Annie, on her third Hen Night, 34 year old commitment-phobic Jane, her (unseen, except in the imagination) partner Paul, and great granny May, widowed after 68 years of marriage, are flung together. Following on the darker undertones that were emerging in "Secrets, Lies and D.I.Y.", "A Clucking Good Hen Night" has some thought-provoking surprises in store as well as the expected, adroitly delivered laughs. Fiona Knowles, as always, transformed magically into the three female characters with the minimum of props, and a very enjoyable evening was had by all. Sunday March 4th  The one and only Michael Marra - widely acclaimed as one of Scotland's most talented and original songwriters. He's also an actor, composer, musician, artist, writer and performer who has worked with a galaxy of stars and been honoured with honorary doctorates by both the universities in his hometown of Dundee. This was his first trip to Drumnadrochit since a memorable childhood holiday staying at Temple Pier. Memorable because after a lengthy lecture on safety from Pa Marra to all the wee Marras during a boat trip over to Castle Urquhart, it was he himself who toppled overboard into Loch Ness....No accidents tonight. This website scatters superlatives around freely but this concert was a real chance to experience greatness at work. The songs, the musicality, and that inimitable voice - wonderful stuff and we could happily have sat there all night PS many thanks to everyone for helping tidy up afterwards Saturday February 24th  Heather Macleod, from Lewis, has an extraordinarily beautiful and expressive voice which had perceptibly grown in range and colour in the year or so since she was last at the hall. Her career started as a much-in-demand backing singer for a variety of artists from Eliza Carthy to Jim Condie, but now she has backing vocalists of her own - otherwise known as the Healthy Measures' bassist Micky Marr and guitarist JD (aka Dr Jean-David Caioullët). At the Hall, they were playing without Donald "Drummy" Hay on percussion, which made for an interesting, more open sound and, once the necessary adjustments had settled in, led to some intense, even sublime instrumentals in the second half. Heather won high praise for her debut album Crossing Tides, and a second album is on the way, which should garner even more bouquets if the two tracks from it which opened the show are anything to go by. If this were London the queues would be round the block to listen to her; don't miss your next chance. Site Last Updated - 01/09/2010 18:46:01
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Ricardo Garcia is an extraordinary, wonderful guitarist (hear him on 
The long awaited return of one of the Glen's favourite bands - all the way from Australia - went just as well as expected. Kat Kraus, John Munro and Pete Titchener were joined by newbies Damien Steel Scott on bass and Bridget McDowall on fiddle. Kat's voice is a joy to hear but her excellent arrangements may be what make Colcannon such firm favourites with their ever-growing fanbase. Or perhaps it's Pete's jokes, or the friendly, comfortable interplay between the band members, and the audience. Stand out memory ; John and Damien trading licks.
More crazy polkas, waltzes and rumbas with the 
'Shetlander Chris Stout is widely-regarded as the leading fiddle player of his generation both in Scotland and beyond', said the blurb from his agent - and we've heard that sort of thing before.... Our small but international audience was stunned to find out that this claim is nothing less than the truth. Chris was ably matched by Catriona McKay on clarsach who dazzled with her own equally virtuoso skills and demonstrated the extensive range of this lovely instrument. The duo rplayed anything from traditional music to present day compositions and it was, quite simply, the best musical performance in the Hall's history, one which would have done justice to auditoria anywhere in the world. Catriona and Chris also play together in 
This was definitely the way to launch DrumBeat 2007. Thundering, exhilarating, entertaining and educational, the show was an introduction into the enthralling world of this ancient art. Never before has a Blairbeg Hal audience chanted in Japanese! None of us will ever listen to drums in the same way again - the variety of tonal light and shade was amazing. And one of our young people is definitely going to attend the Mugenkyo workshop later this year (good luck, Rob!). A unique, very memorable evening.