Music review: 29th Shetland Folk Festival

Published on Monday 4 May 2009 19:00

29TH SHETLAND FOLK FESTIVAL VARIOUS VENUES, SHETLAND

BESIDES its well-earned notoriety as an almighty four-day party, another key reason for the Shetland Folk Festival's worldwide renown among musicians is the extraordinary attentiveness and discernment of its primarily local audiences.

A case in point, at one of this year's five opening night concerts around the island, was the performance by Irish singer Cara Dillon, in Hamnavoe.

Despite appearing second to last on the bill, by which stage many in the sell-out crowd had made several trips to the bar, Dillon, pictured, was greeted with a rapt pin-drop hush – punctuated by noisy applause – that magically intensified the impact of her sublimely beautiful voice. Dillon responded with a mesmerising spine-tingling set, of which the top standout, aptly, was its slowest and quietest number, a tenderly poignant version of The Parting Glass.

The festival's programming also reflects local musical appetites, with this year's line-up drawing from ten different countries across three continents. A sizeable Scandinavian contingent highlighted Shetland's distinctively hybrid cultural heritage, which bore abundant new fruit in the shape of Nordic Tone, a project that brought together 22 aspiring musicians, aged 16 to 25, from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Shetland, together with professional tutors, for a week's intensive rehearsal before they opened Saturday's main concert in Lerwick, where their performance displayed a polish and sophistication that testified to some seriously hard work, talent and enthusiasm.

Also going down a storm over the weekend were the Finnish/Norwegian outfit Frigg, whose four-fiddled frontline and powerhouse rhythm section meshed their own native styles with vibrant Americana influences, further enhanced by brilliantly effervescent showmanship. Danish quintet Zar, meanwhile, put a sparklingly fresh pop/country spin on traditional folk material, fronted by beguiling, Eddi Reader-esque vocals.

Other international visitors included the tautly assured seven-piece Felpeyu, from Asturia in northern Spain, who interspersed fiery Celtic instrumentals – on bagpipes, fiddle, accordion, flute, bazouki, bass and guitar – with soulful contemporary songs.

Scotland was also strongly represented, with both Daimh and Box Club complementing Dillon's outstanding turn at Hamnavoe. The former flew the Highland/Gaelic flag in typically sterling fashion, with their thrillingly turbo-charged instrumentals and Calum Alex Macmillan's resonant singing, while Box Club proved, against their self-imposed odds, that four piano accordions – backed by guitar, double bass and percussion – can make beautiful music together.

Topping the bill overall were the mighty Shooglenifty, performing on one night only but making the most of it with two storming gigs, rocking it up firstly at the festival's biggest venue, the Clickimin Centre, and then with an awesomely manic and sweaty late night set at the festival club.

Highlights among the swathe of homegrown Shetland acts included country/folk singer Sheila Henderson, showcasing her powerful yet beautifully nuanced voice in a mix of original material and hand-picked covers, while the star of the whole show, as ever, was the uniquely hearty embrace of the Islanders' hospitality.