Trail Blazin’ ~Fiddles
By Jo De Sylva I
T’S DIFFICULT to wipe the almost permanent smile from the face
of musician and broadcaster Bruce MacGregor these days.
His band Blazin Fiddles have been receiving rave reviews for their last big Concert, ‘Strings Atached - The Next Generation’ at this year’s Celtic Connections, a hugely innovative concert that incorporated not only Blazin Fiddles with their new line up, but also some of Scotland’s top singer-songwriters, including Adam Holmes and Rachel Sermanni.
Oſten described as the Fiddle Supergroup, Blazin Fiddles originally formed in 1998 following a trip to the valley of the moon in California for a radio documentary. While Bruce was interviewing people at a Scotish American fiddle school he discovered a lot of people believed Scotish fiddle music was dead.
On his return from the US Bruce felt the forthcoming Highland Festival was a good time to showcase the distinct regional fiddle style of the Highlands and Islands. He decided
he wanted young fiddlers who had a connection with the traditional tunes of Scotland and the ability to push the boundaries. This led to the original line up of Bruce, Duncan Chisholm, Aiden O’Rourke, Catriona MacDonald, Iain MacFarlane, Alan Henderson and Marc Clement.
“We were never meant to be a band. We were just a group of fiddlers showcasing our different styles,” said Bruce.
However, the reaction aſter the first gig was way beyond their expectations and it was clear they had the potential to be something special.
Within the first year the band played on the main stage at The Cambridge Folk Festival, something many folk and traditional musicians can only aspire to, and within six months they were invited to the ‘Fiddles of the World International Fiddle Festival, where they represented Scotland.
Over the next three years the band played at Buckingham
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