A specially-commissioned film from Celtic fusion band Niteworks and a virtual gig from the Red Hot Chilli Pipers will help bring down the curtain on the HebCelt Survival Sessions tonight.
The four-day ‘hybrid’ festival will come to an end after a mix of live concerts and pre-recorded digital performances was shown online to a worldwide audience.
The 45-minute Red Hot Chilli Pipers film captures the band’s first virtual gig for the HebCelt audience. Watch a clip of the show –
Co-founder and director of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Willie Armstrong, said: “This is our first virtual gig we’ve agreed to because of our fantastic relationship with HebCelt.
“Unfortunately, we’re unable to perform to a live audience, therefore no crowd interaction is the biggest challenge.”
Film will focus on rebirth and renewal
Festival director Caroline Maclennan added: “We’re delighted that the Red Hot Chilli Pipers agreed to do this. It will be a fantastic feature for the Survival Sessions.
“The efforts they have gone to in order to ensure a great show for those watching have been immense.”
HebCelt commissioned some new work for its Survival Sessions. For its contribution, Niteworks teamed up with Hebridean filmmaker Dòl Eoin MacKinnon for a new short film.
The work reflects on the impact of the pandemic and looks forward to a post-Covid world of “rebirth and renewal”.
Another Survival Sessions performance comes from the Crìsdean MacDonald Trio in a specially recorded gig from McNeill’s bar in Stornoway.
Piper and whistle player Crìsdean is joined by Louisa Barron MacDonald on fiddle and Seoras Chald on guitar for the Ceilidh Session.
Live shows are being staged at An Lanntair, the Stornoway arts centre, before a socially-distanced audience who won a ballot for tickets and livestreamed for a global audience.
Tonight’s live performers are The Tumbling Souls – a country music ‘supergroup’ from the Outer Hebrides comprising members of Face The West, Astrid and HoRo – as well as Fara, made up of fiddlers Kristan Harvey, Jeana Leslie and Catriona Price and pianist Rory Matheson.
Details of tonight’s shows and tickets can be found at the festival website.
The return of the festival, which twice had to cancel its 25th anniversary during lockdown, is attracting an international audience.
Viewers from across the UK, as well as from Scandinavia, the US and Australia, are tuning in online.