In conjunction with Yn Chruinnaght Inter-Celtic Festival, the Department of Community Culture and Leisure is bringing Scottish supergroup Capercaillie to the Royal Hall at the Villa Marina for the opening night of this year’s week-long festival in July. Capercaillie are one of the most exciting and enchanting bands to see perform live – they have been together for over 25 years and this shows in their interaction and musicality on stage. Led by their charismatic singer, Karen Matheson, the eight-piece band’s fusion of Celtic, rock and world music has sold over a million albums worldwide, including three silver and one gold album in the UK. Karen was awarded an OBE in 2006 for her services to the arts – her voice has been described by Sean Connery as ‘surely touched by God’. Universally recognised as one of the finest Gaelic singers alive today, Karen’s exquisite voice breathes new life into 400 year old songs as well as to the band’s contemporary compositions. The band’s co-founder is Karen’s husband, accordion and keyboard player Donald Shaw, who is well-known throughout the world as a TV and film composer and as the Artistic Director of Glasgow’s huge Celtic festival, Celtic Connections. Capercaillie entered the record books with the first Gaelic Top 40 single ‘Coisich A Ruin - Come On, My Love’ in the early 1990s. Taken from their gold album Delirium, it lines up alongside another popular hit – this time in English - ‘Waiting for the Wheel to Turn’. Capercaillie wrote music for the Hollywood film ‘Rob Roy’, which stars Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange. Lead singer, Karen, appears in the film singing a Gaelic lament in one of the emotional highlights of the film. Capercaillie’s greatest achievement has been to shape a central strand of their Gaelic heritage into a fresh, new sound, capable of reaching out to the ears and hearts of people all over the world. Their career has seen them perform in over thirty countries including Iraq, Macedonia and the Sudan – finally they’re coming here! Capercaillie will be playing the Royal Hall, Villa Marina, on Monday 18 July. Don’t miss their powerful blend of fiddle, whistles, pipes, accordion and vocals! Tickets from ?16 from the Welcome Centre, tel 600555 or online: www.villagaiety.com Full festival details available: www.ynchruinnaght.com tel 07624 425957 www.capercaillie.co.uk ENDS