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Posted on 18.04.18

Preview concert as world leading fiddle festival returns home

A taster of one of the world’s leading traditional fiddle music and dance festivals, boasting local, national and international talent will be held in Aberdeen this week.

The launch concert for the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention (NAFCo) will provide a sneak preview of the feast of music, dance, concerts, workshops and talks that lie in store when the full NAFCo festival returns ‘home’ to the city for the first time in eight years this July.

Thursday’s Lemon Tree teaser will feature celebrated Tarland fiddler Paul Anderson as well as multi-instrumentalist and composer Patsy Reid and two Hungarian Roma musicians among many more.

Organised by the University of Aberdeen’s Elphinstone Institute, NAFCo has become one of the largest and most respected events in the world of traditional fiddle music and dance since its inception in 2001.

The unique international festival blends performance from some of the world’s finest musicians and dancers and academic discussion in a celebration of the many styles of fiddle playing and associated dance traditions that exist around the North Atlantic.

Last time Aberdeen hosted the event, it attracted around 15,000 visitors and the convention has since been held with great success in Ireland & Northern Ireland and in Canada.

In 2018, supported by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils, the programme will include more than 150 events, featuring over 60 artists from as far afield as Scandinavia, Spain and North America. Events will be held across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, including HMT, The Lemon Tree, Woodend Barn and Haddo House.

“This is just a wee sneak preview of the fantastic line-up we will have at NAFCo 2018,” explains Festival Director, Carley Williams.

“We’re delighted to welcome a host of musicians to perform tonight and hopefully it will whet the audience’s appetite for when the full festival comes back home to the North-East of Scotland in July.

Full article can be read here!