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Jacey Bedford of
Jacey Bedford Tour Management
01484 606230
agency(at)jacey-bedford.com

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Anthony John Clarke
Appalachian Roots
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Finest Kind
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The Outside Track
Peggy and PJ
Queensberry Rules
Shep Woolley
Tanglefoot
Tania Opland & Mike Freeman
William Pint & Felicia Dale

Traditional music with a modern twist!

Tour booking now: November 2009

See 2008 tour dates
Soundclip: Poor Lonesome Hen; MacCallum's Reel; Cailin Rua; Kiss in the Morning

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Download stage plan and tech spec

The Outside Track is delighted to announce that from 2008 BBC Young Folk Award winner Lauren MacColl is joining the band.

With a line-up that includes BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winner 2005 (Lauren), the BBC Fame Academy Bursary winner 2007 (Fiona) and the BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year finalist 2008 (Ailie), its no wonder that The Outside Track are one of the most talked about new bands on the scene.

The Outside Track's new album, distributed in the UK by Proper, has had worlwide airplay and excellent reviews. They're looking forward to their 2008 UKtour. They had a great review in Rock 'N' Reel Magazine and you can read it all by clicking on the thumbnail to the left. CD's are selling all over the world, including Canada, America and Japan.

"This eclectic combination buzz and fizz together, producing modern acoustic folk music of the very highest quality. The set-up of flute, fiddle and clarsaich brings to mind early Chieftains and the playing is of as high a quality." - Maverick Magazine, July 2007

The Outside Track are quickly earning themselves a reputation as one of the most exciting new bands on the scene. With a truly diverse international line-up, they combine music from all their different cultures to form a distinct and dynamic musical sound. Norah Rendell (Canada) plays flute and sings beautifully; Ailie Robertson (Scotland) plays clarsach (harp) and electroharp; Fiona Black (Scotland) plays accordion and Alan Jordan, the only Irish member and the only man in the outfit plays guitar, sings harmonies and takes the lead on the occasional Irish language song. Joining them from June 2008 is award winning Scottish fiddler, Lauren MacColl. Their five talents combine in expressive, energetic arrangements that deliver traditional music with a modern twist.

"Another terrific new young band rooted in tradition but exploring the future with equal enthusiasm." - World Unlimited

Their debut CD, The Outside Track, on the Bedspring label is gathering great reviews in major national and international press. The Telegraph (UK) said: "are close to being as good as Irish music currently gets" and Maverick magazine said: "This is a superb debut album from a precociously talented group of musicians." Solid praise, indeed. And audience reaction has been great. They've played to full houses in many of their venues throughout the summer. David Kidman's review said they are, "tinged with a spirit of adventure that doesn't rely on mere effect for its impact."

'The Outside Track' is a new international ensemble whose CD is the most exciting music, let alone folk music, I've heard in years. Beautifully sang and played, they aren't afraid of boundaries. It's so my kind of music!' - Karen Tweed

Song repertoire encompasses both classic ballads and contemporary songwriting, combining the tradition with fresh new material. Group harmony singing sits alongside sparkling new instrumental sets. With an average age well below 25 the members of the band may be young, but between them they have performing credentials that many veteran bands could wish for.

"A wonderful performance that showcased talent and virtuosity" -- The Munster Express

They formed whilst still at University together in Limerick, playing two sell-out tours in Ireland in 2006 and 2007. Their 2007 debut appearance at Celtic Connections, on the Danny Kyle stage, set the buzz going in the UK and in the summer of 2007 they launched their new CD at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Norah
Norah Rendell hails from Vancouver, on Canada's west coast. She began her professional music career as a recorder player in Montreal and then Vancouver, where she was a featured soloist with the McGill Baroque Orchestra, the Pacific Baroque Orchestra and the Burney Ensemble. She is a founding member of a cappella world music group, The No Shit Shirleys, five-piece Canadian roots band, Cleia, and celtic trio, the Maenads, all of which have toured in western Canada. She is currently resident in Minnesota where she plays in a duo and a ceilidg band and teaches traditional flute.

"They're all excellent musicians who've put tremendous thought and effort into their varied and intricate arrangements of the well-chosen songs and tunes here." - Hot Press, Ireland

Fiona
From Evanton in the Highlands of Scotland, Fiona began playing music through the feisean movement, participating, then doing ceilidh trails then recently tutoring. She plays piano accordion and fiddle and flute. She attended the National Centre of Excellence for two years where she received lessons from Blair Douglass and Iain MacFarlane. She has played throughout Scotland including Celtic Connections, Celtic Chaos, Tartan Heart Festival and Blas. She takes influences from many different bands and musicians including Karen Tweed, Crooked Still, Phil Cunningham, Donald Shaw, Karine Polwart, Blazin Fiddles and Harem Scarem.

"I'm decidedly impressed, and very much satisfied, by this CD, and would recommend it to all who love Celtic music, not only well-played and creatively-arranged but also tinged with a spirit of adventure that doesn't rely on mere effect for its impact." - David Kidman.

Alan
In addition to being the only male member of The Outside Track, Alan Jordan is the only Irish-born member, hailing from Co. Mayo. He is primarily the band's guitarist, however Alan is also a skilled flute and whistle player. He originally trained as a jazz and blues guitarist, and brings some of these influences into the band. He's a gentle, charming singer, taking the lead on Irish language songs and singing great harmonies behind Norah's lead.

"The Outside Track combines musical expertise with a colourful eclecticism. The resulting sound is a cosmopolitan one rooted in traditional subtleties and melodic nuances. Talented composers and arrangers, they search beyond the familiar for their repertoire and deliver a rich tapestry of diverse and varied sounds that looks to the future." - John O'Reagan

Lauren
Since winning the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award in 2005, Lauren MacColl has gone from strength to strength fronting her trio with Barry Reid (Croft No. 5) and Mhairi Hall. But that's not all. A highland dancer from the age of 4, MacColl's passion for pipe music was instilled in her from an early age and is reflected in her repertoire today. Largely self-taught, and through the summer schools of the Feisean movement in Ross-shire, she was immersed in the rich and vibrant culture of her home area whilst brought up on a staple diet of Phil and Aly tapes. In her relatively short career her playing has taken her far and wide, and to gig with, amongst others, Calum Stewart, Julie Fowlis, the late, legendary Calum Kennedy, Donald Shaw's Hogmanay Live Harvest band and Scandinavian Fiddlers Vegar Vardal and Tove De Fries, in a special collaboration for Nordsjofestivalen in Farsund, Norway. Lauren joins The Outside Track at the beginning of their tour from June 2008 onwards. We know she's going to be great!

[Lauren is] "a Scottish fiddler rich beyond her years with a huge technique and a style already richly individualistic. A singing tone is married to adventurous rhythmic exploration, to take her Highland-rooted repertoire up musical glens and straths rarely travelled." -Scotland on Sunday

Ailie
By the age of 22 Edinburgh-girl Ailie Robertson already had some of the most impressive credentials in the Scottish harp world. A 4-time National Mod Gold Medalist, she was also 1st prizewinner at the inaugural London Harp Competition, and best overall musician at the Edinburgh Competition Festival. In 2000 she was selected to represent Commun na Clarsach for Scotland at the Pan Celtic Festival in Ireland. She was awarded a scholarship from the ESU in recognition of her 'virtuosic clarsach playing', and was also a winner of the St Albans New Roots award. She played in the Scottish Harp Orchestra, Na Clarsairean for many years, performing with them at two World Harp Congresses - in Seattle and Prague. She has given recitals at events all over Scotland, including performing for HRH the Queen and performed at the 2007 Edinburgh International Harp Festival by invitation.

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