Capercaillie & Rura in Glasgow

Capercaillie are a Scottish folk band formed in Oban in 1984 by Donald Shaw, with Karen Matheson as lead singer. They brought Gaelic songs into a contemporary band setting on albums including Delirium, Secret People and To the Moon. “Coisich a Rùin” became the first Scottish Gaelic-language single to enter the UK Top 40. The 2002 album Live in Concert documented Capercaillie’s full-band stage repertoire after years of international touring. They have also performed at Celtic Connections in Glasgow, presenting Gaelic songs and instrumental pieces through fiddle, flute, guitar, bass, percussion, keyboards and accordion. The concerts are led by Karen Matheson’s voice and Donald Shaw’s arrangements.

RURA are a Scottish instrumental folk band formed in Glasgow in 2010. Highland pipes, fiddle, flute, guitar and bodhrán shape their music, heard on albums including Break It Up, Despite the Dark and In Praise of Home. RURA have performed at Celtic Connections and Cambridge Folk Festival, and the concert album Live at the Old Fruitmarket documents the band on stage at that venue. Much of their concert work has taken place around the United Kingdom, while they have also toured the United States and Canada.