© Michelle Fowlis 
© Michelle Fowlis
10 July 2010
Royal Palm Stage
//
18:45
Julie Fowlis
(Great Britain)
Julie Fowlis (vocals), Eamon Doorley (bouzouki, fiddle), Duncan Chisholm (fiddle), Tony Byrne (guitar), Martin O'Neill (piano, keyboards, bodhran)
Since being presented with her award as BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year 2008 by KT Tunstall, the Daily Telegraph's prediction that "Fowlis could be the first Scottish Gaelic crossover star in the making" has seemed increasingly prescient.
Julie Fowlis is a very talented Scottish Gaelic singer, a language only spoken by 1% of Scots today. Julie is not only a singer, but also plays highland pipes, small pipes and whistle. In the meantime she has been overwhelmed with awards, but she’s perhaps most proud of her award as Scotland's Gaelic Ambassador - "Tosgaire na Gàidhlig", bestowed by the Scottish Parliament in 2008, the first person to ever receive this honour. She was also the first Scottish Gaelic artist to appear on the legendary BBC TV show 'Later…with Jools Holland” in 2007 and can count Ricky Gervais and Phil Selway (Radiohead) amongst her fans.
Julie has recently worked with artists as diverse as Bill Whelan (Riverdance), James Taylor, Stuart Duncan, Liam O’Maonlai (Hothouse Flowers), Maireád Ní Mhaónaigh (Altan), … In addition to having one of the busiest music touring schedules in Scotland, Julie has now delved into the world of broadcasting, presenting her very own show 'Fowlis and Folk' on BBC Radio Scotland for the second year running and also presenting regularly for television on Scotland's new Gaelic digital channel, BBC ALBA.
For Julie is a passionate torchbearer for the culture of her native Western Isles. And, coupled with her extraordinary talent, it is this quiet determination to celebrate the music of the Outer Hebrides and Highlands of Scotland on its own terms that ensures that Scots Gaelic music is reaching a wider audience than ever before.
Julie Fowlis is a very talented Scottish Gaelic singer, a language only spoken by 1% of Scots today. Julie is not only a singer, but also plays highland pipes, small pipes and whistle. In the meantime she has been overwhelmed with awards, but she’s perhaps most proud of her award as Scotland's Gaelic Ambassador - "Tosgaire na Gàidhlig", bestowed by the Scottish Parliament in 2008, the first person to ever receive this honour. She was also the first Scottish Gaelic artist to appear on the legendary BBC TV show 'Later…with Jools Holland” in 2007 and can count Ricky Gervais and Phil Selway (Radiohead) amongst her fans.
Julie has recently worked with artists as diverse as Bill Whelan (Riverdance), James Taylor, Stuart Duncan, Liam O’Maonlai (Hothouse Flowers), Maireád Ní Mhaónaigh (Altan), … In addition to having one of the busiest music touring schedules in Scotland, Julie has now delved into the world of broadcasting, presenting her very own show 'Fowlis and Folk' on BBC Radio Scotland for the second year running and also presenting regularly for television on Scotland's new Gaelic digital channel, BBC ALBA.
For Julie is a passionate torchbearer for the culture of her native Western Isles. And, coupled with her extraordinary talent, it is this quiet determination to celebrate the music of the Outer Hebrides and Highlands of Scotland on its own terms that ensures that Scots Gaelic music is reaching a wider audience than ever before.
Press Quotes:
Gardensessions, (20/01/2008): Fowlis herself left the impression that if she had more hands she could have been a one woman show. She impressed on the whistle, small pipes, pibroch mhor, box and of course when she sang. Fowlis has the rare ability to hold an audience captive whether she is singing a slow Gaelic air, a walking song or a more contempory piece. She sang through a range of traditional Gaelic songs as well as incorporating a few from her new album. She skilfully gave a little background information on every piece she offered, engaging the largely English speaking crowd. Fowlis’s gentle Highland accent and sense of humor charmed the crowd. She had three standing ovations and the crowd would have been there all night if she had continued to play.
Whispering and Hollerin, (30/03/2007): Whatever your assumptions and ideas are surrounding folk's deeply-rooted traditions, this was a spellbinding performance from the genre's latest UK sensation JULIE FOWLIS. For there was absolutely no questioning the immense power of what proved instantly to be a drop-dead gorgeous set from this supremely talented Outer Hebredes' artist and a triumph of her chosen medium for singing songs that washed over any remaining shred of doubt. Tradition's choice really I guess, but even the deep-down truth that every genre of music can be illustrated with both good and bad examples left me unprepared for my compulsive and instantaneous attraction to this sensual and gravity-defying performance.
Evening Standard (29/03/2007): There are some voices that carry much more than a melody. They transport you to another place, give you goose flesh and make magic out of thin air. Julie Fowlis has just such a voice - and last night the Scottish singer left her audience spellbound with her supreme vocal talent.(...) This brilliant performance was made the more exquisite by her seeming unawareness of her virtuousic talent. Unpretentious, committed, musical and on the cusp of greatness - it doesn't come much better than this.
Living Tradition magazine: “Her vocal beauty and her passionate, engaging stage presence are such that the listener doesn’t need to understand the words to be able to enjoy her music”.
Folking.com: “The sincerity and passion with which Julie sings, goes beyond any language barriers and reaches through the depths of your consciousness to unearth the most intuitive of sentiments”.
The Observer: “Though Fowlis voices tales of intense rivalries between North Uist and South Uist, she could be singing about Rawlplugs for all we know . . .”
Daily Telegraph: The third highly anticipated solo album from “the first Scots Gaelic singer to truly cross over”
Whispering and Hollerin, (30/03/2007): Whatever your assumptions and ideas are surrounding folk's deeply-rooted traditions, this was a spellbinding performance from the genre's latest UK sensation JULIE FOWLIS. For there was absolutely no questioning the immense power of what proved instantly to be a drop-dead gorgeous set from this supremely talented Outer Hebredes' artist and a triumph of her chosen medium for singing songs that washed over any remaining shred of doubt. Tradition's choice really I guess, but even the deep-down truth that every genre of music can be illustrated with both good and bad examples left me unprepared for my compulsive and instantaneous attraction to this sensual and gravity-defying performance.
Evening Standard (29/03/2007): There are some voices that carry much more than a melody. They transport you to another place, give you goose flesh and make magic out of thin air. Julie Fowlis has just such a voice - and last night the Scottish singer left her audience spellbound with her supreme vocal talent.(...) This brilliant performance was made the more exquisite by her seeming unawareness of her virtuousic talent. Unpretentious, committed, musical and on the cusp of greatness - it doesn't come much better than this.
Living Tradition magazine: “Her vocal beauty and her passionate, engaging stage presence are such that the listener doesn’t need to understand the words to be able to enjoy her music”.
Folking.com: “The sincerity and passion with which Julie sings, goes beyond any language barriers and reaches through the depths of your consciousness to unearth the most intuitive of sentiments”.
The Observer: “Though Fowlis voices tales of intense rivalries between North Uist and South Uist, she could be singing about Rawlplugs for all we know . . .”
Daily Telegraph: The third highly anticipated solo album from “the first Scots Gaelic singer to truly cross over”
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