THERE were many and various forms of crowd-pleasing work during the 14th Hebridean Celtic festival – and crowds don't come much better pleased than the 15,000 or so folk who nowadays flock to Stornoway each July, drawn from near and far by the event'
s deservedly outstanding international reputation.
Some of those charged with entertaining them adopted the old-fashioned tactics of top quality performances delivered with heart, soul and a fitting sense of occasion; others adapted this approach with more new-fangled methods or attitudes. All found their supporters among the crowd.
Lewis itself constitutes a pretty seductive warm-up act and backdrop, offering its wealth of ancient sites and breathtaking beaches by day, while the imposing towers of Lews Castle frame the main festival area by night. Then there's the island's position as a key heartland of Gaelic culture, a proud living heritage artfully reflected in the programme.
The young Leodhsaig Norrie MacIver, for instance, featured both with the Gaelic singing supergroup Na Seoid, who packed out Wednesday's opening show, and the gifted traditional five-piece Bodega, while fellow islanders Alasdair White – usually seen with the Battlefield Band – and Calum Alex MacMillan (Dàimh), meanwhile chose Heb Celt to launch their fiddle/vocal duo.
From neighbouring North Uist on Thursday, Gaeldom's current crown princess, Julie Fowlis, inaugurated proceedings in the huge castle marquee with customarily immaculate polish and poise, having earlier appeared at An Lanntair in a one-on-one with Lewis doyenne Maire Smith. The festival's Gaelic content is very much there as of right, simply taking its place alongside other rich cultural traditions that embrace beneath the contemporary Celtic banner.
Asked for their personal highlight as the weekend drew to a close – in perhaps the least scientific straw poll ever – a decided majority of people unhesitatingly nominated Orkney eight-piece The Chair, who stepped up on Friday ahead of this year's primary headliners The Saw Doctors and played a blinder to easily their biggest audience yet. Palpably well rehearsed and suitably on their mettle, their heavy-hitting line-up – twin fiddles, accordion, banjo, guitar, bass, drums and percussion – socked it to us straight and chaser for a triumphant 90 minutes, further fuelling the wildfire buzz kindled by their Open Stage award at last year's Celtic Connections.
The Saw Doctors seemed less specifically appreciative of the occasion – but their stock-in-trade is uniting massive crowds with simple, heartfelt, irresistibly feel-good anthems, which they did with gusto for well over two hours.
Their endearingly staunch refusal to take themselves at all seriously certainly isn't an accusation that could ever be levelled at Brit-folk poster boy Seth Lakeman, whose megabucks major-label deal resonated loud and clear through Saturday's slick, largely soulless Radio 2-friendly selection from his new album Poor Man's Heaven.
In their very different ways, veteran Irish mavericks Four Men And A Dog and television talent show winners the Red Hot Chilli Pipers were both more of the tongue-in-cheek persuasion, and earned similarly noisy audience respect at a festival that keeps on going from strength to strength.
The full article contains 527 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
