The 17th Niel Gow Festival will take place over the weekend of March 18th–20th.
It is now over a year since the life-size bronze of Niel Gow by artist David Annand was installed on the Birnam side of Dunkeld Bridge. Sadly, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, any celebrations had to be deferred. Until now that is!
A celebration the life and legacy of Perthshire’s indigenous 18th century fiddle maestro, the 17th Niel Gow Festival will take place over the weekend of March 18th–20th. The festival hub Birnam Arts, where it all starts on the Friday night with a solo fiddle concert featuring Iain Fraser, Ryan Young, Paul Anderson, Gordon Gunn and Charlie McKerron.
Afternoon and evening concerts at will also be happening at Birnam Arts on Saturday19th and Sunday 20th March. There will also be opportunities for budding fiddlers to learn from the masters in one-hour workshops on the Saturday and Sunday morning. And this year, a “Gow Gathering” beside the bronze memorial will precede the annual guided walk on Sunday morning, from Little Dunkeld to Niel Gow’s home village of Inver.
In 2019, Alistair J. Hardie and friends, “Kist of Musick”, presented a show based on the life of Nathaniel Gow, one of Niel Gow’s sons. This year they return with a world premiere - a tribute to Niel Gow himself, in words and music. The narration, by well-known Scottish actor John Shedden, gives and account of Gow’s life, with musical interludes performed by fiddlers Alastair Savage and Alastair J. Hardie, accompanied by Donald Gillan (‘cello) and John Kitchen (keyboard). This very special Saturday lunchtime performance is guaranteed to educate and entertain, and one not to be missed!
Artistes appearing this year include:
Marie Fielding; Roddy Matthews; Iain Fraser; Ryan Young; Charlie McKerron; Paul Anderson; Hannah Fisher; Sorren Maclean; Graham MacKenzie; Muriel Johnstone; Gordon Gunn; Suzanne Fivey; Ruairidh MacMillan; Alistair McCulloch; Alistair J. Hardie; Alastair Savage; Marc Clement; Brian McAlpine; Adam Sutherland; Douglas Lawrence; Maureen Rutherford; Riddell Fiddles; The Junior School of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; Dunkeld & District Strathspey Society.
Full details are available on the Niel Gow Festival web site, and tickets are now available from Birnam Arts. (Tel. 01350 727 674 or email info@birnamarts.com)