Traditional music with a difference comes to the region as part of the continuing programme of the 2017 Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival.
Award-winning musician Mairi Campbell presents her new solo theatre show in New Galloway and Dumfries this week.
In Pulse, Mairi sings, acts, plays and dances the story of her musical homecoming and journey of the heart, weaving live viola, voice, animation, movement and storytelling with tracks from her eponymous ground-breaking album.
The show, which is co-devised and directed by Kath Burlinson, begins with Mairi feeling creatively stultified by her classical training at the Guildhall School of Music in London. She then travels to Mexico and Cape Breton before returning to Scotland to take up her bow in the traditional music scene. In the background is her love story with her husband and musical collaborator Dave Francis, who teaches her to play her first tune by ear.
Pulse is deeply touching, funny and potent. The show is a significant development in Mairi’s artistry and is performed with an incredible power, commitment and energy.
Pulse was showcased in Edinburgh in June 2015 and at Celtic Connections in January 2016. In August 2016, the show then ran for a full month at the Fringe to amazing critical and audience feedback.
Mairi Campbell: Pulse takes place at the CatStrand, New Galloway, on Friday, 1 June at 7.30pm and the Theatre Royal, Dumfries, on Saturday, 2 June at 5pm.
Also on Friday, and making a welcome return to the region’s stages, are inventive Scottish-based trio Bellevue Rendezvous who will be launching their new album with a concert at the Fullarton Theatre at 7.30pm. The band is headed up by Journeyman frontman Gavin Marwick and is completed by Dumfries and Galloway-based musicians Ruth Morris and Cameron Robson.
They will be supported by Wigtownshire musician Jenn Butterworth and Laura-Beth Salter.
Tickets to all events from the Midsteeple Box Office on 01387 253383 or from www.dgartsfestival.org.uk
