Julie Fowlis: Changing the Face of Gaelic Music
Julie Fowlis is making her way to our stage to share her Scottish Gaelic culture through the music and her exquisite vocals at The American Theatre on Saturday, October 8 at 8:00pm!
Julie Fowlis was brought up on North Uist in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, the last area in Scotland where Scots Gaelic is as prominent as the dominant language of Scotland, English.
She has been a proud standard bearer for Gaelic music and culture over the course of a solo career for over ten years, and four highly-acclaimed studio albums. The most recent, Gach Sgeul / Every Story, released in 2014, was given a five-star album review from Songlines World Music magazine.
“With such a mainstream public profile, it is a pleasure to discover that her new album is an unadulterated collection of traditional Gaelic language folk songs. Trusting in the riches of her native music scene, there is not an English-language hit or star collaboration in sight. Highlights include the exquisite fiddle intro to the slow ballad ‘Òran Fir Heisgeir’, which came out of Fowlis’ residency with the Tobar an Dualchais digital archiving project, and the puirt à beul (mouth music) set ‘Ribinnean Riomhach’. With top musicians and an attitude towards tradition that brims with confidence, this is a great album.” - Songlines World Music
Also well-known as a TV and radio presenter, Julie has broadcast for BBC Radio 2 and 4, BBC Radio Scotland and SKY ARTS HD. Most recently she presented the popular TV series Port with Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh on BBC ALBA and TG4, and has toured with the internationally-acclaimed Transatlantic Sessions, a spin-off from the hit TV series.
Julie remains committed to deepening her knowledge of Highland and Gaelic culture, tradition and history through continued research and academic projects. In addition to her two degrees (a BA Honours in Applied Music and an MA in Material Culture & The Environment), she was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.
Her roots may be firmly in folk music and the Scottish Gaelic culture she grew up in, but her talent and style have brought her into the mainstream, where her unique ability to interpret the culture she is so passionate about, in a way that resonates with all who hear her sing, have won her broad new audiences.
Nominated as 'Folk Singer of the Year' at the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, and 'Best Artist' at the Songlines World Music Awards 2015, Julie is a warm and engaging live performer who has graced stages around the globe, from village halls in the Highlands to theatres in Paris and Vienna, London and New York, to singing live at the opening ceremony of the Glasgow XX Commonwealth Games in 2014, to a TV audience of over 1 billion people.
For millions of little girls around the world – and their parents – Julie will forever be known for singing the theme song to Brave, Disney Pixar’s Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA winning animated film, set in the ancient highlands of Scotland. Finding the perfect, authentic singing voice for the film was a priority for the producers, and they searched long and hard, instantly recognizing that they had found what they needed when they first heard Julie sing. Having recorded the final vocal at over eight months pregnant with her second child, Julie accepted the invitation to fly to Hollywood for the premiere, with her co-producer, musical partner and husband, Éamon Doorley, and their two children, aged then just two years and two months.
Click play to hear the Julie Fowlis sing the title song “Touch the Sky” in the Disney Pixar film, Brave!
Experience the beautiful sound of Gaelic music and traditional Scottish folk songs with Julie Fowlis at The American Theatre on Saturday, October 8 at 8:00pm!