Music Q&A:
The Celtic Fiddle Festival Band

Hero image

Fiddlers Kevin Burke (Ireland), Christian Lemaître (Brittany) and Charlie McKerron (Scotland) showcase their international and individual styles in their live performances. They play the Brindley in Runcorn, 22 Feb.

Tell us a bit about your sound and your influences.
Traditional fiddlers from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and elsewhere influenced us as individuals, and as a group we influence each other.

How have you evolved as a band over the years?
We’ve developed a better understanding of each other’s music and can better see both the unique qualities of each style and the connecting qualities.

Were there any alternative band names before you arrived at this one?
No, which is why our agent at the time chose this one. We didn’t like it at all but, since we thought we’d only ever be doing the one tour we decided to go along with it. Here we are 25 years later, still going along with it!

What are you up to at the moment artistically?
We are constantly searching for ways to make traditional music fit into a contemporary context, both live and in the studio.

How do you stand out from the crowd in a saturated industry?
I think people are continually surprised by the power that is generated by the three fiddles, all underpinned of course by the guitar accompaniment.

What’s on your rider?
Wine (white), cheese, fruit, nuts, water and wine (red).

Tell us about your worst live show.
The worst one I can remember actually turned into a great one. The sound engineer and/or the equipment was so bad we just couldn’t play through all the bangs, screeches, buzzes, etc. Finally we decided to do without it so we walked to the front of the stage, sat on the apron and played acoustically. It brought a great intimacy to the concert, the audience loved it and we all had a great time.

If you liked this article, we think you’ll enjoy these:

Interact: Responses to Music Q&A:
The Celtic Fiddle Festival Band

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published.