Universal Hall: Music

Autumn 08 Season Special Offer: Earlybird Discount Scheme To encourage more advanced bookings on the easy-to-use Booth website (www.thebooth.co.uk), the first 20 tickets booked through the Booth for any show in our Autumn season will receive a £1 discount. Book quickly through the Booth and you could get one of the discounted tickets. The offer runs for shows from August to December 08 and excludes the Nairn Jazz Festival which is an external promotion. NAIRN INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL Mon 4th August, 7pm DUKE HEITGER'S PADDLEBOAT SHUFFLE Top musicians playing Duke's own blend of sounds from his home town. With two super vocalists - Nairn favourite Rebecca Kilgore, and introducing Topsy Chapman from New Orleans. £15 Tue 5th Aug, 7pm HEAR ME TALKIN' A Nairn Jazz Festival exclusive! A line up of Ruby's friends pay tribute to the formidable cornet player, who together with Scott Hamilton launched the first ever Nairn Jazz Festival in 1990, and who played his last ever gig at Nairn! £12.50 THE !GUBI FAMILY Sat. 23rd Aug, 8pm The !gubi Family (pronounced with a tongue click) consists of 6 San Bushmen musicians, ranging in age from 18 to 80, and are the keepers of a vanishing tradition of San Musical Culture from the Kalahari Desert, Namibia. The San are the originators of trance dance and their music is specifically designed to evoke an altered state of consciousness through the rhythms and beats, They traditionally play the mouthbow, the mbira and the zuma (four-stringed instrument) Recently, the !gubis have worked with renowned UK artist, Banco De Gaia, receiving rapturous reviews from London audiences. As a prelude to their performance in the Universal Hall the !gubi family will hold a participatory trance dance around a fire on the dancing green behind the Hall. This is a unique opportunity to participate in an ancient form of tribal dance that has been part of the ceremonial life of Africa for thousands of years. Some will learn the chants and sit round the fire whilst others join in this healing dance. “When I dance,” the San say “my ancestors enter my body and give me the power to see what makes people sick.” Participatory outdoor dance £8/£6 (Fri 22nd Aug) Hall show £9/£7 JAMIE LAVAL & ASHLEY BRODER Friday 19th Sept, 8pm Already a favorite in the arena of innovative Celtic performers, the duo has recently been turning heads of Bluegrass and Classical audiences as well. Their CD Zephyr In The Confetti Factory won the popular vote in the World Traditional Song category this past year in the 2007 Independent Music Awards. Jamie Laval is one of the top Scottish fiddlers on the International touring musicians’ circuit today. Together with mandolin virtuoso Ashley Broder, the duo creates a completely unique approach to traditional Irish and Scottish music. “One can only gasp in admiration” SingOut! Magazine. £9/£7 RICARDO GARCIA Sat. 4th Oct, 8pm Flamenco as you've never it seen before! High energy and contemporary: flamenco meets the 21st century. Combining authentic flamenco music and dance from Spain with an unprecedented modern twist, Ricardo Garcia demonstrates an astounding mastery of the developments in this traditional musical style. A brilliant and highly-acclaimed production at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. "Stunning - a fascinating and complex musical conversation...a gem." Sunday Herald £9/£7 CAROLYN HILLYER AND NIGEL SHAW Fri 10th Oct, 8.00pm Performing their music together for the first time in Scotland, these two internationally renowned composers and musicians offer a magical tapestry of beautiful instrumental pieces and extraordinary songs. Using handmade and ancient instruments they move from delicate soul-filled flute melodies, through deep raw chants and strong earth songs, to powerful tribal dance rhythms. Nigel and Carolyn have performed regularly at major festivals including Glastonbury and WOMAD, as well as hosting RIVENSTONE, their own sacred world music festival on Dartmoor. £9/£7 RACHEL WALKER Sat 25th October, 8pm Having released two critically acclaimed albums of Gaelic song, Rachel brings her own special style of singing to the Universal Hall. Her beautiful, crystal clear voice is complemented by two of Scotland’s most sought after musicians, Carol-Anne MacKay on pipes and whistle and Ewan Robertson on guitar. “Rachel's rippling piano accompaniment provides the ideal backdrop for her flawlessly clear and expressive voice.” – Mike Wilson folking.com £9/£7 SHOOGLENIFTY Fri 31st Oct, 8pm Groundbreaking Scottish mavericks Shooglenifty push the word ‘traditional’ to its limits with their unique blend of dance vibes and roots music. Genuinely genre defying, they have been described as everything from “acid croft” to “hypnofolkadelia” Shooglenifty’s line up is Angus Grant on fiddle, Luke Plumb on mandolin and banjo, Garry Finlayson on banjax, Malcolm Crosbie on guitar, Quee MacArthur on bass and James MacIntosh on drums and percussion. “…predictably classy” The Guardian £12/£10 SONAS Fri 29 Nov, 7.30pm This talented acappella singing trio consists of Carol Mason-Corkery, Heather Hatch, and Kate O’Connell – each a fine singer in her own right. African to Baltic songs; country, bluegrass, folk; gospel and pop all feature in their repertoire. The trio also work with local community arts groups who will join them on stage. This year saw the development by Carol Denyer of the “Can’t Sing Won’t Sing” Women’s Project in Buckie; Heather runs SAYI Youth Drama group in Aberlour, and Kate has a new Youth Choir in the Forres area. With their beautiful blend of wonderful harmonies, Sonas will take you on an amazing world musical journey. £8/£6