“I’ve had a fiddle in my hands for as long as I can remember.”
Gráinne Brady is an acclaimed Irish fiddle player, composer, and songwriter from Co. Cavan, Ireland. Known for her evocative blend of Irish and Scottish influences, she spent many years in Glasgow before returning home. Born into a musical family and taught the fiddle by her father, she grew up immersed in traditional music - brought to sessions by her parents and spending childhood summers at folk festivals across Ireland.
Gráinne’s music draws the listener in across fiddle and bow, across sea, sky, time and topography. She has released two solo albums - The Road Across The Hills and Newcomer - both featuring her own compositions, and is now preparing to release her third solo album, a vibrant collection of traditional Irish music that reflects different stages of her musical journey. Her creative collaborations include The Routes Quartet (nominated ‘Folk Band of the Year’ at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2017), Top Floor Taivers (nominated in 2016), and Gaelic group LAS featuring Joy Dunlop. She also created BEYOND: The Story of an Irish Immigrant, which featured as a New Voices commission at Celtic Connections in 2019.
For this performance, Gráinne is joined by Michael Biggins, a multi-instrumentalist from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, now based in Glasgow. Michael tours widely with TRIP, The Canny Band and Tom McConville, and was awarded BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2021.
Together, they present an energetic, tune-driven set featuring music from Gráinne’s newest release, Back and Forth, a lively mix of traditional and contemporary Irish tunes with Scottish influences, alongside a selection of songs from her forthcoming project, The Highest Blossom, featuring original songwriting and collaborations with Boo Hewerdine and Findlay Napier. Expect driving tunes, dynamic interplay and moments of song woven naturally into the set.