The Diana Wortham Theatre, in partnership with the Swannanoa Gathering at Warren Wilson College, continues the Mainstage Celtic Series with the Scottish band, Old Blind Dogs, performing Friday, April 20 at 8 p.m. at the Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place in downtown Asheville. Over the past decade Old Blind Dogs has grown into one of Scotland’s favorite folk bands.

Since forming in 1990, Old Blind Dogs has stood on the cutting edge of Scotland’s roots revival. The band has developed its own trademark style in which dynamic percussion and bluesy harmonica fuel the delicately phrased melodies of traditional songs. Armed with a brand new line-up and a new album, “The World’s Room,” the Dogs are putting the sounds of northeastern Scotland firmly on the world-music map. During the April 1999 Shoots and Roots Festival, the Evening News reported, “The skill, talent and verve with which they played belied their laddishness and the crowd responded with thunderous applause.”

Two of Old Blind Dogs’ founders, Jonny Hardie (fiddle) and Buzzby McMillan (bass, cittern) hail from Aberdeenshire on Scotland’s northeast coast, an area steeped in traditional songs and fiddle tunes. They have built upon the region’s melodies while adding Jim Malcolm’s powerfully expressive vocals and the African-flavored rhythms of Paul Jennings’ djembe and congas. New Dog Rory Campbell’s small pipes and whistle form a feisty partnership with Hardie’s fiddle, tying the music back to its Scottish roots.

The Old Blind Dogs make their Green Linnet debut with “The World’s Room” after five highly praised albums with Scottish independent label Lochshore. “The World’s Room” reveals both the depth and refinement honed through nearly a decade of performing and recording, and the spark that comes from a new meeting of musical minds. Called “splendid” by Time Out London and “an outstanding label debut” in MOJO, the album has received glowing responses from both fans and critics.

The Mainstage Celtic Series is sponsored by John and Tina McGuire and My Native Ireland of Asheville. Tickets for the Old Blind Dog performance are currently on sale at the Diana Wortham Theatre box office. Tickets are Adults - $20; Seniors and Students - $18; children 12 and under - $10.
For information on Old Blind Dogs and other Mainstage Series performances, call the theatre’s box office at 828.257.4530 or visit the theatre’s web site at www.dwtheatre.com.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News