Shetland Arts has announced that it will present Sharon Shannon with Alan Connor live @ Mareel on Friday 26 September and live @ the North Roe & Lochend Hall on Saturday 27 September.
Celebrating 21 years since her debut album, Sharon will take audiences on a trip through her back catalogue. She will be joined on stage by multi-instrumentalist and singer Alan Connor.
The diminutive virtuoso will draw musical material from her nine studio albums, as well as introducing some brand new compositions and some covers, playing her trademark accordion and also taking turns on the whistle and fiddle.
Her high-octane brand of traditional music is complimented by Alan Connor, who provides a new and highly effective accompaniment. With the use of a foot-stomp providing the beat and his boogie-woogie style on the piano, his music owes its origins more to the tradition of New Orleans and the old blues masters than any Irish tradition. Alan also plays electric guitar and with the use of loops manages to combine all these instruments simultaneously.
This provides a perfect match for Sharon's ripping accordion and the duo can easily segue from a Lead Belly song into a newly composed reel by Sharon without missing a beat or batting an eyelid.
Lisa Ward, Shetland Arts’ Marketing Officer, said: “Sharon Shannon continues to present a fresh and relevant sound, constantly updating and reinventing her own unique style of trad music. The experience of seeing Sharon and Alan performing live together is both powerful and compelling. Tickets go on sale on this Friday (1 Aug) and we’re expecting these concerts to be very popular with Shetland audiences so we’re encouraging early booking.”
Tickets for both concerts will go on sale on Friday 1 August @ 10am. Booking is via Shetland Box Office at Mareel and/or Islesburgh, over the phone on 01595 745 555, or online at shetlandboxoffice.org and/or mareel.org.
