Prog-folk quintet Aerialists have become a firm favourite here on Folk Radio UK where they featured in David Morrison’s Top 10 Albums of 2017 in which he said: “A great many folk musicians have dabbled with jazz flavours down the decades, but with varying degrees of success. The excellent Canadian-American-Scottish quintet Aerialists are certainly pulling off this genre-melding balancing act with aplomb, delivering scintillating original material and applying their approach to traditional tunes with equal cohesion and virtuosic brilliance.”
They release their debut full-length album Group Manoeuvres in the UK this month which we reviewed here. To celebrate the release they are touring in the UK for the first time with dates in England and Scotland including a Celtic Connections show opening for Lúnasa at City Halls Glasgow.
Featuring Scottish harpist Màiri Chaimbeul (Darol Anger & The Furies, Brìghde Chaimbeul), and Canadian neo-folk innovators Adam Iredale-Gray (Fish & Bird) on guitar and Elise Boeur (Jenny Ritter) on fiddle, the transatlantic group is rooted in their rich knowledge of Nordic and Gaelic music and gifted in a contemporary approach to complex sound. Live gigs showcase the young quintet’s brilliant tune-writing, intuitive instrumentation and imaginative arrangements. Aerialists take no shortcuts in their music: at turns reflective and exhilarating, they are fully committed to an expansive and wonderfully unique sound.
Aerialists UK Dates
18/01 Stroud | The Prince Albert
19/01 Swanage | Square and Compass
21/01 Belsele, BE | ‘T ey
22/01 Bath | The Bell Inn
23/01 London | Caravansérail
24/01 Bristol | The Canteen
25/01 Manchester | Carousel Sessions
26/01 Glasgow | Celtic Connections
28/01 Edinburgh | House Concert
https://aerialists.bandcamp.com/album/group-manoeuvre
http://www.aerialistsmusic.com/
Photo Credit: Alex Waber