Description
European music that is evocative, inventive, and endlessly exciting - Firelight Trio is a mighty new group featuring Fatea instrumentalist of the year 2023 Gavin Marwick (fiddle), accordionist Phil Alexander (Moishe’s Bagel), and Ruth Morris (Outlander – HBO) on the beautiful Swedish Nyckelharpa. They play European music that is evocative, inventive, and endlessly exciting. Ruth’s resonant nyckelharpa is matched by Gavin’s powerhouse fiddle, all backed up by Phil’s groovily inventive accordion and piano, in a rich tapestry of lively Swedish polskas and Scottish reels, lilting French waltzes, toe-tapping klezmer, dazzling original tunes and more. “A veritable roots music supergroup” RnR “Top-calibre trio with grace, energy, and playfulness” Folk Radio UK“Achingly beautiful” Fatea“Deeply expressive, impressively virtuosic and cheekily sardonic, all in perfect measure“ Songlines“Simply splendid…three musical giants” RnR “Absolutely superb, thrilling and mesmerizing performance! A truly memorable concert and 100% enjoyable from toddlers to seniors.” Laura Pyrrö, cultural producer of Espa Stage, Helsinki.“A powerhouse, cross-continental folk adventure. Truly unique and unmissable instrumental genius” Celtic Connections Festival, Glasgow“Firelight Trio certainly weren’t the average folk band; they took their instrumentation and inspiration from the genre and took it to another space. The sound they created was utterly magnificent” Mike Latham, The Live Room, SaltaireVideo of a live performance for Showcase Scotland's 'The Visit', filmed by Trad TV: https://youtu.be/-cQBP3fnBRMRooftop Chorale: https://youtu.be/Mv6wHNUqxBQFirelight Trio are on quite a roll at the moment - they launched their Creative Scotland-funded second album Midnight Followed at Celtic Connections in 2026. They have been taken on by Showcase Scotland, and have been doing a series of 'Scotland Introducing' shows for them - in London at Cecil Sharp House Nov 2025, and also the Ceolas Scottish Music nights shows in Berlin November 2025, then a run of Scotland Introducing shows in England in March 2026. They were selected for Showcase Scotland's 'The Visit', see video of that performance below, and the promoters chose them for the Scotland Introducing dates off the back of that. They have been playing festivals such as Shrewsbury, Sidmouth, Priddy and Wickham, and Folk Holidays (Czech).They had a fantastic live review from St George's, Bristol, which you can read here: https://www.fatea-records.co.uk/magazine/live/3CW.php/The first album, 'Firelight Trio', is on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/album/3BG0uHyMWZg6DWnpbAughiOr on Bandcamp here: https://firelighttrio.bandcamp.com/album/firelight-trio“It's very hard not to think about Europe and be desperately furious about loss when listening to this incredible album by Firelight Trio. It's stuffed with Latvian marches, French Chapelloise, Balkan Polskas, Ukrainian klezmer tunes and German jigs. At every turn it is joyous, deliriously uplifting, wildly inventive, it is breathtakingly beautiful, gently contemplative, wonderfully thoughtful. It is, in short, everything that makes European music so great.” Gavin McNamaraThe second album, 'Midnight Followed', is on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4eWnnxOpZtHGFg55WMyGeJOr on Bandcamp here: https://firelighttrio.bandcamp.com/album/midnight-followedThe album closes on a high, with two tunes inspired by a road trip to, and performing in, the Czech Republic. ”Life On The Road/Six Weeks To Námĕšt’ show the symbiotic juxtaposition of the fiddle, nyckelharpa and accordion to perfect effect, with the dramatic energy, excitement and emotion being created making it difficult to believe that only three instruments are being played. Midnight Followed provides a beacon of musical light, guaranteed to bring a smile to the face and a tap to the foot.” Folk North West“Interesting and achingly beautiful music.” Marc Higgins, Fatea“This is just the tonic for these dreich days before spring appears, and, just by listening, suddenly the world seems warmer and more inviting.” Seuras Og, folking.com“The whole album feels optimistic and you get the impression they love what they do. The east/west element and the varieties of melody and tempo really transport the listener. The more I heard of this album the happier I felt! And don’t miss the title track” Pal Carter, Folk LondonAshburton Arts CentreAlways three prices – please pay what you can. Pay less, come to more! See Access, Tickets & Finding Us for more about why there are three ticket prices, plus other useful info about coming to events at Ashburton Arts Centre.Level access from street – please contact us on [email protected] if a wheelchair space is needed, or if you have any other special requirements.