Songlines Encounters Festival: Duncan Chisholm + Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat

Fiddler Duncan Chisholm is one of the busiest people on Scotland’s extremely active folk scene, as a regular member of Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis’ band, amongst other things. He’s a dynamic solo artist whose last three solo albums form the Strathglass Trilogy, inspired by the highland glens which are his family home.

Sisters Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat are two brave and inspiring vocalists. Accompanying themselves on plucked setar and frame drum, their voices interweave in a magical web of sound which had the audience transfixed at last year’s WOMAD festival. What’s all the more remarkable given their international acclaim, is that under Iranian Islamic law they are prohibited from performing publicly at home. They will also do a special Encounters collaboration with Duncan Chisholm.

Songlines Encounters Festival is co-curated by Songlines magazine and Ikon Arts Management