Unusual Suspects

Background
New commission

A new commission for The Unusual Suspects receives its UK premiere in October.

Background

The Unusual Suspects is the brain-child of musical directors Corrina Hewat and David Milligan.  They first came up with the idea almost a decade ago, but it wasn't until the then Celtic Connections festival director Colin Hynd offered them a platform to put their 'folk-orchestra theory' into practice, that the idea became a reality.  The debut gig in January 2003 featured 32 of Scotland’s finest musicians, with a line-up of fiddles, pipes, flutes, whistles, accordion, horns, rhythm section, harp and vocals.

The band returned to Celtic Connections the next year, and a UK tour followed.  They have also performed internationally at the Celtic Colours International Festival in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, in a project which shared the respective traditions of the Canadian and Scottish musicians involved, to create a unique and wonderful sound.

In the band's first few years, they did over two dozen performances in venues from large concert halls and theatres, down to village halls.  The ever-evolving line-up has featured a total of nearly 50 of Scotland's top musicians.

New commission

The Unusual Suspects started the year at Celtic Connections with a great gig at the Old Fruitmarket and then moved on to Europafest 2007 in Berlin.  This opportunity arose directly from a showcase appearance at Womex at The Sage Gateshead in 2005 – the same organisers were asked by the German government to produce a showcase of European bands and this became part of a weekend of events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the European Union.  The band performed on an open-air stage at Brandenberg Gate in front of some 50,000 people, a performance made possible by the Scottish Arts Council providing showcase funding.

2007 was the Year of Scotland at the Lorient Interceltique Festival in France, and the Scottish Government hosted several events to mark the occasion.  The Unusual Suspects were invited to host the Gala performance at the Grand Theatre – a beautiful new municipal theatre next to the football stadium.  For their Gala performance, the Scottish Arts Council provided a grant to enable Unusual Suspects musical directors David Milligan and Corrina Hewat, to write a new piece of music – The Lorient Suite – and invite pipers Stuart Cassells, Kevin Macdonald and Willie Armstrong of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers to join their own pipers.  This world premiere was enthusiastically greeted by the audience including the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture, Linda Fabiani.

The Lorient Suite (sadly without the Chilli Pipers) will be repeated this autumn on their 'Three Nations' tour:

The Unusual Suspects are looking at ways to get more Unusual Suspects on more stages, more often in 2008.

For more information, visit the Unusual Suspects website.