Ceolbeg (SCO) were an important Edinburgh group. Formed in the late 1970’s, they were one of the pioneers who renewed and partially re-inventented Scottish folk music for late 20th and early 21st centuries.
With varied instrumentation and styles and at times a strong sociopolitical stance, Ceolbeg drew together a number of very diverse influences, from Scottish trad all the way to the pop reggae of a band like UB40 (!).
As a result, their albums are somewhat mixed bags and I must admit there’s some material that’s not exactly my cup of tea. But it’s all written and performed skillfully and with genuine emotion, and more trad pieces work just beautifully – I have compiled a playlist of my favorite Ceolbeg trad moments that’s just solid 🙂
Ceolbeg on the Web:
