Perthshire Amber 2008 -The Dougie MacLean Festival

PERTHSHIRE AMBER 2008 - THE DOUGIE MACLEAN FESTIVAl

Perthshire Amber 2008 runs from the 24th October for 10 days.  Created, managed by
and starring Dougie MacLean and his family, Perthshire Amber 2008 is unique
amongst British festivals. Held in a range of distinctive venues this quality
festival manages to be both intimate and enthralling.

Dougie has developed an
amazing and ‘perfectly formed' festival which shares his inspiring
music and showcases his musical friends from Scotland and
abroad in the very beautiful scenery of his native land.

Dougie will play at 9 concerts across the 10
days with The Dougie MacLean Band, alongside some of his musical friends, with
strings in the Dunkeld Cathedral and solo with just his favourite guitars.

All the concerts are expected to sell out with
ticket sales having already been received from as far afield as Australia and America.

This year's guest list is very impressive and
includes Solas, loudly proclaimed as the most popular, influential, and
exciting Celtic band to ever emerge from the United
States, Benny Gallagher one
of Scotland's best
songwriters known from his time with Gallagher and Lyle and McGuiness Flint and
one of Scotland's
favourite bands Deaf Shepherd.

The concerts will bring over 5000 visitors to
the heart of Perthshire and last year's event raised over a quarter of a
million pounds for the Perthshire economy.

ENDS

Details of Perthshire
Amber can be found at www.perthshireamber.com

Benny Gallagher

Benny Gallagher of Gallagher and Lyle and
McGuiness Flint fame is to play with Dougie on Friday 31st October
at this year's Perthshire Amber. Benny is to headline with the Dougie and the
Dougie MacLean Band at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

Benny Gallagher is one half of hit makers
and blue chip songwriters Gallagher & Lyle writers of hits such as
Breakaway, I Wanna Stay With You, Heart On My Sleeve, A Heart in New York, Stay
Young, When I'm Dead and Gone, Malt and Barley Blues together.

On record he has worked with: Paul
McCartney - Eric Clapton - Pete Townsend - Ronnie Lane - Ronnie Wood - Gary
Brooker - Georgie Fame - Mary Hopkin - Elkie Brooks - Ralph McTell - Sandy
Denny and Fairport Convention, as well as Blues legends Arthur "Big
Boy" Crudup (who wrote "That's Alright Mama" for Elvis Presley)
and Champion Jack Dupree.

Dougie told us "Benny
and I met up again recently at a songwriters festival in Belfast. We had a great time and I was delighted when he agreed to join us in
Pitlochry.

Benny will play all of
his hits and hopefully we will be able to play a few tunes together."

Solas

Since its birth in 1996,
Solas has been loudly proclaimed as the most popular, influential, and exciting
Celtic band to ever emerge from the United States. Even before the release of its first Shanachie CD, the Boston Herald
trumpeted the quartet as "the first truly great Irish band to arise from America," and the Irish Echo ranked Solas among the "most exciting
bands anywhere in the world." Since then, the praise has only grown
louder. The Philadelphia Inquirer said they make "mind-blowing Irish folk
music, maybe the world's best." The New York Times praised their
"unbridled vitality", the Washington Post dubbed them one of the "world's
finest Celtic-folk ensembles" and the Austin American-Statesman called
them "the standard by which contemporary Celtic groups are judged."

The Solas sound today is
anchored by founders Seamus Egan, who plays flute, tenor banjo, mandolin,
whistle, guitar and bodhran, and fiddler Winifred Horan, two of the most
respected-and imitated-musicians anywhere in acoustic music. They are joined by
Mick McAuley from Kilkenny on accordion and whistle, and Eamon McElholm from
Tyrone on guitar and keyboards. The newest is member is Mairead Phelan on
vocals, who joined the band in early 2008 and can be heard on the new Solas
album, to be released at Perthshire Amber.

Further information is available from Graeme
White on 07734 064201

Released for Butterstone Management & Events
by Foxfire Marcoms Ltd

Perthshire Amber - The
Dougie MacLean Festival

Listings

FRIDAY
24TH OCTOBER  7.30PM

DOUGIE
MACLEAN SOLO + "THE SEARCH" LIVE

PITLOCHRY
FESTIVAL THEATRE (PFT) MAIN AUDITORIUM

SATURDAY
25TH OCTOBER 7.30PM

THE
DOUGIE MACLEAN TRIO + SOLAS + SUPPORT

PITLOCHRY
FESTIVAL THEATRE (PFT) MAIN AUDITORIUM

SUNDAY
26TH OCTOBER 7.30PM

DEAF
SHEPHERD + THE DOUGIE MACLEAN BAND + SUPPORT

PITLOCHRY
FESTIVAL THEATRE (PFT) MAIN AUDITORIUM

MONDAY
27TH OCTOBER 8.00PM

DOUGIE
MACLEAN IN CONCERT

CASTLE
MENZIES, WEEM

TUESDAY
28TH OCTOBER 2.00PM

DOUGIE
MACLEAN

SCOTTISH
CRANNOG CENTRE, 8.00PM

"FIDDLE
TREE" CONCERT - SARAH MCQUAID + The Final of the The Niel Gow
International Fiddle Composition Award

BARONIAL
HALL, BIRNAM

WEDNESDAY
29TH OCTOBER

DOUGIE
SINGS BURNS AT BLAIR- with very special guests

BLAIR CASTLE, BLAIR ATHOLL

THURSDAY
30TH OCTOBER

DOUGIE
MACLEAN WITH STRINGS INCLUDING A PERFORMANCE OF PERTHSHIRE AMBER

DUNKELD
CATHEDRAL

FRIDAY
31ST OCTOBER

THE
DOUGIE MACLEAN BAND + BENNY GALLAGHER + SUPPORT

PITLOCHRY
FESTIVAL THEATRE (PFT) MAIN AUDITORIUM

SATURDAY
1ST NOVEMBER 7.30PM

DOUGIE
MACLEAN AND FRIENDS

PITLOCHRY
FESTIVAL THEATRE (PFT) MAIN AUDITORIUM