RENOWNED Irish fiddler Frankie Gavin will be in London next month.
Generally regarded as the finest traditional Irish fiddle player of his generation, Mr Gavin has played fiddle and flute since his teenage years, winning All-Ireland competitions for both at age 17.
The Galway native comes from a musical family and his own love of music began when he was given a tin whistle for his fourth birthday.
Originally influenced by the great Irish and American-Irish fiddle players, such as James Morrison, he later found himself playing with stars, including The Rolling Stones, Stephane Grappelli and Yehudi Menuhin, and for celebrity audiences including four American presidents: John Kennedy on his 1962 visit to Ireland, then Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama.
On September 20, 2010, Mr Gavin officially became the fastest fiddle player in the world, by securing a Guinness World Record for ‘fastest fiddle player’ after playing The Foxhunter’s Reel at 150bpm.
His performance was live and took place at the Aula Maxima at the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Perhaps most significantly, Mr Gavin is synonymous with De Dannan, the globally renowned band which he founded in a pub in Galway’s Spiddal, with Alec Finn in the mid-1970s.
After a short break in the early 2000s, Mr Gavin started a new version of the band with a young line-up.
Next month he will be at The Chapel in Salibsury for one night only, where he will be joined by Catherine McHugh.
Catch Frankie Gavin at The Chapel, Salisbury, on Friday, March 4. Doors 7.30pm, music at 8pm Tickets are available here. A donation of £2.50 from each ticket will be going to Salisbury Hospice.
