Nuala Kennedy is an Irish singer and flute player steeped in the musical traditions of Ireland and Scotland. She has a lovely voice, a warm tone on the flute, and a light compositional touch. “Unhurried yet freewheeling, loose-limbed yet disciplined, her voice is a natural, earthy instrument entirely in concert with her woody flute lines,” says the Irish Times. “She is not only an exceptional interpreter of the tradition . . . her own tunes glisten with freshness. Spellbinding.”

Nuala grew up in Dundalk, County Louth, on the East coast of Ireland, began playing wooden flute at the age of 7, and by 13 was playing with the award-winning traditional ceilidh (social gathering) band, Ceoltoiri Oga Oghrialla. “All I knew,” she says, “was that I loved the music and I wanted to play all the time.” She broadened her knowledge of Gaelic traditions at Edinburgh College of Art, and in 2007 she moved to Inverness in the Scottish highlands for more intensive study. She has recorded two albums with her former group, Fine Friday, and three solo albums, including her latest, Noble Stranger, an intricate blend of traditional motifs with a modern, neo-folk sensibility. Guitarist Kyle Sanna joins Nuala for tonight’s show.

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Photo by Louis Decarlo