WITH a truly international outlook and influences that reach far beyond Scotland’s shores, Breabach are perhaps the perfect band to help celebrate the Year of Scotland in Australia – while also helping to raise funds for those affected by the Australian bushfires.

Following on swiftly from last week’s Celtic Connections performance at the Royal Concert Hall – where the band kicked off their 15th anniversary in style, welcoming some special guests as well as past members on stage – they are now in Melbourne en route to the iconic Sydney Opera House where they will be the star attraction at the Glenturret Burns Night Supper.

They have come a long way since they first began playing together seriously in 2005. There have been line-up changes in the intervening years, but founding members Calum MacCrimmon and Ewan Robertson remain mainstays of the band, and as such, bear witness to their remarkable rise from pub sessions to the Sydney Opera House. It has not, however, been an overnight phenomenon.

“We just worked really hard early on,” says Robertson. “We were always out on the road doing what we could when we could. It was a really special time, looking back. It was great fun, it was a big adventure but we were all totally invested in what we were doing. We believed in the music we were making. We did put in a lot of work.

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“We [Robertson, MacCrimmon, Patsy Reid and Donal Brown] first started when we were all students around 2003, but it was 2005 we see as our official start date. That was the year we won the Danny Kyle prize at Celtic Connections.”

It must be slightly surreal looking back to those humble beginnings ahead of this weekend’s showcase in Australia.

“Absolutely,” says Robertson. “It’s crazy. Even when we played last Saturday at the Concert Hall, it was really quite emotional. We had Donal and Patsy up, the Tryst pipers and Duncan Chisholm and Iain MacFarlane joined us for Farley Bridge. That was great as Duncan wrote the tune and Iain built the bridge!”

And while celebrating both the band’s anniversary and the Year of Scotland in Australia is important to the band, it is just as important to them that they are helping to raise money to help cope with the devastation wrought by the bushfires. As a former volunteer firefighter, Robertson is all too aware of the horrors Australia is facing.

“We’re not in Sydney yet – we actually flew into Melbourne, but as soon as we landed and went outside there’s a definite smell of smoke in the air. The air quality isn’t too bad just now thanks to the onshore winds, but there’s definitely a lingering smell.”

Sunday’s event will also showcase Indigenous Australian culture alongside conventional Scottish customs and for every ticket purchased for the supper, AUS$50 (£26) will be donated between the Australian Red Cross and World Wildlife Federation.

“It’s hard to believe,” says Robertson. “Trying to comprehend the scale of these fires is mind-blowing. We have a track on Astar [the band’s previous album] called The White Sands of Jervis Bay, and that whole area has been devastated by the bush fires.

When we were here in 2018 we did some gigs in areas of New South Wales that will be unrecognisable now.”

The band has also released a limited-edition single malt whisky, the first bottle of which will be auctioned off and is currently part of the YOSA 2020 fundraising campaign, which includes complimentary VIP passes for festivals including Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, HebCelt Festival and Cambridge Folk Festival, with all proceeds in aid of the bushfire campaign.

“International cultural collaborations have always been important to us and we’ve created work with Indigenous Australasian artists in the past, so it’s great to be part of this event which seeks to merge two cultures together while doing our bit to help during this disaster,” says Robertson.

“It is truly heart-wrenching to witness the devastation wrought by the bushfires. As a former volunteer firefighter myself I feel particularly helpless but hope that our small contribution can help support the relief effort in some way. Our thoughts and love are with all those affected.”

The event will open with the ancient Indigenous Australian tradition of Calling Country with a combination of the bagpipes, the didgeridoo, a gum leaf dance and more. This Burns supper is the first of its kind and is a genuine celebration of two cultures in the iconic venue of the Sydney Opera House.

Highlights from the night of revelry will also include rousing recitals of Burns’ poetry; uplifting toasts such as the Piping of the Haggis (where a piper accompanies the haggis around the room before it’s served); the Immortal Memory; the Toast to the Lassies; singing of Auld Lang Syne; and musical performances to honour the life and work of Scotland’s national bard.

An inventive menu created by Sydney Opera House chefs to honour Scottish traditions – such as haggis – whilst incorporating native Australian flavours will also be on show.

Year of Scotland 2020 events are designed to inspire Australians to discover and celebrate Scottish culture at home, and to visit Scotland to experience the real deal in future travels.

PRODUCED and curated by Showcase Scotland Expo and Woodfordia Inc in partnership with Australia’s festivals and event organisers, the Year of Scotland in Australia 2020 is backed by VisitScotland, The Scottish Government, The Glenturret whisky, and Creative Scotland.

“With almost 120,000 Australian residents born in Scotland – and a further two million claiming Scottish ancestry, there’s a deep and genuine shared connection between our two nations,” says Alan Morrison, head of music at Creative Scotland. The Glenturret Burns Night Supper is a unique way to celebrate that enduring bond through a combination of indigenous Australian and Scottish music and traditions.”

For Robertson, it’s a great way of celebrating the band’s outward-looking message of hope. And to mark 15 years of Breabach. And the secret to that longevity?

“It’s about teamwork,” says Robertson. “We touched on that in the concert. Being a band for so long, you need underpinning values. We love making music together but friendship has been so important. When the line-up changed, continuing to be really great friends and all working as a team is so crucial. It’s really what underpins our success.

“We value teamwork and friendship, and the music is able to grow from there.”

 

For more info on Breabach go to www.breabach.com To learn about the Year of Scotland in Australia go to www.yearofscotlandaustralia2020.com To enter the draw for Glenturret whisky with proceeds going to the bushfire appeal visit: www.gofundme. com/f/breabach-glenturret-whiskyfundraiser