The Breath

FRIDAY NIGHT

The Breath

BRISTOL CATHEDRAL
Friday 3 May | 7 pm (doors 6.30 pm)

Join us for the opening of Bristol Folk Festival 2024 on Friday night in the glorious surroundings of Bristol Cathedral.

The Breath

The Breath open Bristol Folk Festival 2024 as they take on the majestic surrounds of Bristol Cathedral.

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“Quietly, inexorably, The Breath have become one of the most exciting folk acts. (Their music) unfolds like a paper flower.” The Financial Times *****

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The Breath is, singer/flautist Ríoghnach Connolly & guitarist Stuart McCallum.

Formed in 2016, an unlikely pairing of a softly-spoken guitar whizz (The Cinematic Orchestra) & a folk singer with a larger-than-life personality & a powerful voice to match, the connection was immediate. And for them it’s all about the song.

Connolly writes the only way she knows how; a stream of poetic consciousness giving rise to honest, heartfelt songs as likely to touch on childhood summers & first love as cultural dislocation, post-colonial injustices & grief. But it’s her deeply soulful, utterly engaging, stop-you-in-your-tracks voice – whether delicate & hushed or powerful & gutsy – coupled with Stuart’s understated brilliance & their exquisitely crafted songs, that give The Breath such emotional depth.

Their recent rise is stratospheric, Ríoghnach Connolly was named Folk Singer Of The Year at the 2019 BBC R2 Folk Awards. They’ve just completed a Sold Out tour, & return to Bristol with third album ‘Land Of My Other’, ten original songs that tell stories in ways that soothe, stir, exalt, & touch emotional chords that will bring tears of lamenting joy, to your eyes.

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‘folk roots but different horizons. The jaw-droppingly stunning, woozy voice of Ríoghnach Connolly” The Guardian

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Firm favourites with Festival audiences, we are thrilled to welcome The Breath to our city’s finest venue for the opening of Bristol Folk Festival 2024.

Heartwood Chorus

Joining The Breath, by special invitation are Bristol’ Heartwood Chorus. A folk choir formed of professional & amateur musicians, this gorgeous choir have been wowing audiences since 2020. Singing original arrangements of traditional songs & their own versions of contemporary classics Heartwood Chorus are part pathos, part humour & beautiful harmony.

‘Brilliant” Rowan Rheingans (Lady Maisery)

Ticketing Information

This concert takes place at Bristol Cathedral, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TJ. Individual seating is unreserved. A bar will be available for refreshments at the venue.