BBC ALBA TUNES IN FOR LIVE COUNTRY MUSIC

UK country music fans will be able to tune in for live performances from acclaimed national and international country music artists in a new television series, Ceòl Country to be broadcast this month on BBC ALBA.

Ceòl Country is a six-part series produced by mneTV to showcase the best music from this year’s Caithness Country Music and Creetown Country Music festivals, and will hit our screens from Tuesday 20 October.

Both festivals have a dedicated support thanks to the range of worldwide country music stars that come to perform and now for the first time, BBC ALBA will show the finest acts in a premier country music series.

The opening show comes from the sixth annual Northern Nashville Country Music Festival in Caithness, the highlight of which is a live set from Canadian star Michelle Wright. Born and raised in Ontario before relocating to Nashville, Tennessee, Wright has enjoyed more than 25 hit singles in Canada including No. 1's ‘Take It LikeAMan’ & ‘One Time Around’ and has achieved in excess of two million album sales.

Also joining Michelle is award-winning artist Robert Mizzell, fresh from promoting his recent DVD 'The Louisiana Man', and eclectic Northern Irish songwriter Eamon McCann, who is affectionately known as ‘Ireland's Voice of Country’ and has steadily moved from a popular national musician to enjoy international acclaim.

In the week that 2010 festival tickets have gone on sale, The Northern Nashville Country Music Club have also announced their exciting line-up which includes headline acts from the States, Rick Trevino, Leona Williams and Amber Digby.

Christine Gray, Chairperson of the Northern Nashville Country Music Club said: “Our festival at Caithness has grown more popular year by year so we are delighted that the support of BBC ALBA allows us to reach a whole new audience. This year’s festival has had the best line-up to date and we are happy that BBC ALBA viewers will be able to share the delights of world-class country music with us”.

Alan Esslemont, head of content for BBC ALBA, said: “We are delighted to be working together with mneTV and the festival organisers to showcase country music through coverage of this exciting festival. BBC ALBA has shown a firm commitment to providing events-based music coverage through a range of diverse and popular programmes and Ceòl Country gives a taste of live country music events available across Scotland.”

Among the range of artists that will feature on upcoming BBC ALBA shows include international artists Mike Bella, Heather Myles and Fiddler Adam, and UK acts including Buchanan, Lazy Dog and Root’n Toot’n, as well as popular Highland bands The Jacks and Slange Ava.

Ceòl Country will commence on Tuesday 20 October at 9pm with weekly hour long programmes being broadcast every Tuesday over the next six weeks, with repeats the following Sunday evening at 9pm.