GAELIC music pioneers Capercaillie are making the award-winning Hebridean Celtic Festival a major part of the band's 30th anniversary celebrations.
The band, formed in 1983, when the original members were still at Oban High School, are the final headline act to be announced for HebCelt which is marking its own 18th anniversary this year.
They will join Van Morrison, Dougie MacLean, The Battlefield Band and the Red Hot Chilli Pipers as the leading acts at the event which will run from 17th to 20th July in Stornoway on the island of Lewis.
"We have a very strong Gaelic and Celtic heritage and so playing HebCelt in what is a landmark year for us will be very special," founding member Donald Shaw said.
"The festival is renowned for making a huge contribution to the culture and creative landscape of the Hebrides and for its promotion of the Gaelic language in Scotland and beyond. We are delighted to be playing a part in an event which is also celebrating a milestone year."
Capercaillie have sold over one million albums worldwide and their 1992 EP, "A Prince Among Islands", was the first Gaelic record to reach the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.
HebCelt director Caroline Maclennan called Capercaillie a significant addition to the festival line-up.
"They have helped bring Gaelic music to a global audience but do so in a way that is fresh and modern," she said.
"We are delighted they are sharing their 30th anniversary with us; they will add another dimension to a much-anticipated festival."
Also confirmed to play this year’s festival are leading country singer/songwriter Darrell Scott; BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of 2013, Paddy Callaghan, up and coming modern folk band Anderson, McGinty, Webster, Ward & Fisher, from Dundee; and singer songwriter Pete Roe.
Previously announced acts include Lau, winners of the Best Group title at this year’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards; Orcadian eight-piece The Chair; The Hot Seats from Virginia; Manchester outfit The Travelling Band; Lewis’s own Iain Morrison and The Boy Who Trapped the Sun; Welsh band Rusty Shackle; award-winning Scottish singer-songwriter Karine Polwart; Glasgow band FatherSon; and Rose Parade, a four-piece from Ayr.
Day tickets for the 18th HebCelt go on sale tomorrow, Friday 1st March. Advance tickets have already been snapped up by fans across the UK and Ireland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and America.
