Come to turbulent 18th century Scotland with Castlebay

-Robert Burns

The poet Robert Burns (1759-1796) collected and wrote new lyrics for hundreds of traditional Scottish folk tunes which he felt were falling into obscurity. Working in both the Scots language and in English he produced many masterpieces of 18th century poetry and song. Among these are My Love is Like a Red Red Rose, Comin' Through the Rye and Auld Lang Syne, popular even today at New Year's celebrations. His short but colorful life has become the subject of both legend and scholarly documentary.

The duo Castlebay (Julia Lane & Fred Gosbee) have studied the man,the myth, and the music. They have presented lecture/performances for concert series, elder hostels, libraries, and schools in New England, New York, Georgia, and South Carolina and Florida. In their program romantic love songs are interspersed with lively dance tunes as well as poems and anecdotes about the Scotland's National Poet.

Much of Burns's work is in the Scots language of the lowlands. While related to English there is quite a different vocabulary. Castlebay performs some of the songs in English but most of them in Scots. They have received compliments from American audiences on their ability to make the lyrics understandable and from native Scots speakers on the authenticity of their presentations.

Castlebay is well known for their sensitive arrangements of traditional Scottish music. Both Julia Lane and Fred Gosbee are fine vocalists and support their singing with a variety of instruments including Celtic harp, 12-string guitar, fiddle, Irish flute and tin whistle. They have toured the British Isles annually since 1993 playing at folk clubs, art centres, and festivals.

How does it sound? Try the audio files or watch the concert video on this page.

For information about our touring schedule and fees please contact Castlebay.

Castlebay is eligible for grant funding from the New England States Touring Roster. Contact NEST for more information.

About the Artists Show/Hide

Julia Lane has loved, sung, researched and created folk music since childhood. Growning up in New England, she studied music theory and took guitar lessons from a lutenist specializing in Elizabethan songs and flamenco. She became active in madrigal and Renaissance music groups, played as a soloist and provided music for a children's theater group. Show/Hide

After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy, her interest in English and Scottish folk music and lore led her to study in Oxford, England. She continues to conduct in-depth research into the social history and folkways of the Celtic lands and her native New England. Utilizing the power of music in conveying a story, she has created multimedia programs of history and myth with both traditional and original music.

Julia has studied piano, classical and flamenco guitar, and voice. A self-taught player of the Celtic folk harp, her unique style has won three international competitions. She is also a fine vocalist whose voice has been compared favorably with Loreena McKennitt, Jean Redpath and Judy Collins.

Julia enjoys researching dusty tomes for obscure information. She also engages in "full contact" gardening at her home on the Maine coast.

Fred Gosbee has collected and performed folk music for over thirty years. As a child in Central Maine, he heard his older relatives singing the old woodsmen's songs and playing fiddle and accordion. At the University of Maine, he was inspired by the folk music he heard in a college folklore class with Dr. Sandy Ives who became Fred's advisor. Dr. Ives became influential in Fred's awareness and appreciation for his own heritage of folk music. Show/Hide

Having had wide experience with community theater, both onstage and in production, Fred combined his theatrical experience with his knowledge of folk music when he arranged, composed, and performed new incidental music for a production of A Spoon River Anthology. The resulting sound tapestry included 56 pieces of music performed live for each show.

Fred has continued to write original songs in the traditional style, celebrating the humor and humanity of ordinary people. His works have since been recorded by other artists and have garnered him invitations to international music festivals.

He currently sings and plays classic and 12-string guitar, viola, fiddle, and Irish flute and tin whistle and enjoys experimenting with both traditional and ethnic instruments. (He has been known to elicit music from a squash vine). Fred is also a skilled technician and woodworker. When he is not touring, he engineers and produces recordings as well as designing and building Celtic harps and other instruments.

Castlebay Show/Hide

has toured the eastern US, Maritime Provences, Great Britian and Ireland. Their first tours of Scotland in the early 1990's were organized by the traditional singer, Jack Beck. Over the years they have met and collaborated with many fine Scottish musicians including members of Heritage, Geordie MacIntyre, Alison MacMoreland, Stravaig, and the late Lionell McClelland. While much of the Scottish music they perform is traditional, they have also been moved to write major pieces about places they have visited including the Isle of Skye and Dumfries & Galloway.