String Sisters, with Annbjørg Lien & Catriona MacDonald

About the episode

Annbjørg Lien from Norway and Catriona MacDonald from Shetland have been among the most exiting fiddlers on the traditional music scene for more than 30 years. In the year 2000 they formed the band String Sisters together with an impressive cast of female fiddlers, including Liz Carroll (US), Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (IRL), Liz Knowles (US) and Nathalie McMaster (SCT), the latter were later replaced by Emma Härdelin (SWE). The band was an instant hit, and helped put the spotlight on all of the incredibly talented female musicians present on the folk music scene.

I got to speak with Annbjørg and Catriona prior to their duo show at the Norwegian national folk music venue, Riksscenen and we had an interesting chat, talking about their long relationship as friends an musical colleagues, the link between Shetland and Norway and the very important topic of gender representation and equality in the folk music scene

Photo by Knut Utler