Battlefield Band

Comments (0) By Lee Zimmerman Thursday, Oct 4 2007

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The Battlefield Band performs at 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 5, at the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $25. Call 954-462-02222.

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Scotland may be best-known for kilts, bagpipes, the Loch Ness monster, and Scotch whiskey, but that doesn't take into account the country's rich artistic heritage. Broward does its bit to promote awareness through its annual Scottish Festival and Games, but casual observers might put sole focus on the big brawny guys who toss around heavy objects and brogues as thick as their forearms. So leave it to Scotland's esteemed Battlefield Band to help bridge the cultural divide and bring its homeland the wider recognition it's due. Over the course of some 30 years and nearly two dozen albums, this genial quartet has tapped the rich musical tradition of the Scottish Highlands and infused it with an energy and accessibility that provides a contemporary context. Taking its handle from a suburb of Glasgow that calls itself Battlefield (and you thought South Florida could be tempestuous!), the band applies traditional instrumentation — pipes, fiddles, flutes, bodhran, and, yes, bagpipes — to its rich blend of folk, Celtic, and original compositions. Dookin', the band's most recent album, adheres to that template, but it's the fact that Battlefield Band was named Best Live Act at the inaugural Scots Trad Music Awards that affirms you ought to check out this gig if you're in the mood for a jig.