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Press Biography
"Jamie Smith began playing violin at the age of 8, performing
for a number of years with the Hillhead Strings Orchestra around
Scotland. He began attending Glasgow Fiddle Workshop in
1992 before beginning to learn Irish fiddle music in 1995.
Entirely self-taught, he counts among his key influences Kevin
Burke, Liz Carroll, Paddy Glackin and Frankie Gavin. Jamie
won the senior fiddle category at the all-Britain fleadh in 1998
and 1999, and in 2002 was a finalist at the BBC Radio Scotland
Young Traditional Musician of the Year. He toured around Scotland
in the late '90s with renowned ceilidh band Inishowen, before
forming his own band, Beneche, in 2001. Beneche released
their first album at Celtic Connections in January 2003, winning
a Danny Kyle Open Stage award. They went on to tour all
over the United Kingdom and in summer 2004 reached the band finals
at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany.
Jamie released his first solo album at Celtic Connections in
January 2006. It received excellent reviews in Irish Music Magazine
and the Irish World and won airplay in the UK and overseas. Jamie
went on that year to play at the Golowan festival in Cornwall,
Return to Camden Town festival in London and Fiddle 2006 in Edinburgh.
Jamie has now teamed up with accordionist Colette O'Leary (formerly
of Irish girl group the Bumblebees) and banjo and mandolin virtuoso
Brian Kelly (Shane McGowan's Popes). 2007 has seen them tour throughout
the Scottish Highlands as well as play the Gosport and Fareham
Easter Festival and make trips to Mulligans Irish Bar in Amsterdam."
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