Bróna McVittie
Dividing her time between County Down and Granada in Spain, McVittie is well known for her particular brand of cosmic folk, both deftly reimagining traditional ballads and crafting her own nature-inspired songs with a rich mix of ethnic and electronic instruments. Her debut solo album We Are the Wildlife (2018) earned her a string of four star reviews from MOJO, Uncut, The Guardian and The Independent garnering high praise from critics including Nigel Williamson and the late Andy Gill.
The album’s single Under the Pines was featured in Lauren Laverne’s best-of-2018 list. And before her Womad appearance in 2019 Bróna was interviewed live by Cerys Matthews on her BBC 6 Music festival highlights show.
Her second album The Man in the Mountain (2020) was Folk Album of the Month in The Guardian. Later that year Jude Rogers ranked it 4th in her 10 Best Folk Albums of 2020. In her words “You’re put in the place of a bird navigating wide open landscapes, absorbing light, space and air. This is music that takes you on its wing, and gives you fresh visions”.
The Man in the Mountain features notable collaborations with avant-garde Nordic composer Arve Henriksen and electronica trailblazers Isan. The title track, inspired by the local legends and lore of Bróna’s homeland, tells a tale of a battle between Irish and Scottish giants. She blends her love of traditional folk (for many years she was lead singer for 6-piece trad outfit The London Lasses) and her longtime love of electronica into her own songwriting, which is harnessed in a deep reflection on the natural world.
Her third album The Woman in the Moon(2022) launched at a sellout show at Belfast's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival before she embarked on a headline tour of the UK performing in Birmingham, Manchester, Oxford and Brighton. She has performed with her trio at Dublin’s National Concert Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, London’s Kings Place and WOMAD.
In February she performed a 10-date tour in Ireland with Niamh Dunne, Sean Og Graham and Cormac Breathnach organised by Music Network.
Radio broadcasts include BBC Radio 2 by Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 3 by Sara Mohr-Pietsch, BBC6 Music by Iggy Pop and Gideon Coe, BBC Radio Scotland by Roddy Hart, BBC Radio Ulster by Lynette Fay, Eve Blair and Brian Mullen; RTÉ Radio 1 by Ruth Smith, RnaG by Cian Ó Cíobháin and Lyric FM by John Kelly and Ellen Crannitch; with international radio play in Italy, The Netherlands, the USA, Canada and Australia.
Bróna is supported by The National Lottery, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Help Musicians.
