The Cast was formed when Mairi Campbell and David Francis joined forces after meeting each other in the burgeoning traditional music and dance scene in Edinburgh.
They have since performed extensively throughout the UK and Ireland, in Norway, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Italy and North America, and have also featured on many BBC Radio Scotland broadcasts.
In 1999 The Cast performed their classic rendition of Auld Lang Syne (as recorded on The Winnowing album) on the US TV special Kennedy Center Honors. The programme honoured fellow Scot Sean Connery, and among the many prestigious guests attending this annual holiday event were the then president of the USA Bill Clinton and his wife Hilary Clinton.
Mairi and David have a deep love of traditional music of all kinds, but reserve a particular place for the work of Robert Burns, the fiddle music of Scotland and Scotland's rich ballad heritage. They are polished, relaxed and engaging performers, with a deep knowledge of their material and its sources.
In recent times Mairi and David have been writing new songs. In 2007 ‘Smile or Cry' from the album Greengold was one of the winners of Burnsong, a national bi-annual songwriting competition.
For further information -
www.the-cast.org.uk/home.html