Rhiannon Giddens & Leyla McCalla of the Carolina Chocolate Drops are to tour the UK in October in support of Leyla's new album scheduled for release in 2013.

We're pleased to have been asked to book a UK tour for Jim Moray and The Doret Ensemble who will be performing his album Sweet England in its entirety culminating in a 10th Birthday Party at the Union Chapel, London.

We're pleased to announce Richard Shindell will be in the UK in July / August for a short tour.  Interested promoters please call now.

Cara Dillon announces a UK for October / November 2013 in support of a new album to be released in October on Charcola Records via Proper Distribution.  Interested promoters please contact now.

The EFDSS has commissioned Fay Hield to create a new show using materials from the Full English collections. She will be touring the project in Ocober / November 2013 with a line-up featuirng Martin Simpson, Nancy Kerr, Sam Sweeney and Rob Harbron plus others to be confirmed. The exact content of the show will be developed in the New Year when Fay will be working with the EFDSS Library and Archive team to identify potential material for the project.

We are pleased to announce Cara Dillon will be performing at Celtic Connections on the 20th January 2013 with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.  Cara first premiered the new arrangements of her songs by Anna Rice at the National Concert Hall, Dublin in 2011 followed by the Grand Opera House, Belfast in 2012

DWM will be supporting the Carolina Chocolate Drops on their forthcoming UK dates at Shepherds Bush Empire, London; City Varieties, Leeds; The Sage Gateshead as well as playing their own headline show at The Slaughtered Lamb, London on the 11th Oct.

400 hundred years in the making, no less! Cara Dillon’s singing possibly one of the world’s most famous poems, "Shall I Compare Thee To A Summers Day" (Sonnet 18), on a new album featuring 11 of Shakespeare's Sonnets that have been set to music in a groundbreaking new project set to be released on April 23rd (Shakespeare's birthday) and as part of the Cultural Olympiad 2012.

In tribute to Shakespeare's time, all the instruments used on the album are authentic instruments from early 17th century. These include the Lirone, Theorbo, Viol, Cornett, Sackbut, Curtal, Shawm, Lute, Harpsichord, Virginals, Dulcimer and early Trumpet. However, all the musical arrangements are of a very contemporary nature and are really quite breathtaking. There'll be more info to follow this as the album to be released by Double Mono/Island Records gathers pace.

Cara Dillon and Sam Lakeman were thrilled to have been invited to record a brand new song to form part of a new spectacular show to mark the 20th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris in April 2012.

They went to the legendary Abbey Road Studios back in January to record the song with a 96 piece orchestra and to listen to the rest of the music being recorded for the show. Joel McNeely, who composed the music for Tinkerbell 3, wrote the beautiful new song and conducted the orchestral sessions.

Here's a little more about the show:

From 1st April 2012, Disneyland Paris celebrates its 20th Anniversary with a whole year of special events. The park will stay open later for longer throughout the year with Extended Hours, in preparation for the main event of the whole year: Disney Dreams! — a magical, immersive new nighttime spectacular show. This world premiere nighttime show will feature state-of-the-art HD projections, fountains, fire, lasers, pyrotechnics and numerous other special effects to completely immerse guests in a magical tale that takes you from the Second Star to the Right through some of the greatest Disney stories ever told! It’s the biggest spectacle ever witnessed at Disneyland Paris and, in an exciting move, will be performed every single night of the year as the park’s landmark entertainment event.

Cara Dillon and Sam Lakeman will be performing in a special concert to celebrate 150 years of musical excellence in Belfast's legendary venue The Ulster Hall on May 22nd.

The Ulster Hall is the home of the Ulster Orchestra and the BBC have decided to stage a concert with some of Northern Irelands top artists taking turns to not only perform one of their own songs but also to perform a song chosen by the public with the Ulster Orchestra.

From Friday 16th March music fans can log on to BBC Radio Ulster to vote for their favourite song. The public vote will run for two weeks until Friday, March 30. A total of 32 songs by Northern Irish artists have been shortlisted by BBC Radio Ulster’s specialist music presenters. Included in the list is Cara's original song "The Hill Of Thieves".