Calan Comes to Kansas City

Due to a computer crash that caused visa problems, two members of Calan once shared a detainment cell at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport with a death metal band from Estonia. They followed that experience by performing alongside Sting at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the 50th birthday celebration of famed opera singer, Sir Bryn Terfel Jones. In addition to hanging out with death metal bands and Sting, the group earned “Best Band” at the prestigious 2010 Festival Interceltique de Lorient (Lorient Interceltic Festival), which regularly attracts more than 700,000 fans, as well as “Best Band” at the 2019 BBC Wales Folk Awards.

Calan, who started busking on the streets of Cardiff to pay their college tuition, have played festivals throughout Canada, the United States, Borneo and Australia. The band features clogger and accordion player Bethan Williams-Jones, who sings in both English and Welsh. She learned her award-winning moves from her father, also a clogging champion. Patrick Rimes, a junior Celtic Welsh fiddle champion for three years, plays not only fiddle with Calan, but also whistle and bagpipes. Guitarist Sam Humphreys performed electronic pop and rock music before joining Calan; Alice French studied harp at the University of Wales. She continues to explore the traditional harp music of Wales; currently she is delving into the techniques practiced by the Romani of Wales.

Just days before the band arrives for their March 2020 tour of the United States, Calan will perform with the National Orchestra of Wales, coinciding with the release of their fifth studio album. The music for the performance was written by 27-year-old pipe and fiddle player Rimes. It was originally performed in Rennes, France, with the 40-piece Breton Symphony Orchestra, in March 2019.