Unfortunately, due to serious health problems with his back, John Francis Flynn is cancelling the following concerts and will not perform in Prague. Doctors have advised him not to travel so that he can make a full recovery and return to tour again towards the end of the year.

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Inspiration from traditional culture and deep sensitivity – this is what unites Scottish piper Brìghde Chaimbeul and Czech musicians Irena and Vojtěch Havel. Together they will perform at the Vzlet venue in Vršovice on 22 April.

Virtuoso Scottish smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul has been garnering rave critical acclaim since her debut The Reeling, and last year’s Carry Them With Us, a collaboration with avant-garde saxophonist Colin Stetson, is no different. Her music is deeply rooted in Scottish tradition and the Gaelic language, but also explores new sonic horizons in the form of droning surfaces and hypnotic repetition. Her emotionally charged playing and unique approach to arranging for Scottish bagpipes has won her listeners across genres.

In her short musical career, the twenty-six-year-old has already collaborated with prominent figures in alternative music such as Aidan O’Rourke and Radie Peat of Lankum, but she was also invited by pop visionary Caroline Polachek for her latest album.

‘What has happened here, that publicists otherwise indifferent to British folk have been bewitched by a bagpipe player, has happened in the world. The fascination with the young native of the Scottish Isle of Skye, firmly rooted in the Gaelic tradition, has now culminated in a collaboration with the American avant-garde saxophonist Colin Stetson. The simplest explanation for such a resounding interest was provided by Brìghde herself: she says she plays very differently to what one would expect from a traditional piper.”
Jiří Moravčík, Uni Magazine

The husband and wife duo Irena and Vojtěch Havel have been on the Czech and international music scene for many years. Their work is based on a mutual dialogue into which long meditative surfaces inspired by Eastern thought and Czech traditions are written. In their compositions they use a variety of musical instruments, from cello and piano to viola da gamba, bells or Tibetan bowls. The Havels began composing in the mid-1980s, exploring various styles of European classical music from the Renaissance to the present. In the 1990s, they crossed continental and cultural boundaries together and created film music. Their latest album, Melodies in the Sand, from 2021, received an enthusiastic international reception and secured them a performance at the prestigious alternative music showcase Le Guess Who?