Brìghde Chaimbeul on folklore, ritual, Sunwise and the small pipes

On our first episode of 2026, we catch up with musician and composer Brìghde Chaimbeul. One of the most exciting pipe players to emerge in recent years, we chat to Brìghde about the inspirations behind her excellent new album Sunwise, the role of mythology and ritual in her songwriting, and her process for playing live.

Brìghde plays St Lukes, Glasgow on 21 Jan with Shahzad Ismaily as part of Celtic Connections – tickets here

CHAPTERS:

Celtic Connections, and the Sunwise album (0:30)

Community, ritual, archives and development (6:15)

The winter folklore and Gaelic mythology behind A’Chailleach (16:55)

The significance of Sunwise (22:00)

Presented by Laurie Presswood; production and editing by Peter Simpson; audio by Brian Pokora; recorded remotely from The Skinny office in Edinburgh

brichaimbeul.com / theskinny.co.uk