Isla Callister

Manx musician and Gaelic speaker Isla Callister is a fiddle player from the Isle of Man. Raised on the rich culture and music from the island, Isla’s music reflects a strong connection to her native language, music and home whilst drawing on influences from the prominent Irish session scene on the island, and her mother’s homeland of Scotland.

Isla grew up performing at Inter-Celtic festivals on the Isle of Man and further afield, where her passion for performing, collaborating and bringing Manx music and language to a wider audience began to flourish. In 2016, she moved to Scotland to study Traditional Music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, where she is now based and working with bands TRIP, HEISK and other projects.

Having performed all over the UK and further afield, including internationally acclaimed festivals such as Celtic Connections, Orkney Folk Festival, HebCelt, Festival Interceltique de Lorient and Celtic Colours, Isla is looking forward to returning home to premiere her new musical work ‘Creeaght’ at Yn Chruinnaght festival. 

Creeaght, meaning courage in Manx Gaelic, is a suite of music that explores the lives, experiences and legacies of courageous women who have shaped the history of the Isle of Man. Sophia Morrison, Angèle Kneale and the women behind the Campaign for Abortion Law Modernisation and ‘Handmaid’s IOM’ are the focal point of the project, and their stories, which span over a period of 160 years, will be shared, celebrated and bound together in a musical performance by an all woman-identifying ensemble, featuring artwork by award winning Manx illustrator Jo Davies. 

Isla will also be joined by Anna Garvin, a BBC Young Traditional Musician semi-finalist and accomplished piano player from the West Coast of Scotland, as well as talented Manx musicians; Katie Lawrence, Mera Royle, Kirsty Lawrence and Ruth Keggin, with spoken word from Annie Kissack.