WHEN the organisers of the Orkney Folk Festival decided to get some local musicians to perform together as a makeshift band in 2014 they could not have anticipated the impact it would have.

For the local girls who were asked to play a couple of sets and back established Orkney band The Chair have gone on to become Fara, one of the brightest young bands on the folk scene.

Next week they will be performing at Bury Met giving fans the chance to enjoy their unique mix of traditional Orcadian tunes and modern folk melodies from around the UK.

Fara’s line-up - fiddle players Jeana Leslie, Kristan Harvey and Catriona Price and piano player Jennifer Austin - have known each other since they were small.

“There are some very embarrassing photos of us around at Jeana’s house when we were all about five or six,” laughed Jennifer.

“Although we knew each other we had never actually all played together until the folk festival though.”

Next week’s date will see the band showcasing tunes from their debut album Cross the Line.

“It feels so good to have an album out,” said Jennifer. “It’s a mix of some tunes from Orkney and others we have picked up on our travels.”

All four of the band left Orkney to study on the mainland and they are now all based around Glasgow and Edinburgh.

“We’ve all travelled south to uni and been in other bands,” said Jennifer, “so we have picked up other influences, then we come together and share them but still have that common ground of all coming from Orkney.”

As the band’s keyboard player, Jennifer’s role is often to provide the backing for the three fiddle players.

“It’s a good mix,” said Jennifer. “Sometimes it’s the fiddles who are holding me in check but we mix it up and swap it about.

“The girls are really good at coming up with their own parts and then I’ll come in or they will sometimes accompany me. it’s just good fun.”

All four musicians also have other work outside the band which can cause a few problems with Fara’s schedule.

“It can be quite tricky,” said Jennifer. “Jeana’s also a full time teacher so we tend to aim for the school holidays and then throughout the summer do as many festivals as we can manage.

“We find a way of fitting the band in with each other’s projects but so far so good.

“It’s nice to do other things with other people but when we come back together it is really fun.”

On stage, the girls’ close relationship is immediately evident.

“Because we have known each other for so long we are very comfortable on stage with each other,” said Jennifer. “We do know how to take the mickey out of each other. but it’s all about having fun and enjoying the music.”

Fara are at the forefront of introducing new, younger audiences to traditional music. They were chosen to play at the recent Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow.

“We did a schools gig in the morning which was terrific,” said Jennifer.

“It was from primary school age through to sixth form and we had all these kids dancing along by the end.

“It’s a nice feeling to know that you’re sharing the music that’s in their tradition instead of all the stuff that’s shoved down their throat from the telly.

“Hopefully they can relate to us as we are of a younger age group but we still like to keep those traditional songs alive.”

Fara, Bury Met, Saturday, February 11. Details from 0161 761 2216