Cara Dillonat St Mary inthe Castle

The musician has one of those rare talents you only come across a handful times in your life.

Her staggeringly beautiful voice has the ability to reach inside the soul of a song and deliver it with profound sweetness, poignancy and depth.

Born in Dungiven in 1975, she was brought up in a close musical family immersed in the rich cultural heritage of her native County Derry.

Having won the All Ireland Traditional Singing Trophy aged only 14 she went on to sing with De Dannan, one of the most influential bands in Irish traditional music and then to ‘folk’s supergroup’ Equation, where she took over from Kate Rusby.

Cara has since established herself firmly among the leading lights of the new generation of young traditional artists emerging into the mainstream, and in the course of her relatively short career performed regularly to sell-out audiences all over the world,

Leading her band at St Mary in the Castle is her husband and musical collaborator Sam Lakeman.

Cole Stacey and Joseph O’Keefe, who have festival appearances lined up at the Larmer Tree and Glastonbury open the show.

Advance booking is advised but this cannot be done at St Mary in the Castle For tickets (£21.50) in the auditorium, (£19.50) in the balcony ring 01323 841414.