On Friday April 13th at The Ironworks, Inverness the sensational Irish Folk band Altan will play a seated gig and one of Scotland's top up & coming artists Esther O'Connor has been announced as the support act.

Esther O'Connor has recently been featured in the Sunday Times and is being played on BBC Radio 2, along with also being played on BBC radio Scotland several times in the last week and 'Nirvana Man' is being plugged to local stations starting from this week.

Esther made her entrance onto the Scottish music scene in 2000 with band Ashton Lane. The following 2 years saw the band perform King Tuts, T in the Park, V Festivals and the university circuit. During this time Esther signed a publishing deal with BMG and, along with the band, a recording contract with Chrysalis Music. The single Yesterdays Too Late was released in Scotland in October 2002 to excellent reviews and immediately play-listed by most of the Scottish radio stations.

Charting her own journey Esther continued to write and record, releasing an independent album, The Place Where We Are, on the One Records label in August 2003. Reviews that followed described the album as a real grower, its intrinsic beauty more apparent with each play, and Esther as having a voice that wraps purity and passion into one single, gob-smacking entity.

Two years on, writing with a deepening maturity and passion, Esther, still just 23, is an artist for the emergent, more spiritual generation. Communicative, joyful and thoughtful she is now confidently fronting a new band with fellow musician Tim O'Connor.

Their debut gig hosted by Glasgow's Merchant City Festival in September 2005. September last year also saw Esther guest on stage with Dougie McLean and JJ Gilmour, singing with them and performing her own material at his Perthshire Amber festival in Pitlochry. Esther reflects, "Music has always been a big part of my story. I find it is the best way to communicate, connect and tell stories and I'm excited to see how it unfolds".

Tickets for Altan and Esther O' Connor are £12.00 and available from www.ironworksvenue.com  or 0871 7894 173

To listen to Esther O'Connor please visit http://www.myspace.com/estheroconnor