Star rating: ****

A Gaelic singer on Jools Holland. Imagine that. But not only did North Uist's Julie Fowlis impress Mr Holland, she received the BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award and persuaded the chattering classes that understanding the words was not as important as appreciating the context in which they are sung. Sales of her second album, Cuilidh, benefited accordingly.

It was, therefore, a very full house in the ABC. Support act Chris Wood's set of traditional English songs had only been enlivened by the appearance of Karine Polwarth on backing vocals and Fowlis received a great welcome when she appeared with her band, including Dubliner Eamon Doorley on Bouzouki, Euan Vernal on bass and Duncan Chisholm on violin. Her voice is a superb instrument, over which she seemed to have almost limitless control. Both haunting and powerful, she sang Hùg Air A' Bhonaid Mhòir, the song she had performed on the Holland show, and the speed and precision of the delivery, the rhythmic flow of the song, in which the words are almost chanted, was quite mesmerising. Fowlis was almost too reserved on stage, however. The between-song stories were charming and funny, but a little more presence would not go amiss.

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