A young UK-based folk group, featuring two of the island top musicians, received a rapturous reception when they unveiled their debut album at a prestigious music festival in Scotland.

Imar, featuring fiddle player Tomas Callister and Adam Rhodes on the bouzouki, appeared at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow on Friday.

They used their appearance at the sold out concert supporting folk legends Four Men And A Dog to release their album Afterlight.

Any nerves about performing at such an auspicious concert were soon dispelled as the five, also featuring bodhran player Adam Brown, piper Ryan Murphy and accordionist Mohsen Amini, walked out to a thunderous reception.

’It went great,’ said Adam. ’There was a sold out audience, and they were all raring for us to play from the get-go.

’As we walked on there was a massive cheer and I realised that they were behind us, and that it was going to be OK.’

The performance brought the crowd to their feet and have since been receiving rave reviews for the show, and for the album. The Scotsman newspaper gave the show a five-star review, and the band are to be featured on the BBC Alba’s music and culture show Seirm.

Their incredible week was finished off with an invitation to perform a live session on the BBC Radio 2 Folk show, hosted by Mark Radcliffe. The broadcast, which featured songs Into The Light and Canadian Sunshine went out last Wednesday evening, but can still be found on the BBC Radio 2 website.

Next up for the band is a tour of the British Isles, which will include a date at Peel’s Centenary Centre on Friday, April 14. Tickets are now on sale.