Breabach & Le Vent du Nord
Le Retour: Scotland Meets Quebec
Origins Unwrapped Opening Weekend | Canadian & Québécois Folk
Two traditions. Ten extraordinary musicians. One unforgettable night. Two of the world’s most celebrated traditional music bands come together for Le Retour: Scotland Meets Quebec — a thrilling live collaboration between Scotland’s Breabach and Quebec’s Le Vent du Nord.
This special concert brings together the fire, beauty and deep-rooted energy of two musical cultures with a shared history. Scotland and Quebec have long been connected through migration, language, dance and song, and in Le Retour that connection becomes a vivid, joyful and powerful live experience.
First brought together in 2010 through the acclaimed project Le Québec rencontre l’Écosse, Breabach and Le Vent du Nord toured across Scotland and Quebec, discovering an immediate musical kinship. They return with a bold new show shaped through creative residencies in Glasgow and at the Savannah Music Festival.
This is not a double bill. It is a full ten-piece collaboration, with both bands performing together as one ensemble.
Highland pipes, uilleann pipes, whistle, fiddle, step-dance, guitar and double bass meet hurdy-gurdy, diatonic accordion, bouzouki, foot percussion and the rich vocal traditions of French-speaking Canada. The result is a concert full of blazing reels, driving rhythms, beautiful songs, slow airs and the irresistible lift of world-class musicians playing side by side.
Breabach, one of Scotland’s most acclaimed contemporary folk bands, bring their unmistakable sound rooted in Highland and Island tradition: pipes, fiddle, whistle, Gaelic song, step-dance, double bass and guitar, delivered with power, imagination and warmth.
Le Vent du Nord, one of Quebec’s great traditional music groups, bring the songs, rhythms and stories of French-speaking North America to life with dazzling musicianship, glorious harmonies and infectious energy.
Together, they create something rare: a concert that feels both ancient and new, intimate and expansive, deeply rooted and completely alive.
Le Retour: Scotland Meets Quebec is a celebration of friendship, cultural connection and the enduring power of traditional music to travel, transform and bring people together.
This event will last approximately 90 minutes.
Concessions & Under 30s tickets
Kings Place Concessions Tickets
We want to ensure that people who may be struggling financially to purchase a ticket can still enjoy visiting Kings Place. A limited number of tickets are allocated for certain events (if the ticket type does not show in the booking pathway, it means they are not available for this event or have all been sold). Concessions tickets are accessible for people on the following criteria (for more information visit our FAQs)
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Disability Benefit
- Income Support or Job Seekers allowance
- Students
£10 ‘Under 30s’ tickets
A limited number of £10 tickets are available for certain shows to attendees aged under 30. To access Under 30s tickets, update your account with your Date of Birth. Please visit the account centre to add your Date of Birth.
If £10 tickets are available, the ticket discount will apply automatically at checkout. If the discount does not apply, this means all ‘Under 30s’ tickets have sold out for the performance.
Please note that proof of age may be requested at the venue.
Plan your visit
Getting here
Kings Place is situated just a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, one of the most connected locations in London and now the biggest transport hub in Europe.
Our address is:
90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.
The Venue
Our performance spaces are situated on the lower ground floor. Hall One, Hall Two and St Pancras are located in level -2, reached by stairs, escalator and lift from the ground floor entrance level.
Event Times
Door times indicate auditorium entrance times only. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the Kings Place seating areas, gallery-level art, canal-side terrace, café, restaurant and bar throughout the day and evening.
- Our events begin promptly at the advertised start time. Typically, there is no support unless otherwise stated.
- We recommend arriving in good time before the performance. The Hall doors will open 30 minutes before the performance to allow time to take your seats, or to choose a space for standing shows.
- Latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance where possible
Access
We aim to make your visit to Kings Place as comfortable as possible. For more information about the accessibility of Kings Place, including details about our Access Scheme, please visit this page.
If you would like to discuss your access requirements with a member of our team, please get in touch with the Box Office team at info@kingsplace.co.uk.
Food & Drink
Rotunda Bar & Restaurant
Rotunda, situated on the ground floor of Kings Place, offers a unique dining and drinking experience alongside Regent’s Canal. The concert bar in the venue foyer will also be open for select events.
Green & Fortune Café
Recently re-furbished and now open with a new look, the Green & Fortune Café is open for selected concerts. Serving hot and cold food and drinks, including sandwiches, salads, soup, stew and a pie of the day, alongside a choice of cakes made by the on-site bakery team. See here for selected concert dates and standard opening hours.
Reviews
‘With this concert, Le Vent du Nord and Breabach brilliantly demonstrate that music has the power to unify the world and transcend borders.’ Aberdeen Express
‘No concerns about compatibility here — each group knows how to meet the other in their songs and music. Together they form an incredibly powerful and rich sound.’ The Herald
‘Matching fiery intensity with exquisite finesse, this was a magnificent set’ ★★★★★ The Scotsman (on Breabach)
‘One of the most exciting and energising live acts on the traditional music circuit.’ ArtsFuse (on Le Vent du Nord)
This performance is generously supported by the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom, the Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation and the Québec Government Office in London.
