Biography

Gudrun Walther lead vocals, fiddle, diatonic accordion

was brought up in a dynasty of fiddlers with Irish, German and French folk music and started to play traditional music on the fiddle at the age of six. Singing is something that Gudrun has been doing all her life. Apparently she sang along to Irish Rebel songs before she could speak the language. Gudrun is one of Germany’s most sought-after and well-respected trad musicians. She plays German traditional music together with Juergen in a band called "Deitsch", earning them a high profile in their home country. They are also part of Scottish-German band "Litha", alongside Aaron Jones (Old Blind Dogs, Kate Rusby Band) and Claire Mann (Ex- Tabache).

Gudrun has been given numerous awards for her music and recordings (German Folk Award, German Critics Award), guested on many genre-crossing albums (El Houssaine Kili, Soehne Mannheims Le Concert Spirituel), performed as a soloist with a large orchestra (Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland- Pfalz) and worked as record producer and co-producer. Her original songs and tunes are an integral part of Cara and some have been covered by folk bands in the USA and UK.

"Gudrun Walther could certainly hold her own in any Irish musical setting." Dirty Linen Magazine

Kim Edgar vocals, piano

Based in Edinburgh, singer songwriter Kim’s intensity and intimacy in performance have led to her being described as Scotland’s very own Tori Amos (Sunday Herald). Attracting five star reviews for her recordings and live performances, Kim's songs reflect her classical piano background, and her interest in horror, fairy tales, feminism and social history, which she studied during her degree in English Language & Literature. Kim "combines narratives of courageous honesty with darkly delicious melodies" (Spiral Earth), crafting songs which are "strangely uplifting, despite the well-phrased, sombre lyrics" (The BIG Issue). Her debut album, "butterflies and broken glass" (2008) received a five star review in Scotland On Sunday, and her follow up, "The Ornate Lie" (2012) was also critically acclaimed, being ranked 11th in the top Scottish albums of 2012 (Sunday Herald), nominated for Best Album (Spiral Earth) and awarded Songwriter Of The Week (Iain Anderson, BBC Radio Scotland). Kim has also come under the spotlight as a member of genre-hopping collective The Burns Unit, whose release, "Side Show" (2010) was warmly welcomed, with performances at Cambridge Folk Festival, and on Later With Jools Holland. Kim has also performed for HRH The Queen, with bandmate Karine Polwart.

Hendrik Morgenbrodt uilleann pipes

At the age of 11 Hendrik started to play French and German bagpipes, at the age of 16 he discovered the sound of the uilleann pipes, which gripped him and didn't let go of him ever since. He was a fast learner, with teachers such as John McSherry, Brian McNamara and Sean Potts.

The uilleann pipes are his life, as Hendrik not only plays them, but is also a trained pipe maker, currently working with the renowned Andreas Rogge. He built his set of pipes and the reeds especially for CARA, and designed them to match the needs of the band sound. They sound fantastic!

His most treasured moment on stage so far was a guest appearance with his heroine Liz Carroll, who kindly invited him to join her on stage for some tunes at the "Crossroad" Irish American Festival in San Francisco 2011!

Jürgen Treyz guitars, backing vocals

studied guitar at the MGI in Munich. During that time he also became engaged with traditional and medieval music. In 1993 he founded the artes recording studio which specializes in acoustic and traditional music. Being involved in radio plays, theatre plays and TV productions as a guitarist, composer and arranger, he has published over 70 albums with his own music. He was repeatedly rewarded with the renowned German Critics Award. As a producer and studio sound engineer he has earned himself the greatest respect in the German trad music scene.

In 2006 he founded "Deitsch" together with Gudrun, a project in which they arranged, recorded and performed German traditional music in a contemporary style. Their two albums "Koenigskinder" and "Heimat" were received with great critical acclaim, "Heimat" won the German Critics Award. Alongside Gudrun he is also a full-time member of internationally successful quartet "Litha" with Scottish musicians Claire Mann and Aaron Jones, touring all over Europe and the United States of America.

Rolf Wagels bodhrán

is rated among the best bodhrán players of continental Europe and is a founding member of German based bands Steampacket and DeReelium. He has played in Germany and Ireland with numerous German and Irish acts as a guest or studio musician: Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (Altan), Kevin Crawford (Lunasa), Caitlín Nic Gabhann, Jens Kommnick & Siobhan Kennedy, More Maids, Johannes Schiefner etc. Rolf has also appeared on Irish and German TV, including the great TG4 documentation about bodhrán maker Seamus O'Kane. In 2007 he was asked to present the bodhrán in a well-attended workshop and lecture at the acclaimed Royal Northern College in Manchester. Rolf is a sought after bodhrán teacher in Germany and Europe, and in June 2005, he was invited as the first non-Irish teacher to teach at the renowned Bodhrán Summerschool "Craiceann" on Inis Oirr (Aran Islands). He has been invited to come back ever since.