Castlebay, comprised of duo Fred Gosbee and Julia Lane, returns to Rowan Public Library to perform “Robert Burns – Man, Myth, Music.” Sponsored by the Friends of the Rowan Public Library and Cheerwine Concert Series, the event will be held Jan. 31 in the Stanback Auditorium at RPL Headquarters, 201 W. Fisher St. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the concert begins at 7 p.m. This event is open to the public, and admission is free.

Castlebay’s concerts feature ballads sung by Lane, a soprano, and dance tunes played on Celtic harp, 12-string guitar, fiddle, Irish flute, and tin whistle. Gosbee and Lane blend history, legend, and experience in their performances. For “Robert Burns – Man, Myth, Music,” Castlebay will offer romantic love songs and lively dance tunes alone with poems and anecdotes about the eighteenth-century Scottish poet.

Much of Burns’s work reflects the Scots language of the lowlands, which is a different vocabulary than English. Though Castlebay will perform some songs in English, most will be in Scots. Gosbee and Lane strive to make the lyrics understandable while maintaining the authenticity of the native Scots pronunciations. Since 1993, Castlebay has toured the British Isles annually, playing at folk clubs, art centres, and festivals.

For more information about Castlebay’s upcoming concert, visit www.rowanpubliclibrary.org or www.castlebay.net