ONCE in a while something very special happens in a converted church in a Galashiels back street.

This Monday (June 19) is one of these days.

Lau the pioneering contemporary folk trio comprising three of the UK’s finest traditional musicians rather than playing a sell-out Edinburgh Queens Hall show or appearing on Jools Holland will play two unique live sets, featuring some of the best music being made anywhere in any genre including all their greatest material from across the last decade.

Lau, the most musically adventurous trio in British folk have picked up numerous accolades including being shortlisted for Scottish Album of The Year (SAY Award) 2013 & 2016, four awards for ‘Best Group’ at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and were awarded album of the year by the Sunday Herald. Lau, often described as “post folk” comprises Kris Drever (vocals, guitar), Martin Green (accordion, wurlitzer, keys, electronics) and Aidan O’Rourke (fiddle) and together they effortlessly bridge the seemingly diametrically opposed worlds of acoustic folk tradition and post rock electronics.

The individual members of Lau have all won multiple awards and recognition for their solo work and in February 2017, Kris Drever was nominated for Folk Singer of The Year 2017 and Best Original Song 2017 by BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2017, whilst Martin Green was nominated for Best Original Song and Best Album 2017.

Lau have acquired almost empirical status as a journey which started with three blokes sitting down to play a few tunes on fiddle, guitar and squeeze-box at a kitchen table in Edinburgh one day in 2004. Lau quickly burst out of the undergrowth into ground breaking terrain. Since then Lau has not merely become one of the great success stories of the last decade – and a barometer of the fast-changing and increasingly all-embracing face of British folk music – it is now a by-word for an exceptionally creative community, inspiring a boldly varied and richly colourful array of offshoot bands and projects wielding daring ideas with a myriad of musical styles and unlikely collaborators.

An evening with Lau presents a band at the peak of their powers and is one live show not to be missed.

Lau take to the MacArts stage on Monday at 8pm. Tickets £18 from The Mac Arts Website www.macarts.scot