From performing at the opening ceremony of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games to singing the Brave theme song, Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis has a musical career spanning more than a decade.

Influenced by her upbringing in the Outer Hebridean island of North Uist, Julie has always been charmed by the lyrical Gaelic language and folk culture.

Now living in Inverness, the 37-year-old is preparing for a string of festival dates, with the Orkney Folk Festival and the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Stornoway next on the list.

Plans for a fifth album are also in the pipeline.

You recently presented the Radio 2 Folk Awards. What was that like?

To be working in the Royal Albert Hall is a real treat. There's a real sense of those who have performed before you.

One of the highlights for me this year was seeing young Brighde Chaimbeul from Skye picking up the young folk award.

First and foremost, she is a wonderful musician but on a personal level it was wonderful to see a young female musician from the Highlands and a Gaelic speaker earning that award.

How did life change for you post-Brave?

It has made a huge difference, especially in the States. We tour there a lot and I think the average age of our audience has dropped dramatically after the film.

After the film came out, we saw lots of tiny little girls coming to the gigs with bows and arrows and big red hair all curled. We did have to change the slant of our show slightly.

So it did definitely have an impact and it has let us be able to sustain significant touring out in the States every year, which we really enjoy.

What was your favourite film growing up?

I was one of two sisters and I have two girls myself and I can see the pattern happening all over again. We always loved musicals and films that had really amazing soundtracks and I didn't really realise at the time that this was what was appealing to us.

Anything that had a good singalong, we were really into it and would sing a lot and I can see that happening now with my own girls.

What made you fall in love with the Gaelic language?

I never really set out to only sing in Gaelic or to try to take a stand. I was literally just going out and performing the music I loved. At the time, when I started out, that was the sort of music I felt drawn to most.

Lots of people think that I only sing exclusively in Gaelic, and I don't but for the most part, those are the songs that I feel moved to record or perform but I always love singing in other languages and not just in English.

When I get the chance to sing in other languages, I do and I love it so I would never close the door on anything.

And who is to say there won't be an album of English songs somewhere along the line? But I guess it is whatever moves you at the time when you are making a record.

Any plans for a fifth album?

We do. I feel like I have been touring and performing and not focusing on new material for a while now. We recorded the fourth album in 2013 and released it in 2014 so we have had a prolonged period of touring.

But all of a sudden, after not working on new projects for a while, I am now working on about three different projects all at the same time, which is really fun and really exciting and has really spurred me on to think and learn about new music.

Hopefully towards the end of the year, we will be able to get some of the stuff out there.

Which one of your songs do you most enjoy playing live?

There's a song called Smeorach Chlann Domhnaill, which in English is called the Mavis Clan Donald. That's a song from the 1700s and it is a really powerful song and I always love singing that song.

I sang it live at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and it is a song I have been singing since I was in primary school. It is a song with great significance to me, I always love singing that one.

What's the best TV programme you've enjoyed watching recently?

I have a confession to make, I don't really watch telly. I am the person you don't want on your pub quiz. I listen to a lot of radio. I guess because I am on the go a lot, with two kids and full-time work, I don't really have the time to sit down and watch TV but I have the radio on all the time.

I am big into podcasts and I am bit of a geek for Ted Talks, and I love Radio 4.

You've done a few collaborations during your career. But who would your dream duet be with?

Oh, there are so many. I realised one of my dreams when I got to sing with James Taylor, I'm a huge fan. I got to sing with him on the Transatlantic Sessions a few years ago and that was totally amazing.

I get so excited about collaborations with people I have been friends with all my life. I worked on a Joni Mitchell tribute concert with a friend of mine Karine Polwart, who is a wonderful singer. We have been friends for more than a decade but never had a chance to work together.

So I don't have big desires to sing with the big Hollywood A-listers, I am totally inspired by everybody around that we see and hear. There's such talent in Scotland that I think it is really an exciting time to be working in music.

Do you ever stumble across folk stories that spark ideas for your songs?

That happens all the time and I find that the local stories - and that might only be little folklore stories or little rhymes or riddles or little tiny bits of historical information - it just gives you a sense of who you are and where you belong, a connection to the landscape you live in.

If you had to choose one song to be the soundtrack to your life, what would it be?

One song that always moves me and makes me cry is Runrig's Hearts of Olden and Glory. I have been able to sing that a few times and I manage to get through it and then cry afterwards. There are always tears somewhere along the line.

You have a run of festivals coming up. What do you most enjoy about live performing?

It is all about the interaction with the audience. I suppose the one special thing about a festival performance as opposed to a theatre performance when you are touring is meeting up with all your friends and fellow musicians and singers and getting to share the stage with them.

That's always one of the biggest buzzes of the festival, that social aspect of it all and the feeling you are all there together to perform.

What's your favourite Scottish festival?

Two of my favourites are the Orkney Folk Festival and the Hebridean Celtic Festival. As someone who was raised for the first part of my life on an island, island festivals are really special to me. There's something important about having these festivals on islands.

There's always a great sense of community and ownership for the festival and everyone always gives 100% to the performances and the audience give 100% to attending the festivals - they always feel really special.