Lou Reed's career has spanned 30 years and in the process he has created many of the greatest albums and songs of all time, straight through to his recent Top 10 single success with the dance remix of 'Satellite of Love' in the UK in 2004. Recently, Reed signed an exclusive worldwide recording deal with Sanctuary Records Group. 

Lou Reed says, "It is an honour to be invited to a festival named after a fellow song writer and poet of such stature as Robert Burns. 'A man's a man for all of that...' is a line of timeless history and pertinence reflecting the timeless optimism and reflection of the modern constriction of the working man".

Tickets for this year's Burns an' a' that! Gala Concert at Culzean Castle will be on sale from March 14th. The open-air concert will be staged on Friday May 20th and is set to be one of the major highlights of this year's Burns an' a' that! festival which runs from May 20th until May 29th.

While the full programme for Burns an' a' that! will be announced in early April, Dougie MacLean one of Scotland's most successful musicians, has also been confirmed to perform at the Gala Concert. Previous years have seen appearances by legendary artists such as Patti Smith, Jean Redpath and Eddi Reader. Last year audiences enjoyed outstanding performances from Karen Matheson, Evelyn Glennie, Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain and Caledon. It was also the first major professional appearance of Scotland's young violin virtuoso, Nicola Benedetti, who has since signed a £1Million recording-contract.

It is at the Gala Concert that the winner of the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award will be announced. Former Liberal leader Sir David Steel will chair this year's committee. Past winners include Sir Clive Stafford Smith who has represented clients in capital trials in the southern states of the US including Scottish-born Kenny Ritchie; Yitzhak Frankenthal co-founder of The Parent Circle which represents bereaved families campaigning for peace in the Israeli-Palestine conflict and Sir John Sulston for his work on the human genome project.

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