Concert Reviews
Martin Simpson This was an evening of fine singing coupled with pure guitar magic supplied by both artists. LIAM DOCHERTY is a 19-year-old Canadian guitar prodigy now resident in Scotland. He’s been playing in public since he was seven years old and is an official partner of Taylor Guitars. He’s also a Danny Kyle Open […]
We arrived at the venue to join family, friends, former bandmates and fans of the music of Gordon Duncan to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Live ’N’ Well, the groundbreaking album that broke the mould and re-shaped modern piping. ‘Why are we at a pipe band concert!’ although he didn’t actually say this, I […]
They are regular winter visitors to these parts bringing music that’s gentle, thoughtful, intricate and glorious. There’s a refined wonder to the music Watchhouse creates, the kind that doesn’t clamour for attention, rather its seeps smoothly into your pores and continues to mesmerise long after they leave the stage. Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange) are […]
The anger was tinged with grief when Humbird’s Siri Unlind briefly mentioned her hometown of Minneapolis and recent events on the streets there, and the effect on her family and friends. But she’s finding solace in her music and her chance to share it here at this powerful, absorbing and, at times, playful show […]
A big thank you to Skelpt for a great night last night at Van Winkles. Greg Summers was on top form as MC – full of energy and enthusiasm as always, keeping things moving with his usual good humour. Martin Stephen Jones and Stuart Arnott got the evening off to a brilliant start with some […]
LOUISE ROGAN possesses a wonderful voice, reminiscent of Joan Baez, and is also a skilled keyboard player. Following on from the well-received duo release Things That Matter, recorded with her father songwriter Chris Rogan, she has now released her first solo album Give Me A Day. The reception accorded the earlier release and a […]
This was the last concert of the 2025 Orkney Folk Festival for me, and, after leaving the packed-out Ferry Inn session with my ears ringing from the sound of some 40+musicians crammed into a small space, I was ready for more a gentler, more relaxed ambiance. I found it at Stromness Parish Church. The […]
This was my second multi-artist concert in Stromness Town Hall, and also a second, and most welcome, encounter with The Maes – of whom, more later. First up was an Orkney/Shetland ensemble, The Skirlies, comprising, on fiddles, sisters Bryony MacGregor and Jennifer Stevenson and Karen Shearer, with Mariann Allan on piano. They evolved out […]
To get to this mid-afternoon gig, I had to say farewell to a great session in the sun-kissed courtyard (yes, one of those strangely Hawaiian days that turn up from time to time in Orkney) of the Ferry Inn. As it turned out, I was right to do so, a) to avoid the well-seared […]
MARGO CILKER A wild swimming session she enjoyed en route to this gig somehow seems appropriate as Margo Cilker has been making waves to win over more and more fans with her music in recent times. In this intimate setting she has us all enthralled with her story telling which is authentic, warming, concise and […]
