Hurray! The infectiously fun and talented Hamish Currie is returning to play for us in this special Scottish night to celebrate St Andrew’s day. Here’s Hamish in his own words:
“Hamish loves the folk scene in all its variety – ‘cos it’s fun. The participation, the interaction, the spontaneity: the total “live” performance thing.
Having appeared as the guest artist at clubs from Cumbria to Sussex and featured at festivals from Yorkshire to Dorset, he is equally at home in a small, intimate acoustic setting with whites-of-the-eyes contact right up to bigger stages with audiences in hundreds and thousands. “Seeing them floundering about in all those little coloured sugary balls is such a hoot” he says. (Okay, so he’s never actually played to thousands. But that’s not going to stand in the way of a fantastic joke about cake decorations.) Meanwhile, back at the profile… communication is what it’s all about. Whether it’s putting over the drama of a traditional ballad or setting up a rousing chorus, the audience is always an integral part of the performance.
He doesn’t like to mention his self-deprecating sense of humour. “Because”, he says, “it’s not very good.”
Originally from the east coast of Scotland, folk music was always part of the landscape. But it was on moving south half a lifetime ago and discovering English folk music that his performing really took off. His repertoire is now taken from the traditions on both sides of the border, laced with some original and contemporary material. And fun. And cake decorations.”
And there’s more Scottish music to add even more warmth and excitement to the evening. In a late addition to this awesome all-Scottish line-up we have the mighty Pat Crilly who’ll be giving us a few well-chosen songs from north of the border, along with maybe one or two of his own compositions in the Scottish vernacular. Plus, we’ll have our Shetland-born-and-raised friend, Kevin Johnson, whose wonderful voice and playing you’ll remember from when he played at this same event last year.
You really won’t want to miss this night as we have everything you could possibly want, all primed and ready to go. Hoots Maun! Free entry, but please bring some cash (Scottish notes accepted!) for the hat and the raffle.