Alasdair Roberts

The Hot 100 2010 - Mark Millar, Kevin Bridges and Alasdair Gray take top 3 spots

Our annual chart of the people from Scotland being interesting, successful and creative

16 Dec 2010

The Hot 100 is a list of Scots who’ve made a sizeable creative splash in 2010. It includes musicians, artists, writers, actors, fashion designers, technological innovators, shop owners, festival directors, record label heads and one mad cyclist.

Fruit Tree Foundation - First Edition

Astounding group collaboration from some of Scotland's finest

3 Aug 2011

(Chemikal Underground) If you’re looking for proof that Scotland’s musical voices are far-reaching and brilliant, then we cordially direct you to First Edition. It’s a stellar, cohesive collaboration from Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison, The…

Giant Sand songwriter Howe Gelb lines up for Celtic Connections date

3 Jan 2011

Mapping alternative routes between seemingly disparate worlds of music is a longstanding aim of Celtic Connections. It’s a vision shared by Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb, who for some 25 years has been a pathfinder and visionary, resulting in one of the most…

Alasdair Roberts, The Low Anthem and Buffy Sainte-Marie set for Celtic Connections

7 Jan 2010

With Alasdair Roberts, The Low Anthem and Buffy Sainte-Marie all featuring, the Celtic Connections festival just keeps going from strength to strength, says Ninian Dunnett

Benni Hemm Hemm & Alasdair Roberts

4 Dec 2009

With the potential makings of a stunningly good Scotland-meets-Iceland collaboration straight out of the leftfield, this gig, brought to you by those thoughtful folks at Tracer Trails, will be the first airing of the pair’s collaborative work. Benedikt…

Polar Bear, The Vaselines and Alasdair Roberts set for Doune the Rabbit Hole

Music festival in leafy grounds of a Perthshire country house

30 May 2011

Situated in the leafy grounds of a Perthshire country house, Doune The Rabbit Hole is a magical, family-friendly affair, inspired by Lewis Carroll and the early free festivals. Ursine jazzers Polar Bear headline on Friday, with The Vaselines and the…

The List: 25 Years - A night at the Arches, Glasgow featuring Errors, King Creosote and Come on Gang!

Event celebrates 25th anniversary of The List Magazine

5 Oct 2010

After 25 years of writing about other people's events, we've decided to put on our own... and it's been worth the wait. We're taking over The Arches for one Friday night only, showcasing the best of Scottish culture, including many of favourite bands…

Harry Smith Anthology Remixed

19 Jun 2008

When American song-collector, artist, ethno-musicologist and experimental filmmaker Harry Smith released The Anthology Of American Folk Music in 1952, it was a labour of love which had a huge influence on the 1950s so-called Folk revival. Without this…

RM Hubbert, Stereo, Glasgow, Fri 27 Jan

1 Mar 2012

The launch RM Hubbert's second album, 13 Lost and Found, is both a celebratory and elegiac affair. A punk and post-rock veteran, Hubbert turned to the classical guitar as a way of dealing with bereavement and depression. To perform his latest album with…

RM Hubbert launches album Thirteen Lost & Found with friends

Aidan Moffat, Alex Kapranos and more to join in at Stereo show

6 Jan 2012

RM Hubbert’s debut album First & Last was more than just an instrumental record by a talented Glaswegian guitarist. Far from a commercial stepping-stone, the record was rather the result of Hubbert’s attempts to document a tumultuous three-year period…

Archive Trails - Artists making new work from old photos and songs from Scotland's past

Scottish folk ballads reworked via song, video and puppetry

21 Sep 2011

After months of delving through old photos and songs, three performers aim to bring to life Scotland’s long-lost folk ballads through experimental vocals, video and glove puppets. Rachel Devine reports

Music Is The Music Language

Festival of the experimental and esoteric

25 Aug 2011

Music Is The Music Language, a two day festival organised by DIY promoters Cry Parrot and Tracer Trails, is testament to the vibrancy of Scotland’s underground music scene. ‘Underground music is strongest and most exciting where and when the values…

Optimo and Alasdair Roberts highlights of Glasgow's West End festival

The French Wives and Fence Collective also on bill

27 May 2011

1. Fence Collective There are dozens of good musical reasons to take yourself to the West End Festival this June. How about Fife’s favourite indie-folk collective for starters? The line-up’s a secret until the day, but the name ‘Fence’ is all the badge…

Doune The Rabbit Hole music festival 2011

Polar Bear, The Vaselines and Zoey Van Goey set for rural Scottish festival

6 May 2011

The family-friendly festival, Doune The Rabbit Hole makes a welcome return next month with a plethora of live music including The Vaselines, Zoey Van Goey and recently-headliners announced, Polar Bear. Situated at Old Newton, near Doune in Stirling…

Music Like a Vitamin - O2 ABC, Glasgow, Sat 2 Oct 2010

Rod Jones, Emma Pollock, Jenny Reeve and Karine Polwart

9 Oct 2010

For their Music Like A Vitamin event, Idlewild’s Rod Jones and The Delgados’ Emma Pollock have enlisted a Scottish musical dream team to create a fundraising album. Coinciding with the annual Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, The Fruit…

Fruit Tree Foundation launches new album tackling themes of mental health

Alasdair Roberts, James Yorkston, Scott Hutchison and others record album

22 Sep 2010

Sons and Daughters. Frightened Rabbit. The Phantom Band. Norman Blake. Perhaps because it sets out to encourage discussion of problems nearly everyone has come into contact with at some point in their lives, the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film…

Autumn highlights: The best albums and gigs from Scottish bands

The Phantom Band, The Twilight Sad and Errors set for action

16 Sep 2010

The Phantom Band Chemikal Underground’s finest, most eclectic and most likely signings of recent years return with the follow-up to last year’s debut Checkmate Savage. The Wants is released on Chemikal Underground, Mon 18 Oct. The Scottish…

Alasdair Roberts and Friends - Too Long in this Condition

Scottish guitarist re-animated murderous and bawdy Scottish ballads

5 Aug 2010

(Navigator) The List can think of no other artist who has dished out props to their manicurist within the immortal confines of their sleeve-notes. But that’s what Glasgow-based folk bard Alasdair Roberts does on his excellent sixth album, Too Long in…

Pekko Kappi and Alasdair Roberts play Edinburgh's Roxy Art House

10 Jun 2010

If you feel like your life has been lacking in folk/drone crossovers recently – and let’s be honest, we could all use a bit more of that - there’s a treat in store. Finnish improv artist Pekko Kappi plays the jouhikko (pictured), an archaic bowed…

Music festivals 2010: Festival profiles

28 May 2010

Big or small, loud or quiet, dry or muddy – we love festivals whatever their size, sound or likelihood to leave you soaking wet. Over the next 20 pages we'll give you the lowdown on every major fest hitting Scotland this summer, and information on a few…

Alasdair Roberts

2 Mar 2010

Glasgow-based folkster Alasdair Roberts will be taking to the road with his four-piece band for a night of trad folk and his own Americana. Mixing his own compositions with timeless Scottish folk and creepy twists on old forgotten classics. Stereo…

Sick Kids Sunday 2

20 Jan 2010

It’s a bumper line-up with a definite wonky, folky, indie vibe as the GRV hosts this charity fundraiser. James Yorkston & Adrian Crowley take the headlining slot with their take on the songs of Daniel Johnson, with able backup from the likes of Broken…

Five reasons to see . . . Alasdair Roberts

13 Jan 2010

1 He was discovered performing at a ceilidh by Will Oldham. An apocryphal tale, but the pair have worked with Songs:Ohia’s Jason Molina as Amalgamated Sons of Rest, and Oldham (aka Bonny ‘Prince’ Billy) produced Roberts’ ballad collection No Earthly Man…

Exposure: Alasdair Roberts

4 Dec 2008

Although he’s been recording for over a decade under first the alias Appendix Out and now his own name, Alasdair Roberts’ rich blend of traditional song and avant-garde thinking still remains an undiscovered pleasure to many. The Glasgow-based musician…

Tracer Trails First Birthday Party

4 Oct 2007

A tracer trail is the streak of light left behind by a speeding bullet. It’s also the name of the micro cottage industry who’ve promoted some of the most charming live shows in Edinburgh over the last year. To celebrate, a very special anniversary do…