Music, Folk

Glasgow packs a punch with two piping hot cultural events

Piping Live! and World Pipe Band Championships coming in August 2012

Live Piping! Glasgow once again welcomes new and established artists from over ten countries to perform at 150 events across the city, including the John McSherry Band, Breabach and Rura. Look forward to master classes, ceilidhs, concerts…

A royal Tattoo will mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in August 2012

The programme includes music, Dennis the Menace, and Brave-inspired medley

Musicians from Switzerland, Norway and Australia, as well as some unexpected guests, will be among the sparkling line-up at this summer’s 62nd Tattoo, which will welcome a fusion of well-loved traditional elements and exciting new contributions. As…

James Yorkston - I Was A Cat From A Book

The folk troubadour's newest album is his first since 2008

A traditional folk songs collection, the publication of his tour diaries and the anniversary re-issue of his debut album have helped bridge the gap, but it’s been a long four years since James Yorkston’s last LP proper. The arrival of the Fife…

Karine Polwart - Traces

The collaboration-friendly folk artist's latest solo effort reaffirms her striking reputation

For all of Karine Polwart’s unquestionable folk appeal (the multiple awards; the clarity of her voice; the history and humanity in her songs) it bears noting that she has stolen the limelight in three of our finest indie collaborations – The Burns…

Meursault, Rob St John and Jill O’Sullivan & Jenny Reeve - Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 7 Jul 2012

Triumphant performance more than delivering on high hopes of hometown crowd

Some album launches can be rather flat affairs – people don’t know the songs, the band are nervous, and it can all feel a bit dutiful. But this packed-out show heralding the arrival of album number three for Meursault couldn’t have been further from…

Of Monsters and Men - Oran Mor, Glasgow, Tue 10 Jul

Rabble-rousing folk-pop from Iceland

The already warm, friendly atmosphere is amped up to 11 by the time the Icelandic sextet take to the stage and it’s folk-pop, yarn-spinning aplenty for the next hour. They make a riotous sound, complete with trumpet and accordion for a cajun feel.

Piping Live! 2012 warms up with tour around Scotland

Pit stops for the pipers include Eilean Donan and Culzean Castle

To celebrate The Year of Creative Scotland 2012, Piping Live! Festival On Tour will bring piping to new audiences and locations across Scotland. The tour, which runs from 31 Jul to 4 Aug, will offer the opportunity to enjoy the best of Scotland’s…

Eat, sleep and breathe: Meursault

Neil Pennycook reveals some of the band’s on-the-road eating habits

What time is breakfast? The five minutes between waking up and getting in the tour van.Tea or coffee? Coffee. Smoking or non-smoking? Smoking.

An interview with Salsa Celtica

For anyone who’s not seen Salsa Celtica play live before, what can they expect? Great music, a really exciting gig with some amazing musicians from two very strong cultures and maybe a baby. I have forgotten how many times people have come back to us…

Mary Epworth - Dream Life

A lavish and eclectic debut album from the folk-rock singer

Where shall we begin? With the banjo twang, Black Sabbath fuzz and Goldfrapping blues-stomp of ‘Black Doe’? With the brass-toting folk-rock euphoria of ‘Long Gone’? With the swirling psych-pop of ‘Come Back to the Bough’? Or perhaps we should start…

Dan Mangan – Stereo, Glasgow, Sun 29 Apr

The Canadian folk-pop tunesmith unleashes his experimental side

Dan Mangan has previously mentioned that his band members ‘come from an experimental and free-jazz background’ – something that might not be immediately apparent on record but is plainly obvious at tonight’s performance. The brief squalls of noise that…

Eye o’ the Dug - St Andrews, Sat 14 & Sun 15 Apr 2012

Fantastic bill featuring Django Django, Malcolm Middleton and more

They may have quadrupled the size of their show, and conscripted beefcakes to man the doors, but the spirit of Fence chiefly prevailed at the inaugural Eye O’ The Dug – a musical hoopla which (kind of) filled a Homegame-shaped hole in the calendar (and…

The Waterboys - Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Wed 3 Mar

Three hours of intense, lyrical rock music for grown-ups

Backstage after tonight’s show, Mike Scott, Waterboy-in-chief since the band’s inception in 1983, is disgruntled. His band have put in a considerable shift, knocking out not only a connoisseur’s best-of set but the bulk of its recent and remarkable…

Kim Edgar - The Ornate Lie

Folk rock from The Burns Unit member Kim Edgar

The second album from The Burns Unit member Kim Edgar raises the bar from where her acclaimed debut album left off, mixing delicate folk rock melodies with Kim’s uniquely Scottish and poignant lyrics. Edgar’s harmonious piano playing and a voice full of…

Eat, sleep and breathe: Cate le Bon

Cardiff’s answer to Nico shares her tour habits with us

What time is breakfast? I am yet to find out. Tea or coffee? It’s a delicate mix of coffee in the morning followed by the relentless drinking of tea until bed. Smoking or non-smoking? Non, unless I fancy it. Sweet or savoury snacks? Savoury will…

Two Wings - Love's Spring

A warm-hearted fusion of vintage Americana and English folk-rock

(Tin Angel Records) The strident classicism of Two Wings may come as a surprise to those familiar with the avant-folk of Hanna Tuulikki’s other group Nalle. That project’s eerie soundworld is replaced by a warm-hearted fusion of vintage Americana and…

Star Wheel Press - Life Cycle of a Falling Bird

A timeless album from the Americana heartbreakers

Bonnie Prince Billy is not the only alt-country bard to have dibs on Glen Lyon. Americana heartbreakers Star Wheel Press are based in Aberfeldy (BPB’s erstwhile stomping ground), and have quietly amassed a dedicated following since their lovely debut…

Cate Le Bon - Cyrk

Brilliantly textured slice of Welsh psychedelic folk genius

For her latest outing Cate Le Bon takes her pick of the current crop of Wales’ finest musicians, with H. Hawkline providing hypnotically undulating synth goodness, while Y Niwl’s wünderkind Sion Glynn weaves beautifully meandering melodies, at times…

Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra - Improcherto (for HB)

GIO, Evan Parker and Lol Coxhill pay tribute to trumpeter Harry Beckett

The latest in Iorram’s strictly limited edition series of albums dedicated to the Glasgow free improvisation scene features the excellent GIO with two of the leading names in European improv, saxophonists Evan Parker and Lol Coxhill. They perform GIO…

Feist, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Tue 27 Mar 2012

Stunning concert from the Canadian alt.folkie

‘Wan, two, freee, fourr’, some gentleman gargles towards the end of Feist’s second encore. Without thinking, she laughs it off before ending on a heartbreakingly beautiful solo run of ‘Intuition’ from 2007’s The Reminder. It’s pin-drop silence…

Loch Lomond, Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Sat 10 Mar 2012

Bewitching chamber folk from Portland

For those of you wondering how the vaguely surreal, harmonic and orchestral notes of Portland’s Loch Lomond might translate to a live setting, the first minutes of their Sneaky Pete’s show would give you a fairly accurate answer: with a bold and…

Hanna Tuulikki talks about Two Wings

The group is a collaboration between the singer and co-songwriter Ben Renolds

Hanna Tuulikki is musing on deficiencies in the human form. ‘I’d much rather have a syrinx [bird’s vocal organ] and wings than a larynx and arms,’ reflects the singer-songwriter, visual artist and multi-instrumentalist. ‘Birds are masters of the two…

Bob Dylan to return to Hop Farm music festival

Peter Gabriel, Suede, Damien Rice and Primal Scream also announced

This year's Hop Farm festival has again attracted huge acts to the fifth annual no branding, no sponsorship festival running from June 29th to July 1st.

Exposure: Hannah Cohen

The NY model/photographer-turned-singer/songwriter is beloved by The National's Thomas Bartlett

Two years ago New York-based model and photographer Hannah Cohen met Antony and the Johnsons and The National pianist Thomas Bartlett, aka Doveman, at a party. She shyly played him some songs she’d been secretly penning, and he immediately offered to…

Counterflows Festival introduces some premier experimental and folk acts

Held across Glasgow, London and Berlin, Counterflows is a glorious stramash of experimental songwriting, clamorous avant-rock, and absurdist improv. In bringing Japan’s great Kazuki Tomokawa to Europe, the organisers have pulled off a real coup. A…