Folk + Harp = Joanna Newsom reference. With that out of the way let me persuade you to attend The Glad Cafe in Shawlands this Sunday Jan 12th. There will be a special gig featuring Amy Duncan, Fiona Rutherford and other highly talented Scottish musicians. Get your folk on!
Today’s post was not supposed to be about Amy Duncan. Telling you that I’ve stumbled across yet another fabulously talented Scottish singer/songwriter, whose new album ‘Cycles of Life’ out now on Linn Records, is as much of a surprise to me as it is to you. The idea was to finally get around to doing a proper piece on The Glad Cafe. Last time I tried I ended up writing about casual racism. Now it looks like I’ll be writing about two female artists I’d never heard of before. And a gig in Shawlands!
Challenging low expectations is the first step for many singer-songwriters in the battle to win over an audience. In that sense, the Glad Cafe’s Twitter feed is a handy way of finding new artists. It was while looking over their tweets that I spotted the retweet of Amy Duncan who was plugging the new album by Fiona Rutherford that she plays on.
Amy’s own music is impressive and I’ve used the first song on her Soundcloud page as this blog’s title as it’s been my mantra now for many years. As a recovering perfectionist, the need to let a little chaos in is a skill I have had to learn to avoid going through life as the world’s biggest control freak. I’ve met plenty of other contenders for the crown and learning to take your hands off the wheel is a long journey. But this isn’t a Creative Minds post. Not yet anyway. I mean who leaves sentences lying around like that?
After listening to Amy’s Soundcloud tracks I find myself on the website of the Glad Cafe. I dig a little deeper to find out more about Fiona Rutherford and the Sleep Sound Album Launch which takes place on Sunday 12th January.
New music by Fiona Rutherford. Originally a New Voices commission at Celtic Connections, ‘Sleep Sound’ is a collection of pieces inspired by the theme of sleep and dreams. The recording features some of Scotland’s top musicians in both the traditional music and contemporary fields and the piece is a true cross-genre creation.
Come and join us for a celebratory drink and a rare opportunity to hear a live performance of this music! Official release is 31st March, so this is a special chance to get a copy of the album over two months early!
Featuring: Catriona Price (Fiddle), Patsy Reid (Fiddle), Mairi Campbell (Viola & Vocals), Su-a Lee (Cello), Amy Duncan (Double bass & Vocals), Lauren Mackie (Piano), Rachel Newton (Harps & Vocals) and Fiona Rutherford (Harp).
To recap, that’s two female singer-songwriters to check out and a fantastic looking gig in Shawlands this Sunday. I spoil you lot sometimes so I do. Toodle pip!
Listen to Amy Duncan on Soundcloud (Start with “Rare And Free” and “Let A Little Chaos In” – both are fantastic)
More info on Fiona Rutherford on her website
I found a video of her playing on Facebook so I’ll embed it here to give you an idea of what to expect.
