![]() Photographs by Samantha Harrison Played at the Ross Bandstand in Princess Street Gardens yesterday as part of A Scottish Fantasia. We had an enthusiastic audience who danced in the sunshine! According to some friends the sound went far and wide and people were toe tapping throughout the gardens. Lovely day. Sound guys were great. Bassline Productions
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Went to Stonehaven Folk Festival last weekend. I was camping - which was WET. Flood warnings out and where were we? Camping right by the river.
Anyway, I found myself on stage on Saturday playing a strathspey with Brian McNeil (one of the original members of the Battlefield Band). That was interesting. Great performances from a range of bands and singers. First time I had seen Old Blind Dogs. Also, good late night sessions too. The Canon's Gait session has been going from strength to strength. I have had some great evenings there recently. Ed Miller has joined us for two weeks - fantastic folk singer.
Also visited the Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh on Friday for a lovely afternoon's singing with another fantastic folk singer - Steve Byrne from Malinky. He reminded me of the Kist o Riches site (which Steve worked on for three years). AMAZING resource for Scots song. music and storytelling. I have been delving into this from time to time. Good gig on Friday night. We played six sets at the Fused Edinburgh festival.
Then off down to the Borders gathering'. Spent the weekend there playing guitar and fiddle. Late night sessions, ceilidh, and a performance on Sunday. Hundreds of borders kids all playing brilliantly. Lovely to see. Great event. Loved camping - cold in the tent though. Think it was -3 C overnight. Brrrrrr. ![]() I'm excited to be playing in the Fused Edinburgh Acoustic Festival this Friday. We rehearsed today. Final rehearsal is on Friday afternoon. The Festival kicks off at 4 pm and there are 12 acts. Bar and hot food too! Our headliner is Ewan Mclennan - looking forward to seeing him. He is the 2011 winner of the BBC Horizon award. He is on around 10 pm. We (Stevenson Folk Band) will be playing about six sets and we are on at around 11 pm. It's all in a good cause - profits are going to Macmillan Cancer Support. Go along if you can! All the details and how to buy tickets are at the Fused Edinburgh website. ![]() Border Gaitherin is coming up next weekend. I'm looking forward to it. I'll be playing fiddle, guitar and trying my hand at clarsach! Hope the brilliant weather holds up for the camping. I LOVE camping. I blogged about playing with Innes Watson, John Somerville and Scots Music group friends. Tonight we recorded a couple of tunes. We didn't have much time, and these were strictly one shot only. Great tunes. Innes and John are fantastic musicians. Both Innes and John Somerville play in The Treacherous Orchestra amongst other things. Check them out - they're brilliant.Can't thank them enough - had a great time. In due course there should be some video of this too which I'll put up sometime. Here's a sound file of our arrangement of No More Cages. Its a great tune. No More Cages by Adam Sutherland And here is a sound clip of a really beautiful tune composed by the wonderful accordianist, John Somerville and played with him and Innes Watson by myself and SMG friends. Mckechnie's Farewell by John Somerville
Twa Fields O DreamsYou might already know, from my previous blogs, that I am involved with the Scots Music Group (as I non Executive Director). We have just released a SMG Cup Final song (although to be fair we didn;t know that's hw it would turn out!). Twa Fields O Dreams was written by Bobby from the Bethany Men's Group during the SMG Inspire project with help from Scott Murray. SMG's Inspire Project offered opportunities for those affected by homelessness and mental health issues to get involved in Scots music and song and the Bethany Christian Trust runs a group for men who are socially isolated to explore. The song is about both of Edinburgh's football teams, and it was composed after sectarian chanting Bobby heard at a Hearts/Hibs game. You can find all the info at www.twafields.com .
I sat a music theory exam on Saturday. I think it went OK - but you can never quite tell. One down, two to go.
I gave a recital on Friday. I chose a mixed program of old and new tunes, with different time signatures, keys, rhythms or bowings and from different areas of the country. The programme was challenging for me and I did feel quite nervous. But it went well. Delighted with the feedback and I felt I learned a lot.
I also really enjoyed listening to the other wonderful musicians who played and sang last week. Well done guys! |
Fiona Harrison
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