Music FOLK/CLASSICAL
folk fusion and influence on the likes of music of Eric Clapton and John Renbourn.
Thursday 30
Glasgow ■ Donal O’Connor St Andrew’s in the Square, St Andrew’s Square, 0870 013 4060. 8pm. £8 (£6). Fine Irish singer/songwriter. ■ Folk Fae Fife Tchai Ovna, Otago Lane, 357 4524. 8pm. £2. Great music from the Kingdom. ■ Michael Weston King Woodend Tennis & Bowling Club, Chamberlain Road, 959 1428. 8pm. £10. Alt.country from a founding member of the Good Sons. Edinburgh FREE Folk Night Nobles Bar, Constitution Street, Leith, 629 7215. 9.30pm. See Thu 23.
Friday 1
Glasgow ■ Tony Allen The Arches, Argyle Street, 565 1000. 7.30pm. £15. Afrobeat pioneer and drummer, Allen has worked with everyone from Fela Kuti to Damon Albarn. FREE Ciaran Dorris St Andrew’s in the Square, St Andrew’s Square, 0870 013 4060. 8pm. Glasgow-based Belfast songwriter launching new album Home. Edinburgh ■ Edinburgh Ceilidhs Lauriston Hall, Lauriston Street, 339 5374. 8pm. £6–£10. Traditional dance fun with ceilidh bands and a piper, and some international folk dances to complement the Scottish classics. Refreshments available.
Saturday 2 Edinburgh ■ Tony Allen The HMV Picture House, Lothian Road, 0844 847 1740. 7pm. £15. See Fri 1. ■ Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham The Queen’s Hall, Clerk Street, 668 2019. 8pm. £16–£19. See Thu 30.
■ John Taylor and Vivien Scotson The Griffin, Bath Street, 331 5170. 8pm. £5. Jack Johnson/Ray Lamontagne- influenced singer/songwriter. Part of the Glasgow Americana Festival. Edinburgh FREE Easy Chair The Jazz Bar, Chambers Street, 220 4298. 6pm. See Wed 29. ■ Wendy Weatherby Trio Edinburgh Folk Club, Cabaret Bar, The Pleasance, 0845 458 9709. 7.30pm. £8 (£7). Lush, imaginative and sensitive Scots traditional music and song - plus new music in a traditional style from cellist/singer Weatherby.
Thursday 7
Glasgow ■ Girly Man and The Porch Song Anthology Stereo, Renfield Lane, 222 2254. 7.30pm. £10. UK debut for the Independent Music Award winners who ‘seamlessly blend folk, country, pop, and rock, and genre bend as fearlessly and flawlessly as they gender-bend.’ Support from the Glasgow quartet who travel another road. Part of the Glasgow Americana Festival. ■ James James Keelaghan Trio St Andrew’s in the Square, St Andrew’s Square, 0870 013 4060. 8pm. £10 (£8). International folk as this super Canadian singer/songwriter is joined by bassist David Woodhead and fiddler Zav RT. ■ John Alexander The State Bar, Holland Street, 01854 612103. 8pm. £5. Glasgow-based finger-picking singer- songwriter whose sound is a pleasing blend of folk, blues and country. Part of the Glasgow Americana Festival. FREE The Free Candy Sessions The Liquid Ship, Great Western Road, 331 1901. 9pm. Weekly, laid back session with guest musicians, this week featuring three Americana acts (tbc). Part of the Glasgow Americana Festival. Edinburgh ■ The Kathryn Tickell Band The Pleasance Theatre, 60 Pleasance, 7.30pm. £14 (£7 students). Razor-sharp folk and rapid fire Northumbrian piping from one of the best-loved bands on the
Sunday 3 CLASSICAL
Edinburgh ■ Flamenco Session The Jazz Bar, Chambers Street, 220 4298. 6pm. £3. Spanish musicians gather for an impromptu session with dancer Maria ‘Tote’ Conte.
Tuesday 5
Edinburgh ■ Shona Mooney and Amy Thatcher Leith Folk Club, The Village, South Fort Street, 07502 024852. 7.30pm. £8. Innovative young Borders fiddle player Mooney is joined by fellow Shee member, accordionist and clog dancer Thatcher. ■ Beth Nielsen Chapman and Martha Tilston The Queen’s Hall, Clerk Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £22. Highly rated American singer/songwriter who has penned hits for the likes of Trisha Yearwood and Willie Nelson. ■ Ceilidh Club The Lot, Grassmarket, 225 9922. 8pm. £6. Ceilidh dance and callers to lead you through the steps. Live music from Roundhouse.
Wednesday 6 Glasgow ■ Eilen Jewell and The Southern Tenant Folk Union O2 ABC, Sauchiehall Street, 332 2232. 7pm. £12. Sweet-voiced Boston vocalist in the old school country, folk and blues traditions. Support from the UK-based roots collective with their upbeat and melancholic mix of bluegrass, gospel, country, folk and pop. Part of the Glasgow Americana Festival.
88 THE LIST 23 Sep–7 Oct 2010
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to suzanne@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Tasmin Campbell and Carol Main. ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
scene. FREE Folk Night Nobles Bar, Constitution Street, Leith, 629 7215. 9.30pm. See Thu 23. Thursday 23
Glasgow FREE The Millennium Quartet Glasgow University Concert Hall, University Avenue, 330 4092. 1.10–2pm. The first in Glasgow University’s 2010/11 ‘Music in the University’ concert series. The Venezuelan Millennium Quartet performs Mozart’s Quartet in D minor, K 421 and Ginastera’s String Quartet No 1, Op 20.
Friday 24 Glasgow ■ Katherine Bryan CD Launch RSAMD, 100 Renfrew Street, 332 5057. 1pm. £10 (£7). The RSAMD staff member and Principal Flute of the RSNO launches the release of her first CD on Linn Records, in the first of the new season’s Fridays at One concert series. FREE BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: In Tune – 75th Birthday Edition City Halls,
CLASSICAL JOHN PAUL JONES: A MUSICAL Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Fri 24 & Sat 25 Sep
Although it seems unlikely that the father of the American navy was the son of a Scottish gardener, the story of how Nithsdale born John Paul Jones achieved such revered status is so incredible that it has to be true. What is surprising, however, is that until an Englishman suggested it to Edinburgh- based composer Julian Wagstaff, John Paul Jones and his freedom-fighting adventures were new to the stage. Not only is the telling of his life story in this way a first, but the concept of a Scottish musical also breaks new ground. ‘What we’re trying to do is, as far as I know,’ says Wagstaff, ‘something that hasn’t been done before. After the two performances with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, special guest soloists and the Consort of Voices, we are aiming to be the first Scottish musical to tour the UK and internationally.’ Wagstaff’s original telling of John Paul Jones’ story was in 2001, although the score has been significantly reworked since then. ‘At that time,’ he says, ‘the interest in Scottish independence and devolution made it a real hot topic.’ The idea of political history being told on the stage was already in place with Braveheart and shows such as Evita. ‘I read everything I could find about John Paul Jones,’ says Wagstaff, ‘including his most famous line in battle against the British in 1778, which Alex Salmond later used – ‘I have not yet begun to fight!’
The rags-to-riches story includes a French knighthood, love gained and lost, and, most thought-provokingly, the downfall of one of America’s great heroes of the Revolution. ‘John Paul Jones has lots of opportunities, but doesn’t take them,’ says Wagstaff, whose tuneful music draws from a broad mix of styles, ‘and his life is essentially a tragedy of ambition.’ (Carol Main)
Candleriggs, 353 8000. 5pm. Ticketed. The BBC SSO turns 75 in December, and the celebrations kick off early with BBC Radio 3 drive-time programme In Tune. Sean Rafferty presents the programme, which features a work by the orchestra’s founder Ian Whyte, a new piece by Eddie McGuire, performances by soprano Malin Christensson and a selection of pieces sung by the National Youth Choir of Scotland, conducted by Christopher Bell. Under 12s not admitted. ■ Robert Irvine and Allan Neave Mugdock Country Park, Craigallian Road, Milngavie, 0141 956 6100. 7.45–10pm. £11 (£10). Cellist Irvine and guitarist Neave perform everything from Baroque to Latin American music. Booking essential. Edinburgh FREE Piano Recital: Masayuki Hirahara Reid Concert Hall, Edinburgh University, Bristo Square, 247 3518. 7pm. An all-Chopin programme in celebration of the 200th anniversary of
his birth. Booking is required. ■ John Paul Jones: A Musical The Queen’s Hall, 87–89 Clerk Street, 668 2019. 7.30pm. £15–£16 (£12–£14). Edinburgh composer Julian Wagstaff’s new musical on the true story of John Paul Jones, a Scottish gardener’s son who became a hero of the American Revolution as the ‘Father of the American Navy’. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Consort of Voices bring the musical to life in its concert version, conducted by Simon Hanson. ■ RSNO: New Season, New World Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 228 1155. 7.30pm. £10–£32 (concessions available). Star pianist Nicholas Angelich joins the RSNO for a performance of Ravel’s powerful, jazz- inflected Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, written for a one-time concert pianist who lost his right arm during the First World War. MacMillan’s Three Interludes from The Sacrifice is first on the bill, and Dvorák’s famous Symphony No 9 (‘From the New World’) is the big finale.