Scotland on Tour, the exciting initiative that supports the recovery of Scotland’s live music industry, returns to Creetown this summer to showcase two special concerts. The first night of entertainment comes in the form of folk and jazz duo Fraser Fifield and Graeme Stephen on Saturday 18th June and country singer-songwriter Kirsten Adamson on Saturday 25th June.
Fraser Fifield and Graeme Stephen are well known for their unique mix of tradition and improvisation with live electronics and instrumental virtuosity. Graeme Stephen has played with many of the jazz greats who have visited Scotland and is one of Scotland’s most accomplished guitarists. Fraser Fifeld, originally a piper, is one of the most creative musicians to have come through the Scottish tradition.
Fraser Fifield said: “We’re looking forward to getting back on tour again and entertaining audiences in Creetown with an evening of live music on low whistle, Soprano Sax, border pipes, percussion, kaval and guitar. It will be fantastic to play a new venue like the Quarrymen’s Arts Centre as this is not a place that is usually part of our touring circuit. It’s great to see venues being utilised like this for live music, especially after the last couple of years.”
Singer/songwriter Kirsten Adamson summons the same heart-stopping purity as Sandy Denny, by way of Emmylou Harris and Kate Bush. Transcendence runs in the family. Her father was Stuart Adamson (Skids, Big Country) and her mother Alexandra, a champion Highland dancer.
With summers spent soaking up the atmosphere in Nashville with her dad and a string of leading roles in musical theatre back in the UK, the teenage Adamson’s course was set. She sang backing vocals on Big Country’s last album Driving to Damascus at age 13. By 2010, she was forging her own career as a vocalist and keyboard player for indie-folkers Aberfeldy. She fronted country rockers The Gillyflowers and more recently shone as half of alt-country duo The Marriage, and then on a self-titled solo debut. The austere beauty of her voice has been a constant motif. In a reflective mood, she’s now gearing up to release a new solo LP this winter.
Kirsten Adamson said: “I’m really looking forward to playing in the Quarrymen’s Arts Centre. It’s not a venue I know but one of the attractions of playing these solo concerts is trying out new spaces with their own acoustics and unique audiences. It’s great to see venues such as this utilised by Scotland on Tour and I can’t wait to get out and meet the community of Creetown this June.”
Scotland on Tour will take place over a period of 12 months between April 2022 and 2023, the remaining concerts taking place as part of the Quarrymen’s Arts Centre series include flute and classical guitar musicians JKL Duo present ‘The International Poet’ programme on Saturday 29th October. On Saturday 12th November rock/pop band Kissing the Flint perform at Quarrymen’s, followed by folk/pop duo Pauline Vallance and Shelagh McKay Jones on Saturday 26th November.
Amy-Dee Watson, one of the Trustees at the Quarrymen’s Arts Centre, said: “We are delighted to be part of the Scotland on Tour initiative to bring high quality, Scottish performers to our vibrant seaside village. Quarrymen’s Arts Centre is a brand new rural venue in the heart of Galloway, providing an intimate, historic setting for a variety of performing arts. Our Scotland on Tour programme includes an exciting mix of solo artists, duos and bands, across a range of musical genres from folk and classical to pop, rock and country, so there will be a concert to suit all musical tastes.”
The project, which has been created and managed by Active Events, was made possible by £750,000 of Scottish Government backing and will focus on increasing the number of opportunities to showcase and enjoy live music, while bringing exciting acts to the doorstep of city, towns, villages and rural communities.
The year-long Scotland on Tour bill includes both emerging and established artists with genre-spanning acts appearing across the breadth and width of the country, with rock, pop, jazz, classical, folk, trad and acoustic genres all being showcased.
Tickets for these and a raft of other shows are on sale now at www.scotlandontour.com.
