As part of our commitment to St Andrew's Fair Saturday we're excited to be partnering with our friends at The Soundhouse Organisation to bring some of Scotland's best musicians to our stage.
Award-winning fiddler, composer, producer and curator, Aidan O'Rourke (one third of Lau) is a pioneer of new sound in folk music who has redefined traditional forms. With roots in Scottish and Irish folk, Aidan was named Musician of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2014 and has released five solo albums. In his latest project, he wrote a tune every day for a year in response to a short story collection by James Robertson and recorded the resulting 365 tunes with Kit Downes. '365: Vol 2' was released in August 2019 and featured at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Aidan recently wrote a new work for the Scottish Ensemble of which The Herald said ‘..rarely has this land’s musical community spoken as eloquently of an outward and forward looking approach to its roots and heritage - Five stars.'
Aidan has curated a fantastic line-up to perform solo and collaborative sets throughout the evening as follows:
Brìghde Chaimbeul
Winner of the 2019 BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award, the 2016 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award, and 2017 Scots Trad Music Awards ‘Up and Coming’ nominee, Skye piper Brìghde Chaimbeul’s style is rooted in her indigenous Gaelic language and culture, but draws inspiration from a variety of piping traditions such as from Cape Breton, Eastern Europe and Ireland. Her debut album ‘The Reeling’ was produced by Aidan and was long-listed for the 2019 Scottish Album of the Year Award.
Allan Macdonald
A leading light in the Gaelic musical scene, Allan MacDonald is in demand internationally as a composer, musical director, piper, singer, workshop leader, and lecturer on Gaelic music. One of his myriad gifts is to make pibroch accessible and lovable. His work as a scholar-performer reuniting seventeenth-century piping with its Gaelic roots is influencing a whole generation of pipers.
Graeme Stephen
Graeme Stephen’s peerless improvisational skills and talent for composition make him one of Scotland’s most exciting and prodigious musical talents. He is a very unusual jazz guitarist in that he is as skilled and comfortable playing in a virtuoso way, as he is heading into completely free improvised soundscapes.
Lizabett Russo
Scotland-based singer-songwriter Lizabett Russo merges her native Romanian traditions with elements of contemporary jazz, avant garde folk and world music, a range of influence effortlessly spanned by her powerfully versatile voice.
Daniel Pioro
Daniel Pioro is a soloist, collaborative artist, and advocate for new and experimental music who has performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, the London Contemporary Orchestra, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He actively promotes new music and is interested in finding new ways of listening to and creating sound, as well as developing strong collaborations with composers, musicians, artists, and writers. Pioro works particularly closely with Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) and the acclaimed children’s author and storyteller, Michael Morpurgo.
The evening will start with a set by The Soundhouse Choir, who will perform 'Songs from Scotland'. Led by Heather Macleod of The Bevvy Sisters, this is an 'all-welcome' choir who perform regularly at The Queen's Hall to rave reviews.
£1 from each ticket and profit after costs will go to the Soundhouse Organisation.
There will be a retiring collection for Ingoma Nshya, a Rwandan women drumming group who are celebrating their 15th anniversary this year. This charity has been chosen by our Marketing Manager, Emma, after she met their founder at the Fair Saturday Awards in Bilbao in June of this year and was inspired by the work they do.
About St Andrew's Fair Saturday
Fair Saturday started in Bilbao in 2015 as a global cultural movement with a social impact. Its aim is to highlight the essential role the arts play in shaping a better future for the world and to counteract the consumerism of Black Friday.
Scotland is now the first official partner country, joining Fair Saturday with our national day to create St Andrew’s Fair Saturday. The Queen’s Hall is proud to be an early supporter of the initiative.
The day after Black Friday, thousands of artists and cultural organisations around the world come together to showcase their talents, bring audiences together in a cultural experience and support social causes.
St Andrew’s Fair Saturday is a Scottish Government initiative which is being delivered by the Fair Saturday Foundation.
Presented by The Queen’s Hall and the Soundhouse Organisation.
This event has finished, but you can read more about folk music at The Queen's Hall and across Edinburgh here and find out about upcoming folk shows at The Queen’s Hall here.
(The Scotsman)“Few contemporary musicians in any category can match either his artistic ambitions or his achievements in bringing them to fruition”
(Songlines on 'The Reeling')"5 stars. The whole album is exciting, unique and gorgeous"
(John Purser)“The single most important living source of Gaelic musical culture.”
(Peter Taranaski, FATEA UK)"Russo is textured and brave… I strongly recommend her far and wide."
(Jonny Greenwood, Radiohead)"Daniel Pioro’s playing is the sound in my head when I write for the violin"
St. Andrew's Fair Saturday: Aidan O'Rourke & Friends