USA tour part 2

So....

we gave Dollywood a miss this time to make the long drive from Nashville to Asheville where we arrived and spent a lovely evening walking streets lined with trendy shops and restaurants. Having the whole evening to decide where we wanted to eat was a luxury since most often on tour it has to be the quickest option available to fit in between sound check and gig.

From Asheville we took another scenic drive to Raleigh in North Carolina for our Wednesday evening gig at The Long View Center. Turned out that Irish fiddle player Kevin Burke was playing just across the street that night so after our show we were able to go and catch his second half and enjoyed a drink with some new friends we made that evening.

For the remaining dates of the tour we were in Alexandria and Virginia Beach, both in Virginia. Alexandria is a town which thrived on the tobacco industry and has strong links with Scotland through that so we felt very much at home strolling it’s cobbled streets.

Our good friends Laura Cortese and Aoife O’ Donovan opened for us in Alexandria which was a treat to listen to.

Our tour ended with a gig in the theatre of Virginia Beach library on Saturday night where we played to yet another smiley crowd. I don’t think I have ever played to such smiley and enthusiastic people as we did on this US tour. It makes me proud to be Scottish travelling to somewhere that people show real heartfelt enthusiam towards their Scottish roots and the love and knowledge of the music is amazing.
Thanks to all the promoters and punters who came out to support Jamie and I, hopefully we’ll get to see you all again before too long.

Emily xx

Sunny USA

Hello out there!

I’m writing this from a hotel in the famous Nashville, Tennessee! I’m now halfway through my current US tour and things are going r eally well so far despite some disappointing news at the start of the tour. Sadly we had to leave our guitarist/banjo player, Ross Milligan, at home in Scotland due to family circumstances.
So, it’s just Jamie and I on this latest adventure.

In the past four days we have covered quite a few miles. We started off in beautiful warm, sunny Florida on Friday where we played in the town of Tarpon Springs, famous for it’s sponge...

We enjoyed an afternoon on the beach though felt very much out of place being the only folk for miles around wearing trousers and sporting pale Scottish skin!

On Saturday we made our way to St. Louis and played a gig in The Focal Point, a great little venue attached to a Mexican restaurant. With a giggly crowd we had a lovely first visit to Missouri. The jet lag came in handy yesterday morning as we had an early start driving down to Memphis for an afternoon show in the National Ornamental Metal Museum. We left the thunder and lightning storm in St. Louis and made our way south to a much flooded, balmy Memphis.

Enjoying a couple of nights off now as we make our way across Tennessee to play in North Carolina on Wednesday night. Going to hit the streets of Nashville tonight to see the sights and hopefully find some live music. There’s talk of a stop at Dollywood tomorrow....

more soon
Emily xx

Calamity Emily.....

Hello folks

Spring is definitely in the air which sure does cheer up the soul!
How are you all out there? Since I wrote my last blog I've had a horrible cold, lost my voice for 5 days and been taken to hospital in agony with what was diagnosed as a sprained neck muscle....I wish I had a really impressive story to tell about how I got my injury but it was from simply turning to see what time it was in bed!

Thankfully I think I'm on the mend now and today have been able to have a bit of a sing in preparation for the duo tour Jamie and I have in England from Wed 20th - Fri 29th Feb. We're looking forward to getting out and about and hope to see some of you along the way. (as always tour details are on my page).

Before that though we are involved in something entirely different to our usual musical roles -
For the past few months we have been busy rehearsing to be part of a cabaret show to raise money for charity. Our 10 minute spot is part of a three night event in Dumfries where a total of 9 groups each perform a cabaret show and the audience vote for their favourite act. Jamie and I are part of a team of five people made up of friends and neighbours and we're raising funds for Save The Children.



Our act is called 'Generation Groove' which sees us perform an 'all singing all dancing' programme of songs from the 50s to the 00s...all in just 10 minutes.

At last night's dress rehearsal we had a paying audience (so it didn't really feel like a dress rehearsal) and there I was dancing away with my big neck brace on...vanity went out the window!
We were voted second overall beaten by a group who performed an amazing Michael Jackson tribute act.

Fingers crossed we'll stay in the ranks for the next few nights.
You never know, some footage of our performance might find it's way onto You Tube.
Keep well, and be careful when turning over in bed....
Ex

USA Tour Dates and Folk Awards

Good evening folks.

I have finally found the time to add a few more dates to my page which include 6 shows in the USA this spring. Myself and the guys are really looking forward to returning to the land of breakfast pancakes, commercial radio stations and (hopefully?) sunshine. Joking aside we're heading into new territory this time starting off in Florida and ending up in Virginia. Previous tours have been mostly New England based so it's been interesting planning how we're going to get from A to B this time!



This week began with a glitzy (well as glitzy as folk music can be) night out in London at the Radio 2 folk awards. Jamie and I were lucky enough to get guest tickets for the night which we thoroughly enjoyed. Congratulations to all the award winners but especially to the lovely Julie Fowlis who won Folk Singer of The Year and the fantastic Lau who were named Best Group. 



Performances from these winners were real highlights of the night for me (Martin Green had me grinning from ear to ear throughout Lau's set). I also really enjoyed the Imagined Village's 'Cold Haily Rainy Night' though I was nearly blown away by the volume of the drummer at the start...serves me right for having a front row seat. Actually it was fantastic to sit so near the front and soak up the atmosphere in the room. I got to see the shaky hands of those making acceptance speeches and was quite amazed by the number of award presenters wearing cowboy boots! 


Anyway, it's back to auld claithes and porridge now...
Ex

Busy Busy...

Hello out there

Well my Celtic Connections experience of 2008 is over for this year but what a great time I had last week....

My stint at the festival began on the 22nd singing 2 songs in a concert titled 'A' Adam's Bairns'. I recorded the songs last year (The Slave's Lament and Both Sides the Tweed') on a CD of the same name. The CD is a compilation of songs chosen by Dr Fred Freeman (the mastermind behind the 'The Complete Songs of Robert Burns' series) and was a project organised by the National Library of Scotland to document Scotland's cultural history in music.

The finished CD will be sent to every school in Scotland, I hope the kids listen to it. I had only previously heard my own 2 songs so it was great to hear the others though the stage was a tight squeeze with about 15 of us crammed on at the one time!

On Thursday 24th Jan, me and the band were part of a showcase concert of 5 Scottish bands in the massive ABC on Sauchiehall Street. I hadn't played that room before and with such a big stage the four of us were stood really far apart which I think we all found a little disconcerting, so it's our new thing to stay close! It was a great night though brought to a close by Shooglenifty who were on top form.

After having a good blether at the festival club with folks that we only ever seem to see at Celtic Connections Jamie and I had a leisurely day on Friday hanging out in Glasgow. Being country dwellers we don't often go to the cinema so thought we'd do that for the afternoon. I am notorious for falling asleep through films and was secretly looking forward to a wee nap in the dark but didn't get anywhere near nodding off as we went to see 'I Am Legend' and I was so terrified by those zombie dark seekers I sat bolt upright with fear through most of it...I'm a total woose I know!
On Friday night we made our way to the new BBC headquarters at Pacific Quay where Jamie, Ross and I played a spot on the Iain Anderson's show on BBC Radio Scotland. The wind was howling around the building but there was a real cosy atmosphere inside.

I had a day at home on Saturday before heading back up to Glasgow on Sunday for one final day of busyness. We filmed 'Caledonia' in the morning at the Tron Bar for Mac TV and in the evening played the Strathclyde Suite in the concert hall and a spot at the festival club.

Celtic Connections truly is a unique and brilliant festival and having lived in Glasgow for 6 years it's always great to go back to visit. Thanks to everyone who came along and supported us and who came up and said hello. It's also a great time to catch up with musician friends as for the rest of the year we're all off doing our own thing but Celtic Connections is like a yearly reunion.

Anyway, things are returning to normal today though the festival isn't over yet so maybe we'll sneek in one more visit to watch some gigs this weekend....
Cheerio for now
Emily x

New Blog

Hi Folks,

I've got my new blog up and running and will be posting regular news about what i'm up to and where i've been. I'll try to keep my posts generally music related but might slide into my alternative life as a gardener and mice chaser.

See you soon,

Emily x