2010
6th July
Lorna and I had
a great time at The Applecross Inn, Plockton Hotel and Myrtle Inn. Many thanks to the owners and staff of these establishments
for their hospitality. It is good to see locals and holidaymakers out and about after a long winter.
Last night saw the first performance of my Americana set at Duchally. Some folk music did creep in due to audience
requests and I was delighted to be joined by 11 year old Kirsty who ensured 100% participation in actions for "Sam
the Skull"
26th April.
Apologies to Frank at The Lade and any of you who
had come along to hear me there last Friday. The Icelandic volcano resulted in an enforced stay in Cyprus.
2009
5th August
I'm just back from touring with Tarneybackle. It was great
to meet up with friends old and new up in the north west highlands.
15th July
Very busy
with lots of gigging. I had a lovely time at Applecross and Loch Ness Inn last week.
Applecross had a very
lively but attentive audience. I'll be back there with Tarneybackle at the end of the month.
The Waterfront
gig was busy and was more like a concert than a bar/restaurant gig. I'm delighted to be returning there for a Sunday
BBQ in August.
28th June
It has been a pretty busy month. The first BBQ at
Duchally was lovely - a big crowd and superb weather.
The folks at The Myrtle were in fine form and good voice as
usual. I'll bring my whistle in August so that the bodhran players can join me in a couple of sets of tunes.
I
played at The Munro Inn for the first time last night. I thoroughly enjoyed performing in what was closer to an intimate folk
club rather than a pub gig. I'm looking forward to be back there next month.
On Monday I was at Stirling
Folk Club opening for Andy Irvine.
9th June
Many thanks to Laura Wilson of the
Dundee Courier for the lovely article she wrote featuring my new CD.
I am pleased to say that "A Little Closer"
is getting radio plays on local stations - Tay Am, Isles FM and Two Lochs Radio.
The CD is being distributed by
Highlander Records.
I performed at O'Neill's on Saturday which was a lively, fun night. Other new
venues this month are The Burgh Arms, Inverkeithing and The Munro Inn, Strathyre.
4th May
Many
thanks to everyone who came to see me at Duchally and The Bridgend during the weekend.
28th April
My
solo CD "A little Closer" is now available for purchase. Many thanks to Redbarn Studios, Stuart and Gary Duncan
for their professionalism and support in its design, recording and production.
I had a good gig at The Ancaster
Arms last Friday and look forward to returning there in July with Tarneybackle. I will be returning to perform there
as a solo in the latter part of this year.
Sandy and I did one of our rare duo performances at The Myrtle on Saturday
night. As always, it was a lively event. I'm back there to do a solo in June.
19th
April
Had a lovely break in Applecross, culminating in a wee unplugged performance on Thursday evening.
It was great to meet so many of the locals and tourists who kept the bar very busy. I'll be back there on 4th June
for a plugged but informal performance.
13th April
It has been a busy weekend with solos
at McKays, Pitlochry and Falls of Dochart with a Tarneybackle gig at Duchally, Auchterarder on Saturday. All gigs were
very busy and its great to meet so many people from around the world who are visiting Scotland.
The Lismore, Partick
on 5th April was a lovely afternoon. Great to see some of the regulars returning for an afternoon of song.
My
solo CD "A Little Closer" is now in production and I expect to have copies available in the first half of May.
23rd
March
St Patrick's night at Glenmor at Gleneagles was a fun night and I really enjoyed performing for
a very attentive audience. I'll be returning to Glenmor in June.
The Falls of Dochart gig was a little
quieter than usual and the audience made up for smaller numbers. Particular mention to Irene and Peter from Monkseaton
who spent the whole afternoon with me before heading off for some more folk music at Dunblane folk club. I'm back
on 29th March and 12th April.
11th March
I had a lovely return gig to The Lismore
Bar, Partick at the weekend. It was good to see some of the regulars and others who had braved their way through the
snow. It really is a special place with very friendly staff and a great selection of whiskies.
27th February
I'm
delighted to have agreed further dates at The Myrtle Inn and Bridgend House Hotel for this year. I'll be at McKays
in Pitlochry on 10th April which is a new venue for me.
I enjoyed doing support for Ian Bruce last night at "Live
at The Star" at St Andrews in the Square, Glasgow. Ian is a great performer and the venue is stunning.
23rd
February
Saturday night at the Myrtle Inn's Burns Supper was one to remember. Great speeches,
packed restaurant and bar with a great crowd. Thanks to Danny for booking me and Ian for his great fiddle playing.
16th
February
I had another great afternoon at Falls of Dochart yesterday. Many thanks to all who came
and stayed to listen and join in. A particular mention goes to the families from Soham who really got into the spirit
of the afternoon.
28th January 2009
I have started to record my solo CD at Red barn studios.
The album will be a collection of the songs that I play regularly at my solo performances. As soon as I have the finalised
track listing then I shall post it on the website.
Target release is May 2009.
I had a great weekend performing
at Duchally and The Lismore., Partick. It was great to see the regulars at The Lismore out in force on Sunday.
I will put my return date on this site as soon as Ewan and I agree it.
Quotes from my audiences
- "I
was at John's gig at the Falls of Dochart Inn on New Year's Day and
it was brilliant! I've been on both
the Tarneybackle and John's websites and the next time our paths cross I'll be at the gig!
Thank you for
a fantastic afternoon's music - we only went in for a
drink and ended up staying until the end.
Sarah
from the Isle of Wight"
.
- "I (we) hope it goes really well for you again as a solo gig. The one we
saw you do earlier this year was superb with many renditions still sticking in my mind to this day. It was just
one of those being in the right place at the right time situations. Wish you played a bit nearer to London or we
lived nearer to Scotland.
Ian from London"
