GUEST SINGERS
Brian and Margaret Peters
Brian is one of the English folk scene’s great all-rounders, a compelling singer of narrative songs from the tradition, and an outstanding multi-instrumentalist on squeezeboxes and strings. Brian’s wife Margaret is a lovely singer of mainly English folk songs and we are very pleased she is able to join with Brian at FifeSing. Brian has played most of the major folk festivals in Britain, performed and tutored in the USA, Canada and Australia, and appeared several times at the Glasgow Ballad Workshop. He has recorded several acclaimed CDs, including one devoted to Child Ballads. He has a deep knowledge of the history behind the old songs and will present a talk on Cecil Sharp's Appalachian collection.
brian-peters.co.uk/bio/
brianpeters.bandcamp.com/
Seán Lyons
Seán Lyons is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Growing up in a musical family in County Clare, he played the tin whistle and uilleann pipes from a young age, regularly competing and performing around Ireland and overseas. At age 15, he began singing, playing the guitar and writing songs. He is influenced by jazz and the broader folk genre but his music is deeply rooted in Irish traditional music and he is an enthusiast for the older traditional song repertoire with many songs picked up from his father John Lyons and uncle Tim Lyons - both of whom were fine singers and musicians. For the last year Seán has been recording a song a week on his InstaGram page - a great selection of songs, accomapied and otherwise.
facebook.com/seanlyonsmusician/
instagram.com/seanlyonsmusic_/
seanlyons.bandcamp.com/
Janice Clark/Reavell
Janice Clark/Reavell was born and brought up in Aberdeen and from a very early age, took an interest in the traditional music and song of the North East of Scotland. Her ballad singing style was heavily influenced by some of the great local source singers like Stanley Robertson and his aunt, Jeannie Robertson and her daughter, Lizzie Higgins. She began singing at Folk Clubs and Festivals in her early teens and travelled and recorded with bands such as Iolair, Lang Johnnie Moore and Highland Connection. Janice has given singing workshops at Folk Festivals throughout Scotland and now tutors for SC&T in Aberdeen as musical director of the SC&T Choir. She is interested in helping singers build a repertoire, develop their individual style and gain performance skills for solo and group singing.
Jack Beck
Jack Beck: When Dunfermline’s folksong club ‘The Howff’ began in 1961, traditional singers like Jeannie Robertson, Jimmy McBeath and Willie Scott appeared alongside the young folkies who had been inspired by the skiffle movement and American folk song repertoire. Jack was there and soon he was soaking up the Scots songs and ballads. In 1963 a teen-aged Barbara Dickson sang her first Howff floor spot, followed by Jack. Before the evening was over, they had cemented a musical partnership and sang as a duo for several years before Barbara achieved individual fame. In the mid 1970s Jack became a member of the Dunfermline multi-instrument folk group ‘Heritage’ who toured their Scots music and song repertoire at festivals in Italy, France and Switzerland. Jack has recently returned from the USA where, for nearly 20 years, he has worked with the Scots-Appalachian Studies Programme to presents a weekly Celtic music programme broadcast online and over radio stations in Tennessee and Virginia.
thetraditionbearers.co.uk/jack-beck/
WORKSHOPS/ TALKS
There will be workshops/talks from some of the above guests and also a presentation from Alison McMorland:
Alison McMorland
Alison McMorland: Growing up in a family where making music was part of everyday life, singing became as natural as breathing to Alison and singing around the piano is one of her fondest early memories. While living in Cornwall she encountered the mighty Padstow ‘Obby Oss’ and became aware of living folk customs. By 1972 Alison was living in York, collecting the songs and games in school. She entered the Kinross singing competition in 1973, which she won, with the judge, Sheila Stewart asserting that Alison had the ‘conyach’ – high praise from a traveller. Hamish Henderson introduced her to other singers, and so she learned songs from Border shepherd Willie Scott, Lucy Stewart of Fetterangus, Betsy Whyte, and lan Manuel, as well as Henderson himself. She recorded her first album, Belt Wi’ Colours Three for the Tangent label in 1977. She then joined Peta Webb to produced one of Melody Maker’s albums of the year 1980. Returning to live in Glasgow in 1989, she continued to sing and record solo and with her late husband, Geordie McIntyre, and daughter, Kirsty Potts. She compiled the collection of songs and life of Willie Scott and, with ballad singer Elizabeth Stewart, the collection of travellers songs, stories and tunes of the Fetterangus Stewarts, Up Yon Wide and Lonely Glen.
Alison presents (Saturday morning): “The Ballad World of Anna Gordon, Mrs Brown of Falkland” - an illustrated account of the biography by Ruth Perry of the notable 18th century ballad singer. The accompanying CD “Some Ballads of Anna Gordon: Mrs. Brown of Falkland” has been produced by Alison joined by Jo Miller and Kirsty Potts..
www.alisonmcmorland.com/
The Fife Traditional Singing Festival
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