Last night saw the welcome return of the wonderful Tom Clelland to the Nitten stage, after an absence of 7 years. Since then he’s endured some serious health issues but thankfully he’s fully recovered now and has lost none of his charm, warmth and gentle good humour. He was given an enthusiastic welcome by the Nitten audience and rewarded them with a great set, comprising traditional songs, folk classics and of course his beautiful original songs.
Kicking off with an old faithful, ‘Still a Friend’, Tom slipped comfortably into a Nitten favourite ‘Slow Down’ (famously?) covered by our very own Ragged Glory. After a few more solo pieces he was joined onstage by the irrepressible Wendy Weatherby on cello, adding a beautifully mellow depth to the music. Later in the evening she was given her own showcase and performed a beautiful unaccompanied rendition of Neil Gow’s ‘Lament for his Second Wife’.
Many of the songs performed can be found on Tom’s latest album ‘Handpicked and Collected’ which is on sale now. The show was closed with ‘Freight Train’ by Elizabeth Cotton and the Nitten crowd sang along with gusto. No doubt Tom will be back at the club in the future – hopefully we won’t have to wait another seven years for that.
The floor spots were provided by sound man Ronnie Miller, Robert Mackie and Janis Duncan and May Weatherston gave us a lovely rendition of Janis Ian’s classic ‘Jesse’, accompanied by Jim Weatherston on guitar. The second half spots were provided by Gillian Anderson, Charlie Boyle and George Machray. The raffle was, as always a resounding success and raised much welcomed funds for the club.
Next month we welcome the amazingly versatile ‘Hoolet’ to the Nitten stage, featuring traditional balladeer Maggie Dewar, classically trained violinist Helen Ross and guitar virtuoso Ronnie Miller. There’s a real buzz about this talented trio right now – although they all come for very different musical backgrounds they have forged a distinct musical identity, combining traditional folk with classical compositions and Ronnie’s stunning original songs. Make sure you don’t miss this show