Eilidh Grant is a familiar face at Nitten Folk Club although, incredibly this was her first visit to the club since 2018, when she appeared as a member of Real Time, along with her good friend the wonderful Kenny Spiers. This time around she was flanked by guitar legend Stevie Lawrence and virtuoso fiddler Fiona Cuthill. Eilidh joked that every time she appears at the club she goes off and produces some more children – and it is true that since we last saw her she has given birth to a pair of twins, bringing her running total to four – congratulations Eilidh. New motherhood, thankfully, has had no effect on the crystal clear quality of her voice. She is one of the most delightful and charming performers on the scene right now and Stevie and Fiona provide excellent support; whether they’re romping gleefully through ‘Charlie is My Darling’ or providing a beautiful soothing backdrop to ‘My Love is Like a Red Red Rose’ they are truly masters of their craft.
The trio kicked proceedings off with the first of many singalong songs, ‘Kind Friends and Companions’ and the Nitten audience were immediately hooked. After the aforementioned ‘Red Red Rose’ Steve and Fiona played a wee set of jigs – much handclapping and foot tapping were in order for that. Billy Connolly’s moving ‘I Wish I Was in Glasgow’ was up next – a real treat for any itinerant ‘Weegies’ in the audience, then Emmylou Harris’ gorgeous ‘Boulder to Birmingham’, both highlighting the bell-like clarity of
Eilidh’s voice. We can’t list every song they performed but a few of the many highlights were: a rambunctious rendering of The McCalmans’ favourite ‘Rambling Rover’, a tender and affectionate cover of Kenny Spiers’ ‘The People That You Meet’, and old favourite ‘Jock Hawks Adventures in Glasgow’. The show closed with a gentle interpretation of the traditional ‘The Parting Glass’ and it was all over for this visit from Eilidh and her impressive trio. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another 6 years before we have them back again.
Special thanks must go to the excellent floor spots, provided, as usual, by various club members and to Jim Weatherston, who supervised the drawing of the customary raffle. Gillian and Robert did the necessary ‘running’ with the impressive array of prizes, all generously donated by club members and friends. Congratulations to all the lucky winners.
Next month we welcome Tom and Jane Fairnie, who will be joined by their friend, Rotenberg born singer-songwriter Klaus Adamaschek (and our very own Jim Weatherston) for an evening of Tom’s excellent songs. They’ll be playing selections from Tom and Klaus’ new album ‘Still Dreaming’. It’s bound to be a fabulous evening so make sure you don’t miss it.
The Committee