For those that are new to Tae Sup wi’ a Fifer, it’s a club that began in 2015 when James Yorkston was invited to curate a number of nights at the Adam Smith Theatre in Kirkcaldy. With a line-up that included the likes of Dick Gaughan, Karine Polwart, Richard Dawson and Lisa O’Neil it quickly established a reputation for offering a diverse evening of entertainment. This spring the club is back with three shows which appear even more diverse, where else do you see Martin Carthy on the same bill as Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip? Details are below:
SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 2016
Martin Carthy: Legendary and extremely influential English folk-song singer and guitar player. “Arguably the greatest English folk song performer, writer, collector and editor of them all” Q Magazine
Alexis Taylor: The Hot Chip member comes up to Scotland in his solo guise to sit down at the piano and play some new songs of his own as well as the occasional gospel, torch and local ballad song he has learned on his travels. “It’s a fine collection of intimate, slow-burning, understated songs meshed together by Taylor’s unmistakable voice. In short: beautiful.” Clash Magazine
Geoff Hattersley: Geoff edited the independent literary magazine the Wide Skirt between 1986 and 1998, publishing more than 300 writers. “A powerful and uncompromising poet” Ian McMillan. “A poet whose work I scour the bookshops for… He’s like a flat-cap wearing, ale drinking, Yorkshire Bukowski’ James Yorkston
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2016
Linton Kwesi Johnson: A Legend of both British poetry and British reggae music, Linton has received an uncountable number of prizes and honours for his work and his political activism. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black poet, to be published in the Penguin Classics series. “…the newest and most original poetic form to have emerged in the English language in the last quarter century”Fred D’Aguiar
Kathryn Joseph: Winner of the Scottish Album of the Year Award 2015. “Kathryn Joseph has crafted one of the year’s most raw, unflinching and remarkable records”The Skinny “There’s something haunting and utterly compelling about this debut.”The Herald
Randolph’s Leap (Adam Ross solo): “They will be huge” Ian Rankin. “A band deserving of every shred of love and success which came Belle & Sebastian’s way”The Scotsman. “They’re ace!” Marc Riley, BBC 6Music.
SATURDAY, MAY 7, 2016
Malcolm Middleton: “Right up there with Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen and Johnny Cash” Sunday Telegraph, Malcolm Middleton returns to the limelight after a 7 year hiatus with his masterfully crafted new album ‘Summer Of ’13’. Siphoning his influences from the worlds of pop, metal and folk, Malcolm will be appearing in this intimate setting to perform a rare acoustic concert. “Middleton shows off impressive acoustic guitar skills oddly reminiscent of a young Paul Simon” The Times. While on the one hand he “achieves ABBA-like moments of pop greatness” MOJO, Malcolm also “has a warm, immediately engaging voice that makes even his saddest songs sound strangely joyful” The Guardian.
Viking Moses: “If the DIY house show circuit has a pied piper, his name is Brendon Massei. Massei, who plays music under the name Viking Moses, has been recording and touring independently as a full-time job since he was 14, and he’s spent more than half of his life paving trails for other musicians to follow.” MTV. “Viking Moses is ‘The Most Uniquely talented musician since Kurt Cobain… an absolute genius, and one of the best musicians I have ever released.” Alan McGee
Yorkston Thorne Khan: A new project from James Yorkston, featuring Jon Thorne of Lamb on double bass and Suhail Yusuf Khan of Delhi on Sarangi and vocals. Their album Everything Sacred was released to great acclaim in January 2016. Album of the Month ***** Record Collector. Folk Album of the Month MOJO. “One of the albums of the year” UNCUT. ***** fRoots. “This is an uncategorisable, hugely original concoction of folk forms” Rolling Stone. Check our own review here.
More details here: www.taesup.co.uk
If all this makes you curious about the music in James Yorkston’s record collection then have a listen to this show he recorded for Simple Folk Radio which we broadcast back in 2013. James takes over the show from about 25 minutes in to play some of his favourites: