The first week of August sees the Devon town of Sidmouth reverberate to the Sounds Of Modern Scotland, thanks to the support that the long-running Sidmouth Folk Festival receives from Creative Scotland. Audiences have already been enthralled by the sublime singing of Julie Fowlis and Hannah Rarity, the joyful instrumental interplay of Ross Couper & Tom Oakes and by the irresistible power of the Peatbog Faeries. The remainder of the week sees two phenomenal young Scots singers step into the Sidmouth spotlight.
Aberdeenshire folk singer Iona Fyfe has become one of Scotland’s finest young ballad singers, rooted deeply in the singing traditions of the North East of Scotland. As she showed at the beginning of this year with the release of her six-track EP, Dark Turn of Mind; she took a significant step towards enhancing that reputation by combining that North-East balladry with a selection of Appalachian cousins, and contemporary American folk. As Neil mentioned in his review of her EP (which was also a Featured Album of the Month): “If you thought you’d heard the best of Iona Fyfe, think again; there’s every indication that Dark Turn of Mind begins a new, captivating chapter.”
With a number of high profile appearances under her belt, Iona has toured throughout the UK, Poland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Canada and Australia. Iona has performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra as part of the World Premiere of Disney Pixar’s Brave in Concert at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. There’s no doubt she’ll go down a treat with the Sidmouth audience.
Raised in Oban with strong links to Perthshire’s Glen Lyon, Gaelic singer and BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2017 finalist Kim Carnie is no stranger to these pages having previosuly done a spell writing for Folk Radio as a reviewer and interviewer. Currently a TV presenter on BBC ALBA’s ‘Dè a-Nis?’, a recent Gaelic tutor at the University of Glasgow, and a National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music alumna, her love for the language is held very close to her chest. However, her musical interests span wider than her immediate influences, such as Iseabail T. Macdonald and the ceilidh musicians of Oban, as she is also drawn towards Americana music with a special interest in harmony and improvisation.
Be sure to catch this memorable concert at which Kim and Iona are joined by Scots tradition-bearer Sheena Wellington who sang at the opening ceremony of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 no less, multi-instrumentalist Arthur Coates from rural Aberdeenshire who has been playing fiddle since the age of 7 who will be accompanied by Kerran Cotterall. Plus Fèis Rois Ceilidh Trail which is currently on tour featuring fifteen outstanding young musicians from across Scotland. Details and ticket link below.
Iona Fyfe and Kim Carnie appear in the Sounds Of Modern Scotland Concert at the
Manor Pavilion, Sidmouth, on Wednesday 7th, 3.15pm August.
Tickets available here: https://sidmouthfolkweek.ticketsolve.com/shows/873602723