Norman Kennedy is one of Scotland's finest traditional singers with a unique repertoire of folk songs and ballads. Born and brought up in Aberdeen, he was a neighbour of the great ballad singer Jeanie Robertson and during the evolving folk scene of the 1960's he picked up many songs from her and from other singers such as the bothy ballad singer Jimmy McBeath and the traveller and street singer Davie Stewart.
Norman Kennedy was born and raised on King Street in Aberdeen. He is a ‘keeper of the old ways’, a master practitioner and teacher of textile arts as well as an unaccompanied singer of traditional Scottish Songs that he learned while growing up. Norman teaches an inspiring workshop in the rarely practised method of shrinking wool - Waulking the Cloth - where workshop participants sit around a large table and pass the hand-woven material from hand to hand while Norman sings traditional songs and tells of the old ways in Scotland.
In 1966 he moved to live in the USA after representing Scotland at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival where he was an immediate success with the "folkies" and the academic alike. The former loved his relaxed, easy style, while the latter recognised a deep knowledge and understanding of the songs, which went way beyond book learning. Here was a young man truly immersed in his tradition and culture. And 36 years later he has lost none of thet magnetism.
But there's more to Norman than just singing and storytelling. He is an accomplished weaver, who cards, spins, and dyes his own wool in the 'old ways'. It is a mark of his quest for perfection that he is as well-known in this field as for his singing. But he does not see them as separate entities - the songs help him to concentrate on his weaving and the weaving gives rhythm to his songs. When Norman sings as he weaves it seems the art and the craft were measnt to be together, and never more so than when performed by a master of both....Tom Spiers
In June 2003, Norman was awarded the highest honour in folk and traditional arts in the United States. This Master Artist was the recipient of one of eleven fellowships awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts. The award was presented in The Library of Congress by United States President George W Bush; the $20,000 award being comparable to the Turner Prize. | 
|