Old Songs & Bothy Ballads: The Little Ball Of Yarn

Various Artists: Old Songs & Bothy Ballads: The Little Ball Of Yarn: A collection of Old Songs and Bothy Ballads recorded at the 8th Fife Traditional Singing Festival. Singers include Len Graham, Emily Portman, Brian Dawson, John Valentine, Elizabeth Stewart, Jimmy Hutchison, Shepheard, Spiers & Watson.

Many of the finest traditional singers in the country gather in May each year for the Fife Traditional Singing Festival – a weekend of concerts and workshops held near Collessie in the rural heart the ancient kingdom of Fife.

Recorded in May 2011, the CD opens with Len Graham from Newry in Northern Ireland - a singer with an extensive repertoire of old songs, and Emily Portman, a singer, writer and concertina player, originally from Glastonbury but now based in the North East of England, who is one of the finest young singers in the current folk scene, and Brian Dawson with songs from Lincolnshire. John Valentine from Cove Bay near Aberdeen sings bothy ballads and the cornkisters as does local Fife singer Duncan MacRae from Coaltown of Balgonie. Elizabeth Stewart from Mintlaw sings a couple of songs from her family tradition. Joe Aitken from Kirriemuir sings a song by an Orkney writer in praise of a pair of Clydesdales. Emma Spiers sings a song from Border shepherd Willie Scott. Jimmy Hutchison, originally from Skye and now living in Newburgh sings a transportation ballad and Shepheard, Spiers & Watson lead the company in a farewell song of emigration to bring the collection to a close.