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Emily Smith Band & Mike Whellans, 16 June, Birnam | | rudall
Posts: 13
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Posted:
01 Jun 2005 at 21:01 | The Fiddle Tree presents The Emily Smith Band with special guest Mike Whellans
Thursday, 16th June 2005, 8.30pm
Baronial Hall, Birnam House Hotel, Birnam
Following the success of their Bank Holiday weekend events at the end of May, "The Fiddle Tree" are presenting a mouth-watering concert of traditional and contemporary music at the Birnam House Hotel on Thursday, June 16th, when the featured artists are The Emily Smith Band with special guest Mike Whellans.
Dumfriesshire born singer Emily Smith first made her mark on the Scottish music scene when she won the 2002 BBC Radio Scotland?s Young Scottish Traditional Musician of the Year Award. In the same year she formed her own band and has since toured throughout Europe and Australasia. In 2003 Emily graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with an Honours degree in Scottish music. During this time she developed her skills on piano and accordion and established her own singing style drawing on the many sources available to her.
Emily has a warm and open stage manner and these same characteristics shine through in her musicianship. Her voice blends delicacy with surprising power and is equally alluring whether enriched by instrumental backing or unaccompanied.
With an imaginative approach to instrumental arrangements she gives a contemporary edge to ancient songs.
As well as performing with her band Emily has worked with performers such as John McCusker, Karine Polwart and Irish band North Cregg. She has also been included in the acclaimed ?Scottish Women? group featuring Scotland?s top female vocalists and is a member of Scotland?s ?folk orchestra? - The Unusual Suspects. Emily?s debut CD ?A Day Like Today? was released in 2002 on Edinburgh based Footstompin? Records. Her long awaited second album ?A Different Life? was released on White Fall Records in January 2005.
Mike Whellans was born in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders a wee while ago (c1945). His father was a jazz drummer playing in local bands and Mike's first instrument, from a very early age, was his dad's kit. By age 14 Mike was playing in wedding and dance bands around the Borders.
While playing this local dance scene, Mike began to learn guitar as well as playing the kit. In 1969 he decided to turn professional and very soon released a first solo album. In the early 1970s, Mike was a member of the traditional Scots-Irish band, Boys of the Lough, and worked in a duo with fellow-Boy Aly Bain (now, of course, an internationally renowned fiddle player) for about three years.
The Whellans-Bain duo had a great reputation for American fiddle and guitar music which required great guitar flat-picking skill, a skill which Mike had in spades! Since then Mike has developed from that musical base into a veritable one-man live-wire blues-band featuring this crisp, fast, accurate flat-picking on acoustic and electric guitars, wild mouth-harp and his own highly idiosyncratic speciality, mouth percussion - and that really is something; and, oh, yes ... he sings and writes too!
In common with a number of Scottish acts, Mike has always worked extensively on the continent, especially in Denmark, and in the 1980s he settled there, having built up a sizable following for his own style of boogie, blues and humour.
The concert starts at 8.30pm.
Admission: Advance sales: £8 / £6 (concession); on the door: £10 / £8
Contact - Birnam House Hotel (01350) 727462 / Dunkeld Tourist Office (01350) 727688 / Birnam CD (01350) 727158
Email - info@thefiddletree.com
Web - www.thefiddletree.com
| bigmooth
Posts: 1391
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Posted:
01 Jun 2005 at 21:50 | Emily Smith and the band played at the Kirkcaldy Acoustic Music Club in the Polish Club in Kirkcaldy recently. Her Granny was Polish and she has written a beautiful song about her which she sang that night. A truly magical evening.
Mike Whellans plays at the Polish Club on Thursday 2nd June £6, doors open 8pm. Anyone wanting a great night with the amazing one man blues band should get themselves along to our club. You'll regret it if you don't! | rudall
Posts: 13
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Posted:
16 Jun 2005 at 10:19 | | Tickets still available from the Birnam House Hotel or Birnam CD. | wherriebob
Posts: 1502
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Posted:
20 Jun 2005 at 13:44 | | Some years ago I had Mike's album "Dirtwater Fox" nicked from my flat...anyone know if I can still get a hold of a copy? | FrankC
Posts: 1274
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Posted:
20 Jun 2005 at 15:45 | | Even Mike doesn't have a copy!..You could try Ebay though. | |
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