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| Adam Holmes performed at Celtic Connections with Rura |
The Arts lift us out of the ordinary, offer us
permanence, shift time, give us beauty, hope and dreams..“When the arts are neglected and obscured, people
suffer from dullness or ignorance.” Alan Raich
I now have
my old record collection on display – and there appears a shift back to the
quality of the physical purchase. In our world of fast moving shifting sands
people are now searching out some classic permanence.
Significantly my son said, ‘I want to own my music.’
At Milngavie folk club I enjoyed quality performances from
Dougie Maclean, Cara Dillon , Blue Rose Code. Thanks Jason for running such a
top folk club!
I enjoyed a great concert with the legend Celtic soul man Van Morrison.
At Celtic 2017 – I exhibited some of my Celtic
photos of my ten years covering this major event, at the Old Fruitmarket venue
and I thought of the many fun gigs I’ve enjoyed there. This year Rab Noakes played a quality concert
with a mostly female band. Also concerts
by many top Women musicians. Men continue to dominate music, but there are some highly talented and wonderful women musicians – both young and old – to be discovered. Julie Fowlis, Siobhan Wilson, Eddi Reader, Joni Mitchell, Cara Dillon, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Alice Marra, Laura Marling and many many more...
The Scottish pipes were altered a while
back, so that they can now be played along side an orchestra or band and this
has made a big difference to ceilidh music.
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| Laura Marling backed by the RSNO |
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| Beautiful Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis |
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| the indomitable Eddi Reader |
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| Iona Fyfe |
Other artists I rate highly – Lorde,
Father John Misty, Christine and the Queens, Radiohead,
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| Mary Chapin Carpenter and friends |
**CUTs to the ARTS – Both Brexit and the deregulations
by the UK government of Lottery Funds threaten the future success of the Arts.
The arts are of vital importance for
our well being, how we view the world and ourselves and place in the world. The
Arts give shape and understanding.
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| Van Morrison |
Preservation
It’s important we preserve our
significant heritage and in so doing ensure a flourishing, creative and rich
artistic future. I’ve been reading of Burn’s travels over Caledonia – from the
highlands to the Borders, when he kept his finely tuned ear alert for some of
the world’s most memorable oral ballads, and to preserve them for all time. He
added verses and altered tunes. What a legacy!
SCOTTISH WRITERS – Apart from Burns, I have been reading of the many other great Scottish writers – William Dunbar, Edwin Morgan, Iain Crichton Smith, Edwina Muir, James Hogg, Elizabeth Melville, Hugh MacDiarmid,
As we entered into the Looking glass
of Neverland in 2017…
I am sad for
the lost forgetting, the hollow dreams, the ignorant minds…
Are we at
crossroads, certainly not new beginnings. We are in a downward spiral, without
balance and must now hope for options on the next turn. This is not about standing
on the shoulders of the greats – its about being lost in some dark tunnels.
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| Blue Rose Code |
For 2018 I hope we may find new balances, real informed debate in physical spaces, free press and build bridges across old, entrenched divides.
Then I found
a piece I’d written on inspiring people.
And I have
to wonder - why can’t different cultures co-exits In harmony, side by side –
are we not stronger for our very diversities?
There were many terrorist attacks UK
– we need to build bridges and reach out. ….and we in Scotia long for self-determination…
‘One World’
All the arts depend on collaborating
– the more diverse and broader the better. Bono of U2 wrote his ‘One World’
when the Berlin wall came down. Sadly today walls are going back up…..
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| Rab Noakes and his band |
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| Rura |
