January 13 2011 - St Mungoes Bairns festival
The concert at the city chambers went really well. I performed Mother Glasgow a song written by Michael Marra and made famous by the band Hue and Cry, I also performed my multi-cultural song called One Scotland with the kids, then we did our new song just written this week called "Glasgow". It went down really well and we are wanting to record it at riverside studios with the children as a worthwhile project for them and to have a finished product and DVD of the song which would be amazing.

January 12 2011 - workshop
Today we concentrated on learning the new song as we got great news that we are going to be performing it in the concert in the city chambers tomorrow for the st mungos bairns festival. It was never the intention to perform it so soon but it has gone so well this week that we are ready to do it for an audience. I think I am more excited than the children!

January 11 2011 - workshop
The workshop with the children is going really well. The kids have been giving lots of great input and coming up with fantastic ideas for the lyrics of the new song for Glasgow. We actually finished it by the end of the session. I am so pleased with this result in two days.

January 10 2011 - st pauls school workshop
I am doing a workshop in st pauls in whiteinch with marie warrington and lisa brown. we are writing a new song about glasgow with the children for the st mungos bairns festival this week. learning a lot about the history of glasgow its really interesting!

January 7 2011 - riverside studios
we worked mainly on a song called 3 day honeymoon. i perfomed it last year at the rutledge but wanted to improve the arrangement. its beginning to sound good. looking forward to getting it completed.

January 6 2011 - riverside studios
great day today. i learned a new song that my scottish team had written for me called "Betty Blue" its a rags to riches song about a poor girl with a dream. I love it! there is a really cool guitar part for it which i can't wait to learn. we are going to demo the song next week.

January 5 2011 - riversde studios
back in the rehearsal rooms in the studio, i travelled through from dundee today to meet up with my song writing team on the scotland side of the pond. it was really great fun today, we worked on a new collaboration. the ideas were flowing, must have been after all that christmas cheer! ho ho ho

December 20 2010 - last day at riverside for 2010
Last day working at the studio before the holidays. I am happy with the progress we are making and really excited about 2011 as there are lots of exciting things coming up!

December 19 2010 - riverside studios
Recorded some rough tracks with Johnny Cameron on guitar today at riverside studios in glasgow. I am happy with how the songs are taking shape.

December 18 2010 - working at riverside studios
working with my co-writers Phil Ferns and Johnny Cameron in scotland on some new tracks. great to catch up with the guys while back over in the homeland. its snowing heavy at riverside studios while we are keeping warm indoors.

December 14 2010 - Flying back to Scotland
I am flying home today for the holidays after some serious snow on both sides of the pond. Scotland is experiencing "the big freeze" right now so will be fun to play in the snow! Got a few exciting projects coming up over the holidays as well as catching up with family and friends.

November 30 2010 - RUTLEDGE NASHVILLE ST ANDREWS NIGHT SHOW
I had a fantastic gig at the Rutledge in Nashville tonight. It was broadcast live on the web from the Billy Block Show, I previewed new songs, with new band with Doug Kahan on bass, Shawn Byrne on lead guitar, Dave Daeger on acoustic / electric, on keyboards Lucas Leigh, and Billy Block on drums. It was great to sing and perform some of this new material that I have been working on in Nashvile for the past few months. Here's to more in 2011.

November 28 2010 - rehearsal and radio
I rehearsed with guitarist Dave Daeger for the show on the 30th, we ran through all the songs and got ready to do one live on the radio that night from Tootsies. We decided to do the song "3 day honeymoon" a new one of mine that I co-wrote with my two Scottish writers. Its about a woman that just gets married and only on the 2nd day of her honeymoon do the police barge in with a wanted poster with her husband's photo on it, next thing he is in Jail for being married 20 times before. A very tongue in cheek lyric. I played fiddle on this one for the show tonight

November 25 2010 - Happy Thanksgiving
I celebrated my first ever thanksgiving today with my new Scottish friend Aileen, and her family who live quite close to me. A day of three of my favourite things, eating, talking and music!

November 21 2010 - WKDF radio
Did my first performace of new song called "13 Hours" on Billy Block's show. I performed with acoustic guitar and did an interview. We talked about the new songs and the show on 30th.

November 15 2010 - Writing session with John Francis
I had a writing session with John Francis today.We came up with a good idea so i hope I can meet him again soon to finish it. We are both really busy - he is on tour and i have my showcase coming up and am working on songs for that - maybe early in 2011 hopefully.

November 14 2010 - WKDF - Trainwreck of Emotion Lori Morgan tribute
I did my first performance on Billy's Block's radio show live from Toosies orchid lounge as part of the promotion for my show at the Rutledge on the 30th. I performed a song called "Trainwreck of Emotion" for the first time. A Lori Morgan hit. I love the lyrics in it!

November 12 2010 - The Basement show with John Francis
I performed on fiddle as a guest with John Francis, (a fantastic singer/songwriter) at the Basement tonight, the song I played on John Carter Cash co-wrote so he also did a guest spot on that number. It was a powerful performance and I was happy to be invited to play for John Francis CD release party. He had a fantastic bunch of musicians including Ken Coomer and Kenny Vaughn. It was really nice to meet them too!

November 3 2010 - BOBBYS IDLE HOUR WEEKLY SHINDIG
my weekly shindig with special guests, is going well its great to perform in a venue which is part of Nashville musical heritage,

October 30 2010 - photo shoot
Today I had a photo shoot with the fabulous Danusia Bois. She is such a great photographer. We did them on location in several parts of Nashville, starting at the Parthenon, then onto the railway track then down the lower Broadway then back to the Parthenon to finish off. You can see some of the shots featured here on the website.

October 27 2010 - Bobby's Idle Hour, weekly shindig
Tonight was the first of a regular show I will be doing at the famous Bobbly's Idle Hour on Music Row, I am happy to be performing in a venue every week that is such a big part of Nashville's history. I am definitely not Idle in Bobb'ys Idle thats for sure! I am planning to open the show with special guests in the first hour and have my musician friends join me in the second hour for the Laura McGhee jam. 1st guest Miss Katharine Feeley from Marblehead performing her self-penned tracks "Girl Next Door" and "Maybe Someday".

October 24 2010 - Ronnie Dunn video shoot
I took part in the shooting for Ronnie Dunn's new video at lower Broadway, in the famous honkytonk Robert's. There were a few old and new faces also involved including Billy Block, Lorne Rall, & Tommy Dalton. I will be featured in the video due for release in 2011.

October 22 2010 - Loudhouse acoustic set.
I performed an acoustic set with Doug Kahan at the Loudhouse in Greenbrier, it was great to see Franklin and his wife again and do another show there.

September 30 2010 - vacation to Japan
30th Sep-14th Oct My first ever trip to Asia which was a fantastic experience, learning about Japanese culture and visiting some of the most famous temples in Japan. The cuisine was Oshi! (delicious) and I had a wonderful holiday.

September 29 2010 - Bobby's Idle Hour show
I did an acoustic set with Doug Kahan and Bill Bois at Bobby's Idle Hour, which turned into a jam in the second half with lots of my musician friends who came along that night. It was the night before my big vacation to Japan so I was very excited and hyper!

September 25 2010 - The Clanjamfry festival
I performed at the Clanjamfry festival in Memphis at the Evergreen Sanctuary. It was a fun road trip with Doug Kahan on guitar and Bill Bois on bass.

September 13 2010 - The Tennessee Morning Show
I performed my 9/11 tribute piece commemoration and the song "Give Us Hope" on the Tennessee morning show with lucas leigh on keys and members of the fairfield four, (fantastic gospel singers) on backing vocals, as a special tribute for the anniversary of Sep 11th attacks.

September 12 2010 - Loudhouse Greenbrier show with full band
I did a show in Greenbrier about 40 mins from Nashville with the full band tonight. It was fun and we got a few shots of the show which are featured here on the website.

September 10 2010 - AMA conference / bobby's idle hour
I spent the day down at the Sheraton where the Americana conference was being held. It was fun hanging out and meeting lots of people. I touched base with many of the Americana DJs that had played my album, and I bumped into John Carter Cash in the lobby. I went to see him at his cabin earlier in the week and we are going to be writing together soon. I am very excited about this. I then had a gig at Bobb'y Idle hour with the fantastic Doug Kahan guitar, it was fun and I seemed to win over the audience with my unusual accent! My new friend Carl Byron popped in and came up to play accordion on "the Shape I'm In". Afterwards we went to the Stonehoney show where I guested on fiddle for a few numbers and sand the "Shape I'm in" with the band. It was a great night!

September 9 2010 - Ryman Auditorium - Americana awards
Doug and I went to the Ryman auditorium tonight for the Americana awards ceremony hosted by Jim Lauderdale with special performances by The Avett Brothers, Wanda Jackson, Emmylou Harris, old-time jug band The Carolina Chocolate Drops and the fabulous Robert Plant. A fantastic show. Went to the Americana aftershow event at the Mercy lounge where I met lots of new people, some that had flown in from LA for the conference.

September 7 2010 - showcase at the Billy Block show - Red Rooster.
I performed my showcase for Americana week at the Billy Block show in Red Rooster on music row, had the full band behind me. My manager doug came down from New York and I had great support that night with lots of new Nashville friends and guests that came along. Had a blast onstage after a couple of minor sound issues. Everyone enjoyed the show and I was buzzing afterwards. It was a celebration of the success of "Celticana" in the Americana charts specially for Americana week.

August 25 2010 - Balcony TV
I did a spot on Balcony TV tonight with Mr Bill Bois (just a bass player stuck on guitar again). I performed a song from my album "Celticana" called Ain't convincing Me. A song about the end of a relationship where the guy is trying to convince the girl not to break up but it doesn't matter what he says she has made up her mind it is over. It was fun and I did some extra footage for my blog. I had a laugh with Crow the presenter of the show. Thanks to all at Balcony for having me on the show.

August 10 2010 - 12th and porter . Acoustic set
I did my first solo acoustic show in Nashville at 12th and porter in the lounge. It was a special night for Billy Block's 55th birthday bash. I performed tracks from my album Celticana.

August 6 2010 - support gig at Puckett's Leiper's Fork
I supported the fantastic Johnny Neel, (former writer with the Allman brothers), at Pucketts in Leiper's Fork near Nashville Tennesse. The audience were fab and I really enjoyed the night. I sat in on fiddle with Johnny after my short set. Great fun.

July 14 2010 - Flying to Nashville Tenessee
I am flying to Nashville Tennessee to find an apartment an d base myself on that side of the pond for the next wee while, writing with Nashville song-writers and working on my own music. I am excited but nervous about getting settled. I can't wait to meet new people and get into the vibe of being in Nashville on a more permanant basis, looking forward to being an honorary Nashvillian!

June 21 2010 - Celticana reaches 9 weeks in top 40 AMA
Celticana reaches 9 weeks in top 40 AMA "Celticana" has today reached 9 weeks in the top 40 of the Americana charts, peaking at number 30 a few weeks ago. I am so pleased with this achievement, and to be named "The first Scot to ever reach the top 40 of the Americana charts".

June 14 2010 - Performance in Glasgow City Chambers
Performance in Glasgow City Chambers I did a spot today at the Glasgow City Chambers for the Sense over Sectarianism event with 7 primary 7 classes from 7 primary schools from around Glasgow. There were about 1000 kids there. I started off with Radio Love. Then all the schools performed their pre-rehearsed sketches. Then we all finished with my song "One Scotland", a multi-cultural song that was recorded for an outreach programme I did in 2007. All the school children learned it and they nearly brought the roof down. It was a great finale.

May 21 2010 - Scottish Television. The Hour Show
The Hour Show I did a TV show today called the Hour show, hosted by Stephen Jardine and Michelle McManus. I had an absolute ball! I rehearsed last night with the mighty Johnny Cameron on guitar. We are doing the song they requested that is getting the most airplay over in America, "The Shape I'm In". This morning I got my hair done at 9am, then we drove over to the STV studios for make-up and sound-check before the show. Had plenty of time to set up and sound check. Our section was pre-recorded so the interview was actually after the performance which was great for me as it meant I was totally hyper for the interview. I really enjoyed the performance and interview, I could definitely do that every day. We were done by 1pm and went for some lunch then I took my violin bows to get re-haired. They were badly needing it after all my sawing in the states! Big thanks to Johnny Cameron and all at the STV.

May 5 2010 - Take Off!
Take Off! Yay, my flight took off today! Will just make it in the nick of time. Talk about cutting it fine. I am now going to have to go straight from the airport to the wedding. At least the plane took off this time!

May 4 2010 - Airport
4 May 2010 Airport When I arrived at the airport tonight the flight had been cancelled AGAIN! I went to the desk to get the continental airlines rep to change my ticket for the following day, but he made a mistake with the dates and put me on Thursday's flight, he would not change it so I went to a different rep who was very helpful and sorted it for me. I really want to get back for my friend's wedding on Thursday and tomorrow is my last chance!

May 3 2010 - volcanic ash cloud strikes again
E-mailing and flight fiasco! I had all day to send out 75 emails which took 5 hours, as my flight was not till night time. Alas, when I was checking in online it would not let me, and when I checked my email I'd been sent a message to say my flight was cancelled! I had to phone the airport to get booked on tomorrow's flight instead. Volcanic Ash Cloud strikes again!

May 2 2010 - Radio Station I.Ds
2 May 2010 Radio Station I.Ds Today I recorded radio station IDs for 75 stations. Thats a lot of IDs. Some have quite quirky slogans so it was great fun to do! I am going to email them out tomorrow.

May 1 2010 - MAY- AMA CHART SUCCESS
Celticana reaches 9 weeks in top 40 AMA "Celticana" has today reached 9 weeks in the top 40 of the Americana charts, peaking at number 30 a few weeks ago. I am so pleased with this achievement, and to be named "The first Scot to ever reach the top 40 of the Americana charts". Performance in Glasgow City Chambers I did a spot today at the Glasgow City Chambers for the Sense over Sectarianism event with 7 primary 7 classes from 7 primary schools from around Glasgow. There were about 1000 kids there. I started off with Radio Love. Then all the schools performed their pre-rehearsed sketches. Then we all finished with my song "One Scotland", a multi-cultural song that was recorded for an outreach programme I did in 2007. All the school children learned it and they nearly brought the roof down. It was a great finale. 21 May 2010 The Hour Show The Hour Show I did a TV show today called the Hour show, hosted by Stephen Jardine and Michelle McManus. I had an absolute ball! I rehearsed last night with the mighty Johnny Cameron on guitar. We are doing the song they requested that is getting the most airplay over in America, "The Shape I'm In". This morning I got my hair done at 9am, then we drove over to the STV studios for make-up and sound-check before the show. Had plenty of time to set up and sound check. Our section was pre-recorded so the interview was actually after the performance which was great for me as it meant I was totally hyper for the interview. I really enjoyed the performance and interview, I could definitely do that every day. We were done by 1pm and went for some lunch then I took my violin bows to get re-haired. They were badly needing it after all my sawing in the states! Big thanks to Johnny Cameron and all at the STV.

May 1 2010 - Teaneck, NJ. WFDU
1 May 2010 Teaneck, NJ. WFDU I managed to fit in a session with Lynn Crystal on WFDU this afternoon in Teaneck New Jersey, so not far from where we are. I did 3 live songs with Sean on guitar, then a short interview. This time we only had to travel a few miles! Not the 1500 that I am becoming accustomed to! haha.

April 29 2010 - Celebrating Celticana success
29 Apr 2010 Celebrating Celticana success After sleeping most of the day as I only got to bed at 7am, I had a dinner with Big Kev from WXLV, we had met in Austin at SXSW and I had caught up with him by phone and he wanted to catch up while I was in New Jersey as he is also based here. Fred my record promoter and Sean also came along too and we had a lovely steak. It was a also Sean's birthday so a double celebration!!

April 28 2010 - on the road again
on the road again Mammoth journey today from Morehead Kentucky all the way back to Bayonne New Jersey. We didn't leave till about lunchtime as we needed a bit of time to chill first after all the mayhem and madness of the previous few days. It was a 12 hour drive but took us about 20 hours as we had to keep stopping for coffees due to tiredness, and poor Sean had to do all the driving himself as I wasn't insured on his car. We got back at 7am!

April 27 2010 - Video Shoot/WMKY radio
Video Shoot/WMKY radio I woke up feeling exhausted this morning, but I had to get my self in full energetic mode when I found out that a video shoot for the song "The Shape I'm in" had been organised for that afternoon. We had to check out of the hotel and get to the location, (which was ironically in a shopping mall right next to the hotel we had stayed in the first night), then we had to find a place for me to change and do my hair and make-up. Not ideal to say the least. However, once I got going I actually had a great time and it seemed to go much better than I thought it would. I had great fun walking round the mall and miming, and doing all the mad things you do when shooting a video. I went up and down the escalators for the fiddle solo. Must have given the shoppers quite a treat when playing along with the track lol!! We then left for a radio Station in Morehead University called WMKY. We had a great laugh with the DJ Mike Williams. It was very chilled out and we did loads of live songs in between some fun chat. They had a guess my age game going on. I think Mike and his friend thought I was the same age as them, 21! I was extremely flattered! Thanks to them and Paul Hitchcock the programmer for having me on!

April 26 2010 - Woodsongs old time radio hour.
26 Apr 2010 "Woodsongs" old time radio hour. A very busy day. First of all I went to the hair-dresser at 10am to get my hair put up for the show. Then back to the hotel for 11am for the full rehearsal with Bob, Rad, Sean, Paul and myself. After the rehearsal we went to the venue for a sound-check. I found out that "Celticana" hit the top 40 today! So that was a nice surprise before my performance. It reached #36! The show, hosted by Michael Jonathan was a new experience. It was a radio show in front of a live audience and also filmed for PBS TV. I performed Memphis Crawl, Radio Love, Crippled Inside and Go Go Go. My fiddle playing went down well and I got an applause after my solo on Crippled Inside. Michael also asked me to perform an extra Scottish piece on the fiddle, so I did my composition "Roxburghe House". I also got interviewed by Michael in between the songs. Afterwards he took us for a coffee, then we went back to the hotel and had a jam. It was nice to play in the Kentucky Theater for such a great show, due to be broadcast on NPR and PBS

April 25 2010 - Rehearsals
25 Apr 2010 Rehearsal with Paul Felice. We rehearsed with the guitarist booked to do the "Woodsongs" old time radio hour show with me tomorrow. We planned the rehearsal for 2pm and he came to the hotel. We rehearsed all the songs and I decided on the running order. The bass player is coming tomorrow, so I caught up with him a la telephone. Radoslav Lorkovich the accordionist drove down from Chicago, and we caught up with him that night. We did another rehearsal.

April 24 2010 - Kentucky here we come.
24 Apr 2010 Kentucky here we come. We set off for Lexington Kentucky after checking out of the hotel and going for breakfast. It was a 5 hour journey but seemed to take forever to get there, with all the stops and hold ups etc. I was trying to meet an old friend Al Mann whom I did a couple of shows for before, who is based in Georgetown which is not too far from Lexington, but it was too late by the time we arrived. :0( I was disappointed but at least he is coming to the show at the Kentucky Theater on Monday.

April 23 2010 - Boiling Springs, NC - WGWG
23 Apr 2010 Boiling Springs, NC - WGWG I did a silly thing this morning at the hotel gym! I pulled a muscle in my shoulder, ouch! I literally couldn't move for about an hour. It was so painful. Then when we got on the road we realised the highway ws blocked as president Obama was coming into town, so we decided to take a different route to Boiling Springs, but we were held up there too with an accident and someone being helicopter rescued off the highway. The accident was actually on the other side of the road but they had blocked off our side for the emergency landing. Luckily we still got there about the time we said we would. It was a great show at WGWG, and we did a few live songs and I did an interview. Thanks to Jeff Powell. I also ran into an old friend Tim there who I'd met at the AMA conference in Nashville a couple of times. He invited us back to his beautiful house for a cuppa tea and some nice Southern hospitalily. We then went to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner, and drove 2 and a half hours to Johnson City TN. (There was a Landslide so we couldn't go via Knoxville). I was soooo tired by the time I got to the hotel, and when we were unpacking the car Sean said re the violin "it can't stand up on its own, much like our little violinist". lol

April 22 2010 - Spindale and Asheville, NC
22 Apr 2010 Spindale and Asheville, NC We popped into Spindale, which was not far from where we stayed last night. I had a great sleep as I was so tired. Its so crazy checking out of a new hotel every single day. I am really getting a taste of what being on the road would be like, and I have to say I find it quite exciting! I would love to tour the whole of America some day! Doing gigs and popping into radio stations along the way! We literally did that today. I popped into see Martin Anderson at WNCW and surprise him. I could not get hold of him a la telephone to say that we'd be passing his area. Thankfully he looked happy to see me and we had a chat. We went from there to Asheville as we were so close, and I'd heard its a great city! I thought it would be ashame not to see it as we were so close. It was cool. There was a pipe-band playing in the street. They must have heard I was in town. haha! I went shopping and treated myself to 2 new tops in Urban Outfitter. Its a quirky city with some cool places to eat and greet! The hotel was the best so far! Very comfy.

April 21 2010 - WHEE - Martinsville, VA
21 Apr 2010 WHEE - Martinsville, VA After an amazing sleep last night as I was exhausted from all the travelling, and it was pretty late by the time we arrived at the hotel, we had breakfast and hit the road once more! This time in the direction of Martinsville, so not far from where we stayed last night. Just a hop skip and a jump compared with the distance we have covered so far and are going to be covering. We did have a job finding the place as it was out in the middle of nowhere and the GPS system had a job tracking it, and the directions from Joe were difficult to follow. We got there eventually though! Sean and I did a show for their TV station which was great fun. We did a half hour, so about 7 songs in total. Was great fun and the guys were really welcoming and nice. Thanks to Joe Wyatt for having us! I also recorded a station I.D for their radio show. So its onto North Carolina next. We drove to Shelby NC, another 3 and a half hour drive.

April 20 2010 - Radio promo tour part 2
Radio promo tour We hit the road this morning at 10am to drive from Bayonne New Jersey to Williamsburg Virginia! A seven hour drive. Luckily I get to be a passenger while Sean does all the driving for this week. We borrowed a GPS from Sean's friend Chris Flynn. We arrived at the radio station WRRW in Williamsburg bang on 4 o' clock. A beautiful well kept place! I met with Ed, the producer and had a little chat before we set up. I found out last night that I would be hosting my own hour long radio show for "Revolutionary" radio! How exciting! We recorded all the live stuff first and then I did my chat links while he put it all together. It was great fun and I'm looking forward to hearing it all put together. We did about 8 live songs from the 1st and 2nd albums and some cuts from the record too. Thanks to Ed and John McLung for having me today! After the show and a bite to eat we drove all the way to Roanoke. 250 miles, which is about a 4 and a half hour drive. Thats 11 and a half hours in one day and a show in between.

April 19 2010 - Celticana hits number 41
19 Apr 2010 Celticana hits number 41 Celticana hits number 41 in the Americana charts today! Great news. I am heading in the direction of the top 40. Fingers crossed by next week it will be there. Contacting more radio stations by phone today then hitting the road tomorrow for part 2 of the "Celticana radio promo tour". Thank you Volcanic ash cloud for keeping me here and Sean for driving.

April 17 2010 - Every Volcanic Ash Cloud has a Silver Lining.
17 Apr 2010 Flight Cancelled - Volcanic Ash cloud! Was supposed to be flying back to Scotland today. I went to the airport and my flight was cancelled! Its turned out to be a great opportunity for me to promote my new album "Celticana". I am going to use this time to my advantage to get round as many radio stations as I can. Its been all over the news about the ash cloud. Such ashame for all those that have been stranded, but I have been lucky with the turn of events. As they say "Every ash cloud has a silver lining!"

April 16 2010 - 3rd and Lindsley. Monte Montgomery support gig
16 Apr 2010 3rd and Lindsley. Monte Montgomery support gig I had an early slot at the 3rd and Lindsley with Doug Kahan tonight at 6.30pm, supporting Monte Montgomery. It went extremely well, and the audience were amazing. The venue is excellent and everyone was really nice. I got a great buzz from doing the acoustic set which I reckon works just as well as the full band. Its great that the songs can be stripped down and can work with vocals, acoustic guitar and fiddle! Thanks to Doug and all at the venue. xx

April 15 2010 - Nashville City Limits
15 Apr 2010 Nashville City Limits As I am yoyo-ing back and forward from New York to Nashville at the moment, here goes my 3rd trip to Nashville in so many weeks! Got a show in music city tomorrow at the 3rd and Lindsley supporting the fabulous Monte Montgomery. I am very excited about it & can't wait to check out the well reputed venue. Rehearsed with guitarist Doug Kahan today. We are all set.

April 12 2010 - September Concerts Event
12 Apr 2010 September Concerts Event I know it may seem strange doing a September concert in April but it was a very successful event in aid of a charity called "September Concerts" that are aiming: - "to bring communities together - to reaffirm our hope for peace - to celebrate life and our universal humanity" "Concerts are held in all areas of our city, our nation, our world. A global day of music for peace, from September 10-12. Anyone can participate!" They pick a song which is performed globally on Sep 11th. Last year the song was "Give Us Hope" An inspired song which I myself sang last year in London at Grosvenor Sq and got positive feedback from families of those that had lost their lives in the Sep 11th tradgedy. I sang my rendition tonight solo, as well as a couple of numbers from "Celticana"

April 12 2010 - "Celticana" released in America!
"Celticana" released in America! My album "Celticana" was released today in America and went staight to number 64 in the Americana Chart on 1st week of release. I am hoping to make the top 40 but very happy with this result!

April 10 2010 - 6th Avenue Parade
6th Avenue Parade It was one of the biggest Scottish events of the year today in Manhattan, and I was happy to be a part of it. I fiddled down 6th avenue with pipe-bands and kilts gallore! The crowds were out in the thousands, and everyone and anyone claiming Scots descent was there to help celebrate their Scottish heritage. It was so much fun and such a buzz to be a part of. I got the chance to also perfom on an open top bus, which i have to say is one of my most unusual gigs to date! I also did my rendition of Robert Burns "Auld Lang Syne" at the ASF event that day! My vocal cords need a sleep now! lol

April 8 2010 - Back to NJ
Back to NJ I returned to NJ on a high after the show going so well yesterday. I spent the late after-noon and late evening touching base with some radio stations. Getting great feedback on the album "Celticana" and the ones that have listened seem to really like it! woohoo

April 7 2010 - My show @ The Country Music Hall of Fame
7 Apr 2010 The Country Music Hall of Fame. Well, the big day has finally arrived! Sounds like I'm getting married or something, haha! Well I guess thats how I felt this morning: anticipation, excitement, stress, hope that everything runs smoothly! And I'm happy to say it did!! I had a hair salon appointment in the morning, so it was nice to get pampered and relax, the calm before the storm and all that! Arrived at the venue for the sound-check and got all organised and warmed-up. The Ford Theater where we did the show is a lovely venue! The whole thing ran smoothly, the only funny bit was when I was supposed to sing "Tennessee Waltz" accapella and totally forgot. I went off stage and Mr P came back and said 3 words! And not the 3 most people like to hear, it was "Laura, Tennessee Waltz" ooops. Up till then I hadn't even realised I'd forgotten! Luckily I redeemed myself by singing it next on the show and the audience were none the wiser. It was great to meet John Carter Cash and Laura Cash and an honour to join them on stage for their rendition of "Wildwood Flowers" Rodney Crowell did a fantastic version of Ballad Of a Teenage Queen, and Jack Clement of "Steel Guitar Rag". Jim Lauderdale did a spot and joined me on our co-write "Memphis Crawl" & Buddy Spichar played fabulous fiddle throughout the show. We finished with the full cast singing "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" then did a special presentation to the Cash family at the end.

April 6 2010 - Rehearsal with Buddy Spichar
6 Apr 2010 Rehearsal with Buddy Spichar I flew to Nashville early doors this morning for rehearsals for the Country Music Hall of Fame show tomorrow. Mr Producer gave me a printed out run of the show and a glossy programme with all the artists and biogs in. I had a run though my intros, am so nervous about introducing all these grammy winners! So exciting though! I went round to Buddy's house to rehearse the songs and tunes with him and David Spichar on bass, and also Billy Contreras on guitar. Had a lot of fun and happy that it is all sounding great. Early night tonight and cup of cocoa.

April 5 2010 - Scotland Week / BMG Hanover Square
Scotland Week / BMG Hanover Square Today I performed in Hanover Square in an outdoor concert for the celebration of Scotland week. I played my song "one Scotland" as I thought it was especially fitting for the event. It was so windy! Much more in Downtown Manhattan than it had been in sunny Bayonne. I was worried about doing a Marilyn on the stage so I had to tape down my skirt for the sound-check until I got to the shop to buy some leggings!

April 4 2010 - Happy Easter
Happy Easter! We stayed up all night after the gig last night to play at the out-door Sunrise Easter service in Bayonne. I had to experience this while I was here. Sean plays in it every year and it is usually a glorious sunrise. Unfortunately I seem to have brought the Scottish weather with me and it was a bit dull so the sunrise wasn't as pretty as normal apparently. But the service was nice, and we also played later in the hospital for the patients. I also got my Easter eggs from the Bayonne diner at night!

April 3 2010 - music and hoboken
3 Apr 2010 music and hoboken I had another little solo rehearsal to tighten up all my bits for the show next week. I took a trip to Hoboken later in the day for a break where I caught up with James Mastro, the guitarist with Ian Hunter. He played with me at the knitting factory a couple of years ago and I hadn't seen him since the last time he was touring with the band in Glasgow, and I played with them at the Old Fruitmarket. At night the Itinerants were playing at Paddy Reilly's. It was a fun gig. Everyone's getting ready for Easter Sunday now.

April 2 2010 - Country Music Hall of Fame Show prep
2 Apr 2010 Country Music Hall of Fame Show prep Today I practised my songs for the Country Music Hall of Fame show in Nashville next week. I have decided to do "Reaching Out" on the guitar so Buddy and Billy can country it out on fiddle on that number, I also had a good listen to the song "Wildwood Flowers" which I will be doing with John Carter Cash and Laura Cash. I also went over the run of show to think about my introductions, as I will be hosting the show. I am very excited about it.

April 1 2010 - Ceticana
1 Apr 2010 Celticana With the release date of Celticana fast approaching, I wanted to send the Americana Radio stations something nice to remember me. I got glossy postcards with the album cover on the front printed and sent them all a personal message. I spent most of the morning in the post office. My first ever visit to a US post office, you wouldn't believe how different they are to the UK!! In the afternoon I made contact with them by phone to say I was in the area touring if they would like to have me on their show.

March 31 2010 - A taste of home
31 Mar 2010 A taste of home My family were over visiting NYC so I took a Path train over to see them. We had a lovely meal. I was exhausted after the previous days adventures but it was nice to relax and chill and take it all in. It was great to tell them all about my trip so far and spend some time with them while they were over. I am staying in a nice hotel in Manhattan tonight.

March 30 2010 - WXLV, Emmaus PA
WXLV, Emmaus PA Early start today as I rose and shone for my radio debut Americana on WXLV - weehee! Alas I only got about an hours sleep as I was allergic to the cat, my eyes looked like golf balls and were streaming non-emotional tears. But as we all know THE SHOW MUST GO ON! I began with my song "Radio Love" which woke me up and kick started my day...stronger than an espresso shot! Had good banter with Chance Austin and a few songs and tales to the audience in Emmaus. Got good feedback from the phone-in competition. And afterwards as a reward came breakfast! Yum! xx

March 30 2010 - WQBR - Bear country 99.9FM
WQBR - Bear country 99.9FM Onwards and Upwards, and onto the next radio show. Roughly a three hour jounrey from Emmaus to McElhattan, at least we are still in the same State! Alas we had been given the wrong address, what a difference a Drive from an Avenue makes. After getting a bit lost we finally found our way to the right place! I had fallen asleep in the car, as Sean was driving, so it felt like morning again when we arrived. Quick splash of water to revive me then on the air we went. This time it was actaully pre-recorded so a totally different set-up. Had a great time meeting with all at WQBR, and a big thanks to Dave Stratton for having me.

March 30 2010 - WPHB, Philipsburg, PA
30 Mar 2010 WPHB, Philipsburg, PA Last radio station for the day out in the country in Philipsburg, PA. I was proud to be the DJ's very first interview ever! I think its the first time that the interviewER has been more nervous than the interviewEE! haha. I asked at the very start if it was pre-recorded as the last one had been, and he said yes. But I discovered later that it must have been lost in translation with my Scottish brogue as it was infact live. The funniest bit for me was when I realised it might be and said it out loud when the music was playing, alas the mic was still switched on! It was great fun and a big thanks goes to Bob Benckert for having me on the show. See you soon! xx Three gigs in one day.....phew, and then the long journey back to NJ. Big thanks to Sean for driving and playing. Hope my navigating skills were of use!

March 29 2010 - Radio Station promo Tour begins
Radio Station promo Tour begins Tonight we left for Pennsylvannia to begin my Americana radio station promo tour. We got on the road at 9pm to avoid the rush hour traffic from NJ, and set out to Emmaus PA, for the first radio station early doors tomorrow morning, with Chance Austin, the DJ fantastique!

March 28 2010 - working with David Amram
28th March David Amram Today I got the train from Grand Central. I got on the Metro North train upstate and got off at Croton Harmon station to meet David Amram, who picked me up from the train station. His car broke down on the way to get me, but he got it fixed. He is such a fascinating man. He has done the most incredible work and has some magical stories. It was great to just listen to him talking. He is 80 years old so has a long life of memories. At his home I played him some of my pieces and we worked out a plan for the project to work as a show. He gave me some of his CDs and scores which I am very much looking forward to hearing and looking at. He said he could maybe score my piece the Arbroath Suite for orchestra, which would be amazing. I can't wait to work with him again. I am honoured that he would like to work with me on this project.

March 27 2010 - Rehearsal and music day
27th March 2010 Rehearsal and music day Today I rehearsed for my radio station tour coming up next week, I also spent the day organising my Arbroath Suite music for my session with David Amram tomorrow in Poughkeepsie. I am very much looking forward to meeting such a re-nound composer as David, who composed the score for the movie Manchurian Candidate. I am so chuffed (translation = pleased) that he has agreed to work with me on it. I can't wait to meet him and let him hear some of the music.

March 26 2010 - The Itinerants
26th March The Itinerants Tonight I went to see the Itinerants performing in Queens. Steve Holly who used to play with Paul McCartney was on Drums as well as Mark Bosh who plays with Ian Hunter on guitar. There was also Sean Seymour on bass, Chris Flynn on guitar and Pat Robinson on accordion who sometimes play with me. It was a rockin' show and I guested on fiddle for a few of their numbers.

March 25 2010 - NYC here we come
25th March 2010 Into the big city I thought as I am staying in Bayonne NJ just now, that it would be fun to visit Manhattan and do a spot of shopping in Macy's in my free time. It has to be done, doesn't it girls? I got some make-up tips and a try-out make-over in Macy's. I found a perfect foundation for stage and TV. I also bought a new fancy top! At night and back in New Jersey I went to see a funny movie.

March 24 2010 - New York City
March 24th Heading for the big Apple! Today I left for my flight to NYC. I managed to find a place called Rock Block guitars to fix mine, so am leaving it here as I will be back for my show on the 7th. I have one that I can use for my gigs in NYC which belongs to my fantastic friend and musician Sean Seymour. He kindly offered me a loan of his small bodied Lowden. Perfect chick guitar, which also plays really well! (At least when I'm not playing it it does - lol!) My flight was on time and it was fab to be back in the big apple as I hadn't been here in the longest of times! I had a night off from gigs so went out and had a game of pool (That is a little secret of mine, I like to beat guys at pool! lol)

March 23 2010 - 12th and Porter
23rd March 12th and Porter Today was at first going to be a quiet day and then everything changed! I went to visit renound fiddler Buddy Spichar in East Nashville. I asked him if he would like to take part in my show at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and perform with me on fiddle and he said yes! So pleased as I have been eager to perform with Buddy for a while now. We went over some of the music and arranged a rehearsal for the day before the show. When I left I waited 45 mins for my cab which did not show up, I was just about to call the company for the 3rd time when a kind young lady by the beautiful name of Ariana offered me a ride to my hotel. It turned out that she was house-sitting and by herself so I took her out for dinner to thank her for the lift. I was just about to order when I got a phone-call from Billy Block saying someone had cancelled on his show tonight and would I fill in with the band. I said I didn't think I could get the band at such short notice but I would love to do it if he had some musicians, himself being the fantastic drummer that he is! This was 7pm and I was to be onstage at 9pm! wow! I managed to get my usual bass player the brilliant Bill Bois, but none of the others. I got back to the hotel did a quick transformation into my stage get-up, and then went! I threw the charts over to the guitarist and keyboard player who had never heard the songs before! I had Billy on drums who played on the record and Bill on Bass whose played with me a lot. I also had to borrow Julia from the two-timers acoustic guitar as mine has not been fixed yet, so thank you so much Julia, you saved the day. It was one cooking gig! I loved it! We did more energetic and even more up-tempo versions of King of Selfishness and Memphis Crawl. Great show! What a vibe!

March 22 2010 - Landslide hits Tennessee
22nd March Landslide hits Tennessee Was meant to be starting my radio tour to promote the new album "Celticana" but a landslide in Tennesse prevented me from leaving Nashville. Will need to be re-scheduled.

March 21 2010 - My Bluebird Cafe show, Nashville
21st March My show at the Bluebird Today I had my show at the Bluebird. This time I had Doug Kahan on guitar and David Spichar on upright bass. It was an all acoustic gig. We rehearsed in the afternoon at my hotel. I had a massive suite at the Indigo which was stunning and very spacious for rehearsing! We ran through all the songs then went down to the gig for a sound-check. Everyone at the venue was really nice and welcoming and it was an honour to play such a prestigious and legendary venue in Nashville. Big thanks to Doug and David for being such stars and hitting all the right notes! lol. It was fun. My joke for the evening when performing my song "Go Go Go" in the line "fly fly fly, like a bird in the sky" was that it should have been "fly fly fly like a Bluebird in the Sky", while pointing to the picture of a bluebird behind me!

March 20 2010 - Nashville here we come!
20th March 2010 Nashville here we come! I left Austin to fly to Nashville this morning for my gig at the Bluebird Cafe tomorrow night. I had a funny taxi driver on the way to the airport who told me some interesting facts about Austin and some funny stories. That cheered me up on my 6am early morning start! When I arrived at the hotel in Nashville disaster struck as I opened my guitar case, only to find the headstock had snapped off! Yikes! It wasn't completely off but totally unplayable! So, what to do for my gig the following day? There was no way it was going to get fixed that quickly even if I found someone to repair it. I made a few phonecalls then decided the best thing would be to hire a guitar for the day for tomorrow's gig. It was the best plan. I got a really nice Takamine. I then wanted to throw my old one in the bin (the trash) haha!

March 19 2010 - Austin sxsw, gig at Austin Java.
Mar 19th Austin sxsw, gig at Austin Java. Did an afternoon slot on the Go Girls webcast and showcase stage at the Austin Java. Again Radoslav Lorkovich played for me. He is such a cool dude, I've never seen anyone set up for a gig so calmly and so quickly! He walked in literally a minute before we started, with his sunshades on. Plugged in - (I counted) 1-2-3, and off we went! wow. I wish I was that chilled out! haha. It was a great atmosphere and the audience seemed to "dig" the music. I say "dig" in inverted commas as it is not a word we would tend to use much over in Scotland, but which I hear a lot from my American friends. And I also "dig" your accent too guys! After we'd played I was packing up and a young lady by the name of Mo came running over saying she met me at the folk alliance and she knew she recognised me, I was embarassed as I couldn't remember her but then realised we hadn't really spoken, she had been sitting next to me and my band and over-heard us arguing over a latte! Good memory Mo! Its so cool the people you get to meet at South by! I headed from there to Mother Egans for a record company party and showcase. I watched some of the acts and met up with a few old friends as well as new ones, including Mo! 6th St was buzzing yet again, so managed to end the night by checking out some band and grabbing a delicious bite to eat. Those that know me know that I love food, and if I'm hungry its not so much what or where...........as WHEN!

March 18 2010 - Boat cruise, radio gig, meet and greet
March 18th Today started with a boat trip organised by ASCAP. That was fab and really chilled me out after all the stress the day before. The weather was beautiful and it was a bonnie part of Austin! I was sitting on the upper deck soaking up the sun, eating lunch and drinking coffee. Afterwards, I was picked up to go to the Opa venue for a live session gig/recording for WXLV with Big Kev, and the fantastic Radoslav again on accordion! It was a beautiful day again, perfect for an outdoor show. I love Austin. Went from there to a meet and greet in the downtown area and met some cool people. Then it was on to a Jim Lauderdale gig at Antones. He was performing songs from his new album "Patchwork River" with the full country rock band. It sure rocked! A jam packed day, and I even got a taxi right away outside the music club!

March 17 2010 - Austin sxsw on St Patrick's Day
17th March In Austin @ sxsw on St Particks Day. Today i was sooooo jet-lagged! Had an 8 hour lay over in Newark airport. That was a killer. I even slept on the floor at the airport I was so tired! Got to Austin safely last night though, so the journy ended well. Unfortunately my hotel was far out the downtown area where all the gigs were as there are so many people coming to the festival its difficult to get accomodation. I had a gig tonight, which I got to eventually after a long bus-ride and walk along 6th St. 6th St was totally buzzing so it was cool to walk along it and soak up the atmosphere, apart from having to lug my heavy instruments! I arrived and met Rad, my fantastic accordionist extraordinaire! Radoslav Lorkovich. Big thanks and high fives to you! The gig was great, it was an out-doors venue and the weather was gorgeous, everyone was having a great time celebrating St Paddy's day! I added a "Celticana" flavour! My strings were still dodgey from the trip so took AGES to tune up! The sound guy was fab and helped me out, which was great! Finished gig and got a taxi but I had to drop something off at the convention center, so by the time I did that and came back out closer to 6th st I could not get a taxi anywhere and none were stopping for anyone! yikes! The bus routes had all changed due to road works so I waited ages on a bus too but none were coming so i thought I was at the wrong stop. Eventually I got a bus and got home to hotel 3 hours later! Aaaarg. Good nights sleep on the cards tonight!

March 16 2010 - On the plane again!
16th March 2010 On the plane again! Here I am on the plane again. So excited! Now heading to Austin for SXSW! Thats the first stop then theres lots more to come. Can't wait to sing songs from my album "Celticana" at the shows.

February 24 2010 - Homeward-bound
Feb 24th 2010 Homeward-bound! boo :0( I am heading for the airport today to fly back to Scotland. Boo hoo. Very sad to be leaving. Had a great time on my 1st trip to the US for 2010! Can't wait to come back next month for more exciting times. Watch this space. See you soon. :0)

February 23 2010 - The Basement show, Nashville TN
Feb 23rd Nashville, TN I had a gig in the Basement in Nashville tonight with the fantastic young dudes of Nashville as my backing band. Big thanks again go to Kevin, Lex and Bill. It was a pleasure as always. It was definitely a rocking gig, and it was great to see the other acts that were also on the bill. There were loads of young people in the audience and the sound was spot on. I would love to play there again. Thanks to Mike Grimes! Cool place you've got there. See you soon :0)

February 21 2010 - journey from Memphis to Nashville
Journey to Nashville Dan Wunsch, our friend from the Nashville music guide offered us a lift to Nashville. What a man! We had such a laugh in the truck. My manager Phil had to go in the back with the dog! haha! We were singing "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson all the way there, and the only time Dan could understand me was when I tried to imitate a Southern accent, very badly!! We arrived and went to Dan's but couldn't stay long as Phil and I were both allergic to the cats and had to wear gas masks while we were there. This was done in jest and I thought it was hilarious. We got some funny video clips. We checked into the Indigo hotel then went to the Nashville Muse songwriters party. It was great fun once we got to know people and I've got some funny clips for my blog from that night. Met Jesse Goldberg who gave me a little rendition of his own self-penned song about himself called "Jesse's a Jerk" I seemed to find this hysterical and was laughing all the way home! A very funny day.

February 20 2010 - Acoustic shows at the Folk Alliance
Feb 20th Acoustic shows Alas the band had to leave last night for Nashville after the show. I was sad to see them go, but the show must go on, solo.....or so I thought. Met one of the most amazing accordion players I've ever heard, called Radaslov Lorkovich. He was born in Croatia but raised in the States. He jammed in with me on my set, and it made it so much more fun! Well done Rad and high fives to you! We all went out for dinner together to the famous rib restaurant "Rendez Vous" Was delicious. And if you don't know me by now...I LOVE my food. My 3 favourite things in life are food, talking and music! And in that order! LOL

February 19 2010 - Folk Alliance
Feb 19th 2010 Folk Alliance Its great to see the band again. Big thanks to the bouncy Bill Bois on bass, the charismatic Kevin Welch on guitar and the lustrous Lex Reeves on drums. We did the Go girls showcase in the afternoon today which was also a live webcast. It was great fun. I think there was a technical hitch with the camera at first but they got it sorted out. The gig was totally acoustic so it was a realy treat to just go up and play without plugging in! Lex played a beat box for this one which was cool. At 7.30pm we did an electric set with a new addition to the line-up. The brilliant Bill Kirchen on electric guitar, he's a guitar legend. What a buzz we had onstage. It was over far too quickly, I could have carried on all night! Got some good footage from this gig soon to be up on facebook and youtube. Watch this space!

February 18 2010 - Memphis here we come!
Feb 18th 2010 Folk Alliance, Memphis I boarded the flight this morning. Was so happy to be getting away for the shows in Memphis. Couldn't wait to see the band again and rock out! Went straight to rehearsal from the airport, then had a little snooze before my showcase at 2am! so that was 7am in my body clock - I had officially been up to 24 hours straight! The showcase went really well! It was great fun apart from when I felt like I was going to fall asleep on stage as I was so tired. Don't think the audience noticed though! At least I hope not! My violin strings kept going out of tune as well because of the flight. It usually takes a couple of days for them to settle. I am now looking forward to the rest of the conference, and my shows. I'm sure I will sleep like a log tonight.

February 17 2010 - Heathrow Airport - terminal 4
Feb 18th 2010 Heathrow Airport - Terminal 4 I've been sitting waiting in terminal 4 all day for my visa to come though. Luckily I could change my flight as soon as I knew which flight I was able to get, but I was not going no where without my passport, which was still at the embassy. I've never had so many lattes in my life. I felt like Tom Hanks from the film "The Terminal". By the time I got the call to say my visa was on its way the last flight out for the day on my airline was taking off! If it had just been one hour earlier I would have made it! Oh well, at least there was a hotel in terminal 4 so we didn't have far to go. Got booked on the first flight out at 9.40am tomorrow. But I am so happy I finally got my visa!

February 16 2010 - American Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London
Embassy visit Feb 16th 2010 - Embassy visit I arrived at the Embassy at the tender hour of 7am this morning with black circles under my eyes and my hair hap-hassardly put up. Had an espresso shot on the walk there to jump start me. Us musicians and rockers are certainly not used to such an early start, but i'm pleased to say I was first in the queue! I spent to rest of the day shopping, I even got a head massage in one of the department stores on Oxford Street to relax me. They had marked my visa urgent in attempt to get it through in time for my first appearance in Memphis on Thurs afternnon, and I was expecting a call about it this afternooon. When it got to 7pm and there was no word I began to panic, so I called them. And true enough and the end of the working day it was still marked "not processed". After long discussions with the airline by telephone Plan B came into action. I have to go to Heathrow airport in the morning and if my visa comes through on time it will be couriered to me there! Fingers crossed...........

February 15 2010 - London here we come!
London here we come Feb 15th 2010 London Flew to London from Dundee Airport today. Really nice flight. Off to the American Embassy for my visa tomorrow. Excited about my trip coming up to Memphis and Nashville. Had a nightmare with the hotel when we arrived. It was being re-furbished and they sent us to a horrible one, but I got it changed to a better one which was really great. London is such a cool city but its so big for a wee Scottish lassie!

November 11 2009 - Scotland United
Scotland United / Glasgow Green I am performing this Saturday in Glasgow for the Scotland United rally against rascism and bigotry in Scotland. It is being held at Glasgow Green. I have been a bit under the weather but I am on the mend now and will be fighting fit by Saturday. Its now winter in Scotland and the change of weather is having its effects. Will need to make sure I stay warm and well wrapped up x

October 25 2009 - video blog week 2
WEEK 2 VIDEO BLOG This is my 2nd week of my video blog. Thanks for the many scores of messages. I appreciate it very much. This week's song is RADIO LOVE

October 18 2009 - Acoustic Video Blog
WEEKLY VIDEO BLOG I am starting my new Video acoustic blog every week starting 18th October 2009. I will be performing a new song every week. Any requests be in touch. This week's song is King Of Selfishness

October 16 2009 - studio in Glasgow
Studio, Glasgow Today I went through to Glasgow for the day to do some recording in the studio at Demus productions with Nick Low. It was a very productive day and we also did some filming. I am going to get a high definition video camera to do my weekly Sunday night video blog from now on. I also recorded some idents for the Americana radio stations in the States. It was good fun.

October 12 2009 - working
working Worked on several new ideas today and did a lot of practising. Getting myself organised again with writing and keeping up to date with suff. Looking forward to a few trips coming up South of the Border. Keeping in touch with my new friends, (writers an performers) from Nashville, and going into the studio later on this week.

October 6 2009 - Song-writing session.
6 Oct 2009 Song-writing session. Today we had an 11 o' clock appointment with Ralph Murphy the head of ASCAP, and renound song-writer. It was really great to get his feedback on the album and some of the songs. Looking forward to working with him in the future. We went from there to Bill's house for part 2 of our session on the new song we are working on together. We are hoping to keep the sessions going via Skype when I am back in Scotland. Heading back tomorrow :0( I have had a fantastic time here. It has been such a great experience which I have learned so much from. Can't wait to come back over again.

October 5 2009 - Song writing session & session with buddy Spicher
5 Oct 2009 Song writing session & session with buddy Spicher Today we went to Bill's for a song-writing session. Working on a new idea, I won't divulge too much right here but we got some ok hooks started and a few strong lyrical ideas. A work in progress with some potential! Then (after a healthy but hearty dinner prepared and cooked by Bill's wife) went to a session with Buddy Spicher, fiddler extrordinaire! He is fab, and what a CV. Found out that he had worked with lots of the great country artists like Loretta Lynn, Bill Monroe and Hank and Audrey Williams. We had a really interesting chat about the genres and styles and I learnt a lot from him. I know him through his son David who is an exceptional bass player that I worked with in Glasgow at my Tayside tae Tennessee show. He was playing as part of Jim Lauderdale's bluegrass band.

October 3 2009 - International Black Film Festival of Nashville
International Black Film Festival of Nashville Through my new friend Derrick Gardiner, who is working in my band, I was invited to a movie premiere at the International Black Film Festival of Nashville last night at the IMAX at Opryland. I had no idea that this festival was running at the moment, and if Derrick had not mentioned it on Tuesday I would have been none the wiser. Derrick had composed all of the music for the film "A Mother's Prayer" written by Alvin Moore, and I was so glad that he invited us to its opening. I was blown away by the movie and it was great to see young talented writers being given the opportunity to move there projects along, and get them onto the big screen. The cast were fantastic actors and singers. The theme was similar to the parable of the prodical son and it definately struck a chord with the audience. Today we went back to the festival where they were running workshops and doing pitches for next year, we chatted to Hazel Joyner-Smith, one of the co-ordinaters who was very interested in us being involved with our One Scotland anti-racist project to increase thier international recognition. The festival is only in its 4th year and they are looking to expand. I got filmed being interviewed about the festival and my thoughts on it. Afterwards we went to the Bluegrass festival in the Convention Center. After Americana week came Bluegrass week, plus the Inernational Black Film Festival of Nashville at the same time!!, so its all go. There is so much going on in this city. Its great.

September 30 2009 - ASCAP / Country International Records
ASCAP / Country International Records First of all today I had to go to the airport to sort out another car rental as our first rental agreement ran out. Once that was sorted we headed into town for a meeting at ASCAP. (The American Society of composers, authors and publishers) Basically the American song-writers equivalent of the British PRS. They are affiliated with the PRS, of which we are members. It was of great help, we have arranged a mentoring session with Ralph Murphy at 11am on Tues. We then went to a record company party hosted by Joy Ford of Country International Records. It was fab. I got the chance to perform with the band, who were the old country sessions players from the 60s and 70s who performed on the old time records with artists like George Strait. I got up and did the Tennessee Waltz, the Orange Blossom Special and Will the Circle Be Unbroken. They had that really nice old-time country groove which I was able to sit right into. It was amazing playing Orange Blossom with them. Afterwards we were invited to a meeting at the Tenessee Songwriters association. It was a night where they invite a publisher down and all the songwriters come along to pitch their songs. If the publisher likes it he rings the bell. It was an amazing experience as there is nothing like that in Scotland. We had to introduce ourselves at the beginning, as the international guests!!! Then we went to a party at the Basement hosted by ASCAP. Saw a fantastic band there. Managed to cram in a lot today! I'm tired now!

September 29 2009 - 12th and porter show
12th and Porter / Billy Block showcase gig Did my third showcase in the 12th and Porter tonight. It was great. We asked a keyboard player Derrick Gardiner to join the line-up. We met him last week at the same venue. He was playing trombone with the Kyle Wylie band. He is a fantastic musician and it was great to have him included in the band. Again we got there early for a sound-check/rehearsal. The keys fitted in perfectly with the songs. We had invited some people down to watch the show who came along which was great. The night was brilliant with a great vibe and big audience. I loved performing with the band yet again. I hope we get the chance to do another showcase together before I head back to bonnie Scotland.

September 27 2009 - WKDF Radio
Billy Block's Radio Show WKDF I did my 3rd and final spot for Billy's radio show tonight. This time I did "Radio Love" My tongue in cheek light-hearted song about pretending to be a radio station and have to power to play any song and reach out to anyone no matter where they are. It was good fun. When I was talking at first I couldn't hear myself because of the delay as they were playing the broadcast in the next room in Tootsies through the speakers! I quickly resolved the situation by throwing on the headphones just in time for my song....phew. I met Vince Gill's daughter and a few of the other artists that are performing this week at 12th and porter. Should be a great night! Afterwards I went down to a venue on music row and went up and did a couple of songs on the fiddle with the singer there. Its great to get so many opportunites to perform.

September 25 2009 - Venue Hunting
Venue Hunting Today we went out to check out some of the venues in Nashville. One in Franklin which is great called the Bunganut Pig and also some in Nashville city. We had a meeting with Dan from the Nashville Music Guide. He was really helpful. He has invited us to a few things which is great.

September 24 2009 - Band Rehearsal
Band Rehearsal A friend of the band's kindly offered his front room as a rehearsal space and we were able to set up the full drum-kit, amps and the whole bit. It was a great rehearsal. We got the chance to fully rehearse the set and make sure all the stops were happening. It was so much fun we did a couple of extra songs from the album as everyone was enjoying it, and played around with a new idea. I have another gig with them next week at 12th and Porter so we are even more prepared this time! I can't wait!

September 22 2009 - 12th and Porter / The Billy Show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgB66yAO12U&feature=related12th and Porter / Billy Block showcase gig I had my second showcase at Billy Block's western beat at 12th and Porter. This time I had a different band with me. Bill Bois and Kevin Welch from the JC Anderson band, and also a fantastic drummer called Lex Reeves. A fab bunch of players! We got to the venue early to set up the drums and have a full rehearsal. It was sounding really tight really quickly. The performance went really well. I loved it and the vibe on stage was great. Can't wait to do another show with that band. They are a great bunch. The audience were also fab and its a great venue.

September 21 2009 - rehearsal
rehearsal Had a quieter day today which gave me a day off driving! I needed a day to unwind and catch my breath. Had a rehearsal with the band. They came over to the house and we ran through the set for tomorrow's gig. I did a show with them last year when I was over so was great to see them again! We just had an acoustic unplugged rehearsal on the porch. Great you can do that sort of thing in America, you could never get away with that in Scotland. lol!

September 20 2009 - The Bluebird Cafe
Bluebird Cafe gig Very busy day today! 3 gigs in the space of 3 hours! Probably a record for me. First of all my last performance at the Tennessee State Fair. It was the last day of it and I was told it is the last year they will be running the State fair as they are taking over the Fairgrounds for some sort of property development, which is a real shame seeing as its such a great family event for the community. I legged it from there (well drove it really) to Tootsies for my acoustic performance on Billy Block's WKDF radio show. This time I performed my song Careless. (song about believing in yourself and no matter what being true to yourself and not caring what anyone else thinks). Did a little interview also with Billy. Then went from there to the Bluebird Cafe for my spot there. It was a real privilege to perform there as it is such a prestigious venue. Whats more ITN had a film crew there shooting for a documentary on country music. Amanda Holden from Britain's got talent was there presenting it, and she was performing a song with a country band she had just met and rehearsed with two days before. It was great to meet her. She was lovely. I also met Bob Harris from Radio 2 who had been over for AMA and was there for the documentary. It was great to meet him. Billy came down to film me doing a demo piece for the Quicksilver sessions. My performance at the Bluebird went well and I'm hoping to get a gig there at some point in the future. I did 3 acoustic songs. King of Selfishness, Careless and Memphis Crawl. A great night!

September 19 2009 - Tennessee State Fair
Tennessee State Fair I did another performance at the Tennessee State fair today. Beforehand we went to the Conference Center for the last day of the Americana Conference and we popped into the Basement to see a band. The State fair was good fun. The weather has picked up so there was more of a crowd there this time. I performed some tracks from "Celticana". Afterwards we popped into the Mercy Lounge and Cannery Ballroom. Caught a bit of Jerry Douglas's performance there. Great Bluegrass!

September 18 2009 - Jim Lauderdale / The Station Inn
Americana Music Conference Today was great. We went down to the Conference Center for the 2nd last day of the AMA conference. Sat in on a couple of meetings and got some tips about promoting online. Bumped into Jim Lauderdale there which was nice. We caught up with him briefly on Tuesday at the 12th and Porter but it was really nice to see him again. He introduced us to a couple of his friends whom we spent some time with, and went down to a gig at the Grimey's music store which is right above a really cool music venue called the Basement on 8th Ave South. We watched Kieren Kane and his band. I know him from working with Fats Kaplin a couple of years ago and they work together a lot as a trio Kane/Welch/Kaplin. After that we went to another venue close by to check it out called the Douglas Corner. They were doing a song-writers in the round session. It was great to watch! After that we went back to the Station Inn. We were there last night, it is an amazing venue. Jim Lauderdale was on with his band. I love to watch Jim perfom, he is great! He invited me up to do a song with him called "Lost in the Lonesome Pines" which we performed back in Scotland at the Tayside tae Tennessee show, (I'd done that number a few times with him before.) It was great fun. The Bellville Outfit were on after Jim and it was amazing to get to watch them again. They have the wow factor. A great night all round.

September 17 2009 - The AMA Awards
AMA Awards! The AMA conference was on this week so we spent some time meeting people down at the conference Center. We also got tickets to the Americana awards ceremony at the Ryman Theater which was very exciting! I tell you there were some amazing young bands on performing. It was a real treat to watch it. I loved the Belleville outfit. They were fantastic. The fiddle player is like a young female stephane grapelli. She was just great! Afterwards we went down to the Station Inn where Jim Rooney and the Irregulars were perfoming. They were amazing. Also Nancy Griffith got up and did 2 songs with them. I couldn't believe it. I also caught up with a couple of musicians that performed on my record last year, Pat McInereny and Richard Bailey. Was great to see them again. What a night of talent.

September 16 2009 - The Tennessee state Fair
Tennessee State Fair I was performing at the Tennessee State Fair today. I have never seen rain like it today! It was absolutely pouring! My windscreen wipers weren't going fast enough to keep up with the rain so needless to say I was a nervous wreck! Unfortunately the crowds we were expecting for a normal Nashville sunny September were not to be due to the rain. But I still had fun performing and hanging out at the fairground.

September 14 2009 - The Billy Blck show / 12th and Porter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUsWfGUX13MThe Billy Block Show 12th and Porter Tonight was my first gig in Nashville at the Billy Block show for 2009! It was a full on day getting organised as I had to purchase some equipment for the gig, and find the guitar shop. Drive about 40 miles to get there and to the gig then rehearse with the band an hour before the show during the soundcheck at which everything that could go wrong went wrong! Aaarrrg! The stuff i bought wasn't working and I was still stressed out from driving. Not used to these big highways or driving on the right hand side of the road. Luckily to make up for it the gig was great. The band were amazing. I had the Ya Ya band with Billy Block on drums and Thomm Jutz on guitar, whom I recorded with last year. The accordion players groove fitted in perfectly on songs like "Radio Love". It was recorded for radio and filmed for local TV and youtube. go to www.billyblock.com

September 13 2009 - WKDF Radio / Billy Block / Nashville
Radio Show Nashville I arrived in Nashville yesterday, extremely jet-lagged but happy to be here. Ended up doing a few songs that night at an acoustic night in the Flying Saucer. Today I did a live acoustic session on Billy Block's show on WKDF. It was great fun, I sang King of Selfishness with the guitar. Met a few lovely people that night. Did a few songs as a guest with the house band in Tootsies a bit later, thats where Billy records his show so we were there anyway. A great start to the trip.

September 11 2009 - Grovenor Square. 9/11 ceremony
London 9/11 concert I was performing my piece Commemoration for the special tribute concert for the anniversary of 9/11 in London at Grosvenor Square today. Was an amazing ceremony to be a part of. The Queen's Rifles band began the proceedings marching into the gardens. They were amazing. Followed by the Guards who were equally fantastic to watch. I played my piece Commemoration which I composed especially for those that lost their lives in the tragedy. A lot of the familes of lost loved ones were there so it was an important thing for me to do and share with them. I also sang my version of Robert Burns Auld Lang Syne which will be broadcast on BBC America this year, and also got the opportunity to perform a special song called "Give Us Hope" with the Fulham Camerata choir. I was leading the song with them. It was an amazing buzz, the first time I've ever sang with a full choir behind me. It felt great. There was a reception in the US Embassy after the ceremony and I got the chance to meet the US Ambassador and chat with some of the familes. They song "Give Us Hope" really struck a chord with them. I was also chatting with one of the members of the Bugles of the Rifles band who is really interested in arranging my piece Commemoration and recording it with me. That would be fab, so I gave him a copy of the music.

June 28 2009 - West End fest
I performed a few songs this afternoon at Glasgow's west end for the Stage Coach trust. I broke a guitar sting on 1st song. ouch! Carried on regardless and sang a few songs from my new album. It was a great out-door vibe they had going on with a few bands playing. Luckily it didn't rain. I had another fun day, all in all a fantastic weekend!!

June 27 2009 - CC music 1st birthday
I did an instore performance this afternoon at CC music in Glasgow to celebrate their 1st birthday. I used one of there guitars called a Breedlove, semi-acoustic. I fell in love with it as the tone was so rich and it was so full and sounded amazing plugged into the PA system. I'll put that one on my wish list!!

June 27 2009 - "Ceticana" album launch Oran Mor, Glasgow
Tonight was the night of the full band gig to launch my new album "Celticana". It was an amazing night and I had an absolutely brilliant time. I loved performing all the new songs for the first time with the full band line up and the gig went well. The band were on fire and played an awesome set. I got the chance to meet some of the audience after the gig to sign albums. I always love that bit too. I was so hyper as it was such a buzz onstage. Looking forward to the next one!

June 23 2009 - schools tour
I've been doing a schools tour this month before they break up for summer holidays. I did a few in Dundee and Angus last week and travelled to Glasgow today for the day to perform in a few there. Again the new single "Radio Love" was a hit with the kids. At one of the schools a wee girl in p1 wanted to come onstage with me as it was her 6th birthday.

June 22 2009 - Twitter


June 20 2009 - "Celticana" Album Launch Dundee
I had my 1st of two album launches today at the Westport Dundee. Great turn out and good fun day. I met with the audience before and after gig to sign albums. "Celticana" is finally out. I am pleased with the first launch. The new songs seemed to go down well.

June 20 2009 - Fofar Reid Hall
I made an appearance at the Reid Hall in Forfar to perform my new single "Radio Love" to a 700 strong audience. They seemed to like it, especially the kids back-stage who had me practically pinned against the wall to sing them the song. They loved it and were singing along after the first chorus. Its great to see such a response. They were so enthusiastic that they asked to join me on the stage but unfortunately there wasn't enough time to organise it as there were only 2 songs to go before I went on. It was good fun.

June 2 2009 - Album completed!!!
My new album "Celticana" is finally completed! wayhey. Went down to the Metropolis studio in London today for the mastering with Tim Young! He's just won a grammy for the re-mastering of the Beatles "Love" album. Wow! What a feeling to finally have my album ready.

May 29 2009 - Webster Theatre
I perfomed my song Memphis Crawl (co-written with Dixie chicks writer Jim Lauderdale), from the new album "Celticana" at a show in the Wester Theatre in Arbroath. It went down well, the whole audience were clapping along. I loved the buzz onstage, was great fun. Its great to finally get out of the studio and back onto the stage!

May 27 2009 - coffee house gig
I did my first acoustic gig with the new material tonight in Dundee. A half-hour set with me myself and I. It was for the Capstone project for building a school for the kids in Uganda. A worthy cause and a great night!

May 6 2009 - concert at old school
Tonight I did a short concert at my old primary school which is being pulled down, as they are building a brand new school. It was a special closing ceremony, and after I performed I got a tour of the school to see all my old class-rooms! Very emotional.

May 3 2009 - mixing begun!
All the parts have now been recorded for every song!! We've got drums, bass, acoustic, electric, accordion, trombone, keyboards, banjo, fiddle and of course vocals. Now the challenging process of mixing the tracks has begun!

April 16 2009 - Demus productions
Back to Demus productions ro record the trombone part for Crippled Inside. Thought the trombone would give it a different angle and tie in well with the rag-time/dixieland feel that the song has. Thanks to Ross Lothian for his contribution on the trombone.

April 13 2009 - over-dubs at Demus productions
We recorded some over-dub percussion parts with Stevie Lawrence at Nick Low's studio in the West End. The session went well.

April 6 2009 - photo shoot
Did my photo shoot for the album cover today in Dundee with Robert Perry. He came through from Glasgow. We picked an Urban looking setting at an industrial estate!! It was an out-door shoot, and it was absolutely freezing!!!! The first few shots he got I looked like I was in the Artic, but as I got warmed up (not literally) we started to get some good shots. The shoot lasted 5 hours!! We're bound to have the winner shot after all that! Here's hoping anyway!

March 16 2009 - over-dubs recorded at Carlton Studios
We recorded the backing vocals for all the songs and the keyboard parts over at the Carlton studios in Glasgow with Danny Mitchell. All went well. Thanks to Drew Phillips and his singers.

February 14 2009 - Final Vocals recorded.
Did my final vocals today for the album. The songs were Radio Love and Ain't Convincing Me. Thought it was sweet to be recording Radio Love on Valentines Day. I love singing that song now, it has a happy go lucky feel. The kind of song I think that would be good to drive to!!

January 31 2009 - studio studio studio!!
Have spent all month off and on in the studio making headway on the new album "Celticana", I have now recorded my final vocals for The Shape I'm In. As the Band are one of my musical influences I thought it was a good idea to pay tribute to them on the album. I decided to change the phrasing on the vocal lines to make it a bit different, and we have an electric guitar hook throughout the song aswell. You'll see what I mean when you hear it! Have also recorded my final vocal for Go go go and King of Selfishness.

December 11 2008 - BBC documentary
I was recording up at the BBC today for a documentary to be broadcast next year, featuring KT Tunstall and Jools Holland. Its about the famous Robert Burns song "Auld Lang Syne" sang at New Year. I was interviewed and sang my own version of the original melody of the song, the one that not so many people are familiar with. We also shot a video for the Edinburgh hogmanay street party. Was good fun.

December 10 2008 - Radio Tay hogmanay show
Tonight I did a gig in Perth Concert Hall for the Radio Tay hogmanay (new years eve, for any non-Scots) show. I performed tracks from my new album Celticana. Performed them acoustically with myself on vocals and fiddle/acoustic guitar, Johnny on acoustic gutar and slide, and Stevie on percussion and Bazouki. It went well. The audience were surprised as they thoguht they were just coming to a show, they weren't told till the show started that it was being pre-recorded to be broadcast on hogmanay!

November 20 2008 - Riverside Recording Album
Today I recorded a new song for the album called Crippled Inside by John Lennon. Have done a rag-time/dixieland quirky arrangement of the song. I love the lyrics as they are so funny and cute and think this song will make an excellent final track to the album. A fun way to finish it.

October 28 2008 - Riverside Studios
Back into the studio again now to record more tracks for the new album. Recording brand new songs Radio Love, Go Go Go, King Of Selfishness and a cover of one of my favourite Band songs "The Shape I'm In". Got an idea of how to make it an original sounding version.

September 19 2008 - AMA conference
Today we attended the conference at the convention center for some business meetings and performances. A successful trip to Nashville soon to be repeated.

September 18 2008 - AMA Awards ceremony
I had the great priviledge of being invited to one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies at the Ryman Theatre, featuring performances by some of the top Americana artists and bands all on one stage, including Levon Helm, Steve Earle & Alison Moorer, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Nancy Griffith, Jim Lauderdale, Buddy Miller, Kane/Welch/Kaplin and Jason and the Scortchers. Was an amazing night.

September 17 2008 - The Flying Saucer gig
I had another showcase gig tonight at the flying saucer, organised by my friend and web designer (1st time I've mentioned him here) Peter Fleming! I had a different back-up band this time, who were equally brilliant. A young and talented guiarist called Kevin Welch, a fantastic bass player Bill Bois and a rocking drummer called Les Reeves! It was a really great night. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Thats what its all about after all. Later on we went to see Stonehoney at the Blue Cafe.

September 16 2008 - the Billy Block show - Nashville
Tonight was my showcase at Billy Block's. He had a great line up of artists including the band Stonehoney, and Hal Ketchum. It was a great night. The atmosphere was alive and happening. The band I had were fab. I think its the most musicians i've ever had on stage at any one time (except for the Tayside tae Tennessee). I had two guitarists, Thomm Jutz and Steve Allen, I had Billy Block on drums, Lorne Rall on bass, Mike Hodges on keyboards and accordion, Lisa Ewing from Haven on backing vocals. She was fab, its one of the few times I've ever had a female backing singer. Her voice blended really well and fitted perfectly on the songs. We did 5 numbers finishing with my favourite "Memphis Crawl" We showcased all of the new numbers, which was fun.

September 15 2008 - rehearsals
Today was rehearsal day with the bands for the showcases. We started at 4pm at Billy's place. The band are so fast that it didn't take very long. After that I had another rehearsal with my band for wednesday nights gig.

September 14 2008 - WKDF Nashville radio interview
Today I had a live interview with Billy Block from the famous Tootsies on Broadway for WKDF radio. We were talking about my new recordings and videos, and the showcase coming up on tuesday at Billy Block's show at the Cadillac Ranch. He also played my new track Care Less. It was great to meet some of the other artists on the show. I met Lisa and Terry from "Haven". They are from Canada now living in Nashville.

September 13 2008 - Off to Nashville
Today we left for Nashville for my showcases at the Americana music festival. We flew to Phili then Nashville. All went smoothly this time. Thankfully no snow storms!

September 6 2008 - Dundee gig - MacMillan benefit
We thought it would be appropriate to do the finale performance of this tour in my home town of Dundee, and tie it in with raising money for a charity I support, "the MacMillan nurses". I arranged for some of the staff from Roxburghe House and Stracathro who are also talented perfomers, to be my supporting acts for this event. We did it in the afternoon to encourage kids to come along and hopefully raise more money for the charity. Diane Lambert and her dancing school kicked off the gig with a short set of traditional dancing. Then the famous local band the Swizzle Sisters, did a half hour slot. OK they are really sisters but Swizzle is only the stage name not their real names! There are made up of 3 sisters, Patricia, Maggie and Paula, on acoustic guitars, bass and vocals. Their harmonies are amazing! I decided to do our set in 2 halves so I could sign albums at the break. A lot of kids bought t-shirts this time. It was a good gig but the audience were quite far away. We rocked out in the 2nd half and finished on a high! Was great way to finish the tour. Thanks to R2F for promoting the tour, thanks to the band: Johnny and Duncan Cameron, Gerrardo Ballesterros, Drew Philips, and Stevie Lawrence. Thanks to the sound engineers and thanks to everyone for coming along. Watch this space for the acoustic tour coming up in November.

August 25 2008 - Edinburgh festival - GRV
The next leg of the tour was in the vibrant capital city, Edinburgh, as part of the world famous Edinburgh festival. The city was buzzing with the festival being on, and there were lots of street performers on during the day when we arrived for our sound-check. The audience were great and the band were cooking, everyone seemed to love it!

August 21 2008 - The Tunnels - Aberdeen
This was a more intimate type of gig this time. We had Stevie Lawrence on percussion instead of the full drum-kit. We got the van up from the studio in Glasgow, so it was quite a long journey. We arrived and went straight to a sound-check, then had some food before show time. There were a couple of ladies in the audience that spoke to me after the gig. They are from Arbroath, and came to see my show there in April, they said they were keen to come and see me again which was nice. We did one long set this time, supported by Drew Phillip's, and then I signed some albums afterwards. Roll on the next gig!

August 18 2008 - AMA Awards ceremony
I had the priviledge of being invited to the Americana Music Awards at the Ryman theatre. The original Grand Ole Opry. As well as awards there were performances by some of the most fantastic artists and bands all on one stage! Including Levon Helm, Steve Earle, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Nancy Griffith, Jason and the Scorchers, Jim Lauderdale, Buddy Miller and Kane/Welch/Kaplin. Was a fantastic night.

August 15 2008 - Oban gig at the AGH
What an awesome venue this is with such a history! It has lots of tartans up around the room of different clan's and they used to gather there on a weekly basis. A very high ceiling and nice big area. That morning I had another interview on Oban fm to promote the gig. It was Alan this time. He was a laugh with a very dry wit! I liked him a lot. He deliberately didn't want to dicuss anything I had spoken to Campbell about due to their on-going radio rivalry- haha. In the afternoon we arrived for a sound-check. I was already up in the area, but the band were travelling through from glasogw in the van and were held up in traffic, so our sound-check was delayed and we just got it done in the nick of time. This was by far the gig I enjoyed the most! I don't know why but right from the kick off it was a great buzz. I like being able to see the audience, and i really did this time. In the interval I signed some albums and t-shirts and got my photo taken for the local press. Local band Bluescaster were supporting that night and the press were very interested in the local connection so I got my piccie taken with the boyz! In the 2nd half on Memphis Crawl I suddenly took the urge to jump off the stage into the audience. I always use a radio pack of course so this time i thought i'd take full advantage of my mobility and went for it! Think the audince got a bit of a shock! (but in a good way i hope!). Anyway.... another one bites the dust.

August 13 2008 - Radio interview.
In anticipation of the Oban gig on the 15th I did an interview with Campbell Cameron today at Oban fm on the 5pm show. We chatted about my experiences in Nashville, who I'd been working with there and the famous hammond from springsteen's born to run album which was featured on a few of my new trax. Campbell is such a nice guy and very supportive of my career, and he seems to genuinely like my music which is always nice! I love going up to Oban fm for a blether. We've invited him as a guest to the concert on friday.

August 9 2008 - Neilston festival
Myself and the band were performing at the Neilson festival today. A shorter set of 40 minutes this time. It was ashame about the weather as it was supposed to be outside, but as it was raining they moved it into the hall. The atmosphere was not the same, however it was still good fun, and the band enjoyed it. Gerrardo Ballesteros, our drummer had asked us if we wanted to be included in the line-up for the day. He was also playing there with his own latin-american band Macumba.

August 8 2008 - Oran Mor - 2nd tour date
Glasgow's Oran Mor was the next in line of the Scottish tour, so a bit closer to home and less travelling for everyone! We were in the downstairs part of the venue which is a great venue for live bands. The vibe was great (apart from not being able to see the audince as it was so dark! lol) We did one long set this time so it was more tiring and very hot on that stage!! We changed the set slightly to make it more up-tempo with one slow acoustic song to break it up. The new stuff went down well. The audince were fantastic. I signed albums this time at the end of the gig. Roll on the next one!

August 1 2008 - first leg of UK Tour
Today was the kick off of my UK summer tour. Starting with the beautiful Scottish island of Skye, in the bonnie town of Portree. We hired a van and the whole band travelled up early that morning. It was a 6 hour drive. We got to the venue to drop off the gear then myself and Johnny and Duncan went straight to the local radio station Cuillan fm for a live session and interview. It was a laugh and the banter was a flowing! We did One Scotland, Reaching Out and Stepping Stone in between the chat, and Inga also played some of my new recordings. We got back to the Aros Centre for a sound check, it took a while to get it right but eventually we were happy. As it was a theatre sit-down style venue we decided to break up the set to 2 halves and drew phillips opened up the night with an acoustic set. In the first half we did some songs from my first album "green eyes" plus a couple of my arbroath suite pieces. At the break I went out to the foyer to sign albums and t-shirts. Met a lot of nice folk, including Nan and Ted our hosts for the night. It was the first time we'd met and Nan opened the conversation with a A-typical Scottish "yer biding we me the night!" She was a hoot! In the 2nd half we brought the vibe up a notch, starting with a couple of acoustic cover songs, then into the electric stuff from the new album. The Jim Lauderdale co-write song "memphis crawl" went down the best. Its really up tempo and got everyone clapping along. Runrig's former lead singer Donnie Munro was in the audince. It was a great turn-out as the theatre was almost full! Great audience too. We went to Nan and Ted's B & B after the gig. They were so welcoming and friendly. Made us toast wehn we got back and porridge in the morning! typical tastely scottish grub!

July 26 2008 - Performing with Runrig @ Edinburgh Castle.
Today I played fiddle with Runrig at Edinburgh Castle. Luckily the weather was in their favour this time!I played Proterra with them to an audience of about 9000. Was a great buzz. I met a few folk that are coming to my gig in Skye, and Inga from Cuillan fm. Am going to be doing her radio show next week when I am in Portree.

July 1 2008 - Moondog studio and flight home.
1st July 2008 I have been recording tracks for my new album Careless in Nashville (due to be released in October) with top producer and musican Thomm Jutz, who is touring with Nancy Griffith, the line up of musicians on the album includes: Billy Block on drums who has worked with Emmy Lou Harris and Willie Nelson, Mark Fain on bass of the Ricky Skaggs band whose credits also include Bonnie Raitt, Dolly Parton, Patty Loveless, Alison Krauss and the Dixie Chicks. Mike Webb on keyboards whose credits include John Waite, Stacey Earle, Alison Moorer and Gary Allan, and Pat McInerney on pecussion whose credits inclue Dolly Parton, Jerry Lee Lewis and Tom Paxton. Richard Bailey of the Steeldrivers is also featured on banjo on the track Memphis Crawl. Today we finished off the mixing at Moondog with Tim Coates. We did Memphis Crawl first, followed by Seven Days of Wonder. Jim Lauderdale came down to say hello. Well not literally say it as he's still on vocal rest, but it was great to see him. He had a listen to the finished version of our co-write Memphis Crawl, and I was so pleased he liked it. I would love to record it as a duet with him when he is better. We then did Strange Love, then I had to leave for my flight home, so Thomm and Tim continued on to finish Ain't Convincing Me. The tracks are getting mastered on Monday and Thomm is going to send them over. Its been a great experience working in Nashville, and I'm looking forward to my next trip over in September.

June 29 2008 - Moondog / Shooting video.
30th June 2008 Everything now recorded and time to start mixing! We were working today with producer Thomm Jutz and engineer Tim Coats at Moondog. Tim set up the sound for the drums and bass first then we mixed the first track Careless, followed by Green Eyes then Hail Caledonia. At 5.30 we started shooting the video for Careless and Seven Days. We did some shots in the studio, then headed downtown to do more shots there. We recorded at the Ryeman, and on Broadway, as well as the lane outside the famous bar Tootsies. It was great fun, we had a few onlookers from time to time, but I think a lot of people shoot videos in the streets of Nashville so its not that unusual. We finished about 9pm.

June 28 2008 - Recording Fiddle
28th June 2008 Today we recorded my fiddle parts in the morning and the backing singer Peter came down at 2.30pm. He was great. We only needed harmony vocals on 4 of the songs. I enjoyed doing my fiddle parts despite being restricted movement wise, as you always are when recording. I had a few of the parts worked out and improvised some. It was good fun. We actually ended up a day ahead of schedule so we had the following day off.

June 27 2008 - Recording Vocals
Recording vocals 27th June 2008 Today Thomm recorded my vocals. I thought I might have needed at least two separate days on the vocals as 6 hours is a lot of singing in one day. But I managed to do all 7 songs. We liked the vibe from one of the live trax from Moondog so we used that take. Its really coming together now, just the fiddle and backing vocals next then mixing. Yeah!

June 26 2008 - Recording new album.
26th June 2008 I was recording a Thomm's studio today. We are doing everything else there and taking it back to Moondog to mix. One of the tracks I am recording is a co-write with Jim Lauderdale called Memphis Crawl. We did it live a the Celtic Connections earlier this year. I am very excited about recording it. At the moment Jim is on vocal rest but I am hoping once he is better he will record it as a duet with me. That would be ace! Anyway the new tracks are called: Careless, Seven Days of Wonder, Strange Love, Ain't Convincing Me, Memphis Crawl, and new arrangements of Green Eyes and Hail Caledonia. Today we recorded the percussion player, and Thomm's mandolin and electric guitar parts. Great progress made today!

June 24 2008 - Studio / Moondog.
24th June 2008 Exciting day today as its the first day of recording in Bruce Sprinstein's bass player Gary Tallent's studio Moondog in Nashville, TN. Its my favourite bit as I get to sing with the band live. The studio there has different live rooms so we were able to record the drums, bass, acoustic gutiar, piano and accordion all at the same time. The guys worked extremely fast. We put down all 7 tracks today.We even got a banjo player for the song Memphis Crawl. He was in and out in 20 minutes. They all read off the Nashville chart system so it makes it much quicker I reckon. All we have left to do now is my vocals & fiddle, electric guitar, mandolin, and backing vocals. Very pleased with the first day's work in the studio.

June 22 2008 - pre-production
pre-production 22nd June 2008 We arrived in Nashville safe and sound. We are working with producer/musician Thomm Jutz. Today we had pre-production over at his place to finalize the arrangements and settle on keys. We are recording 7 songs on this trip and plan to come back in Sep/Oct to record the rest of the tracks for album release in October.

June 20 2008 - St Peter’s Church charity gig
20th June 2008 Tonight I did a benefit gig at St Peter's church in Partick for the children's orphanage in Equador. I had friends on as guest's. Folk singer Mick West who was fantastic and hilarious! The funny and talented Drew Phillip's who also got the crowd going and laughing at his jokes. He did his own spot and also played keyboards with me. And the brilliant Johnny Cameron, who sang some Matt McGinn numbers and played guitar for me. Fantastic musicians Stevie Lawrence of Rallion and Gerrardo courtesty of MacCumba also played with me. It was a great night, and an excellent line up of players. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

June 18 2008 - Refugee week at the Scottish Parliament
18th June 2008 Today I performed at the Scottish Parliament as part of Refugee Week. There had been events going on all over Scotland for the annual event, and I was happy to support it. I performed my multi-cultural anthem "One Scotland" with the children from Glasgow schools: St Paul's primary in Whiteinch and Dalmarnock Primary, Bridgeton. These were the same kids that I did the project with back in Oct/Nov last year. It was great performing with them again, and they gave it their all to the audience!

June 2 2008 - Pre-production - Scotland
Pre-production 2nd June I have spent the past couple of months purely dedicated to writing and co-writing material for my next album. Tonight we had a pre-production session with the musicians over here in Scotland at Riverside Studios, and I am due to record in Nashville later this month.

April 6 2008 - Arbroath Suite premiere - Oran Mor
Arbroath Suite - Oran Mor 6th April Tonight, the 2nd performance of the 2-day premiere in Glasgow West End's top venue the Oran Mor. The atmosphere was in full swing from the off. The audience responded with great enthusiasm throught the up-tempo numbers, and I enjoyed the criac and rapport with the crowd. Again the musicians were all on top form: Gary Innes, Wendy Weatherby, Stevie Lawrence, Johnny Cameron, Rachel Newton ansd Simon McKerrel. A fab bunch, and a big thank you them and to Derek Chalmers and Chow productions for doing the sound and recording the show. I was also very priviledged to have two special guests on stage tonight, fantastic actor from Billy Elliot and Gangs of New York, Gary Lewis, plus brilliant folk singer from Dundee Sheena Wellington. I've worked with both of them on several occasions and it was a pleasure to share the stage with them yet again and have their support and participation in the project. Roll on more performances of this show as it was great fun, and I'm sure the hard work to put it all together has paid off. I need a holiday now!

April 5 2008 - Arbroath suite Premiere - Webster Theatre
Arbroath Suite Premiere. 5th April Tonight was the 1st ever performance of my Arbroath Suite, in Arbroath itself at the Webster Theatre. A nail-biting experience which was well worth it in the end. After a really bad sound check - one of the worst I've ever had in my life - no kidding. (my fiddle mic wasn't working, my radio pack wouldn't work, I dropped my mic, it took till 7.15pm to get everything working and I only had 15 mins to get ready aaaaah!) the show finally got off to a kicking start. The opening scene of fiery Bannockburn was a great way for me personally to start the show. The voice of Scotland winner "Alan Mowet" provided a poinant recital of the Declaration of Arbroath, fitting the bill perfectly! and the musicians were on top form. All in all a great start to the Arbroath Suite journey!

April 4 2008 - playing with Macumba
Macumba and Angus 4th April I had the great priviledge tonight to play with a group of musicians whom I have long admired, one who recorded percussion on my 1st album Green Eyes. Gerardo,and the band Macumba, an ethnic roots band of Brazil meets the bagpipes. A fusion of celtic with Brazilian rhythms, lots of percussion, and dancers too. I ended the night with my anti-racist anthem One Scotland, with Macumba accompanying me! It was ace. I also performed a sneak preview of the Arbroath Suite in anticiaption of tomorrow night's 1st performance!

April 3 2008 - Radio Tay and Scottish TV
Radio Tay and Scottish TV 3rd April Today I made a trip through to my hometown of Dundee for an interview with Radio Tay. I was interviewed by Alistair Smith, a very good presenter! We had a great chat on air covering all angles of my career, my trips to the States, the artists I've worked with and my show coming up. They are also doing a ticket give away competition so he asked me to read out the question for the listeners. "In what year was the Declaration of Arbroath signed?" (relating to my current project!) ( the answer is 1320 by the way!). I was just leaving when I got a phonecall that STV had been in touch to do an interview and did I have my fiddle with me.? Aarrrrg! No!!!! Luckily I have a friend in Dundee who owns a violin shop and was kind enough to lend me a fiddle for the afternoon for the filming. Thanks Mike!! It was good fun. I love interviews as I love talking, but its even better when you get to play too!

April 1 2008 - Radio Cafe
1st April I had a session and interview on Radio Scotland's show Radio Cafe today. The show is produced in Edinburgh so we had to travel through. I played the piece Declaration from the 1st half of the show and sang the song Reaching Out from the scene in the show that deals with Immigration. I had a chat with the presenter about what I am aiming to achieve with the Arbroath Suite as a community project, as well as what people would expect to see on the 5th and 6th. I had gutarist extrordinaire Johnny Cameron to accompany me!

March 26 2008 - Radio Scotland
Radio Scotland 26th March I had an interview today on Radio Scotland as we are trying to find "The Voice of Scotland" to recite an extract from the Declaration of Arbroath at premiere of the Arbroath Suite show. One vital ingredient for my piece of music entitled "Declaration" is the haunting voice reciting the words IT IS IN TRUTH NOR FOR GLORY NOR RICHES NOR FOR THE HONOUR THAT WE ARE FIGHTING BUT ONLY AND ALONE FOR FREEDOM WHICH NO GOOD MAN SURRENDERS BUT WITH HIS LIFE. It was on the drive time show, the presenters asked me a few questions about the piece and what I am looking for in the Voice of Scotland, and they played clips of people who had previously been stopped and pre-recorded at Arbroath Abbey itself that day reciting the words of the Declaration. Fingers crossed we find the VOICE.

March 23 2008 - Arbroath Suite Rehearsals
Arbroath Suite Rehearsals My life has been filled with either Arbroath Suite rehearsals or Arbroath Suite work since my trip to Nashville. All is going well and its been amazing to finally hear the music being played by musicians instead of my PC! lol. Roll on the shows now!

March 11 2008 - Nashville debut
Nashville debut 11th March I thoroughly enjoyed my Nashville debut performance: We went to the venue in the afternoon for a run through. It was great, the sound on stage was fab and the band on top form. I just got the words from Jim Lauderdale for the Memphis Crawl, our co-write which was going to get its debut performance from me at the show that night. I was frantically learning the words and practising it all day. The band gave it a great feel which helped the song along. The show, which was a live webcast and radio broadcast went really well. The audience were ace and the set came alive with the band. As it was only a six song set- the time flew by. I loved it as I always love performing. As it was my first time playing in Nashville I wasn't sure how well my music would go down, but the audience loved that celtic fiddle style. I thought at first it might be all country music bands and my set might have been out of place but I was completely wrong. When I walked into the venue a rock band were playing, followed by a mixed selection of genres including country. The gig was great and I met some really cool people, and I have been given an invitation to go back and perform there again.

March 10 2008 - Nashville
Nashville 10th March After loosing a day travelling we also lost out on rehearsal time, but luckily the band could make a rehearsal tonight. First thing in the morning we went shopping for an outfit for my show - knowing at the back of mind i wouldn't get my luggage back in time. The rehearsal at night went brilliantly..... after a few wrong turns trying to find Billy's house. Not easy when you are in an unknown place. The band were excellent and sorted out any mistakes super quick. It was a great vibe and cool bunch of guys. I was very impressed. Jim, my keyboard player drove down from Cinncinnatti!! After the snow calmed down he also managed to get there ok

March 8 2008 - Leaving for Nashville
8th March - Leaving for Nashville My show in Nashville is scheduled for the 11th March at Billy Block's western beat. I had been liasing with the band by email sedning the trax i am going to be performing, and today we left for the airport. Nightmare journey begins stage 1. Told at airport there was bad weather in Cleveland where we were connecting. Got to Newark to be told all flights to cleveland cancelled - put on standby flight to Nashville, that was also cancelled as well as two other flights out that day as there was a snowstorm in Nashville. We were on standby but didnt get on the flight. Ended up being in transit for 32 hours and having to fly to Memphis and hire a car and drive to Nashville. It was the 1st time I'd ever driven on the right hand side of the road and to top it off I was also jet-lagged. Not ideal to say the least. We arrived there safe and sound though - even though our luggage did not

March 2 2008 - Radio Show
Brian Hurren, the keyboard player with Runrig, was hosting the Karin Ingram show in the Borders and asked me to be a guest on the show. That involved choosing 4 tracks to play and talk about that have influenced my music, and 6 of my own songs from my album. We were on air for 2 hours, and I was on the whole time. It was great fun. I love radio stuff. We talked about my work with Runrig, Jim Lauderdale, Pete Seeger, Odetta, and Shane MacGowan. It was quite a laugh and I hope the listeners enjoyed it. It was mother's day so we also did a wee mother's day dedication, aww.

February 23 2008 - Folk Alliance - day 3
I had a busy day scheduled for today. 5 gigs! Think thats the most I've ever done in one day! 3pm - session/workshop with Canadian fiddlers: Samantha Robichaud invited me to a session with a group of fiddlers. It was amazing just to join in and hear all the different fiddle styles. We all did our own tunes and played with each other. Its the first time I've ever done Orange Blossom Special the way they do it. Its amazing - each fiddler takes one part each, and afer every section it comes down then builds up again. 6.30pm: My official showcase I was very pleased this year with the turn out at my official showcase, and we had various bookers, promoters and agents who took an interest in my music. The only disappointing thing for me was the sound wasnt too good and there was a bit of feedback, in hindsight we should have played acoustically - but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Nonetheless it was still great fun. 1am - Private Showcase This was my highlight performance, We had another amazing session player join us called Andrew Harden. The vibe felt good from the off, and we had definately hit a high note! 1.30am - Cape Breton I was asked to play a couple of numbers for the Canadian contingent in their showcase room. They certainly know how to do it right, the vibe in their room was fab. I sang Reachin' Out, and played Roxburghe House on the fiddle. 2.30am - Stonehoney I joined Stonehoney for 3 numbers on fiddle. Wow, what a vibe in that room. The energy levels were high, and I went for it. There was no holding back. I had a brilliant day/night. Played with some of the finest country musicians and met some great people I hope to be staying in touch with. All in all a great way to end a great Folk Alliance!

February 22 2008 - Folk Alliance - day 2
Second day at the folk alliance and I felt a bit fresher after a good sleep. Today we did a lot of Net-Working, we browsed around the stalls and found a double bass player for my gig that night! He was called Bruce White, he was a great player and such a laugh. Turned out he also played the saw! But I couldn't quite think which of my songs that would work in! lol. We rehearsed with him and also Hank on acoustic guitar. My gig wasn't till 1am so we had plenty of time to meet people and check out other bands. My first showcase was one of the private showcases in the hotel rooms. They allocate the top 3 floors for people to hire out the rooms purely for private showcases. It means there are about 300 gigs going on all at once! Its mad, but very cool. The show itself went well, we did it part unplugged. Afterwards we went along to the Threadgills room, it was jumping. It was there I saw for the first time performing an amazing band from California called Stonehoney. I went to bed about 5am totally exhausted after a hard days work!

February 21 2008 - Folk Alliance / Memphis
We set off for Memphis today for the Folk Alliance, and what a journey! Our flight was at 6am! That was a sore one as I had to get up at 3! We also had a long wait in Amsterdam Airport before the next flight. Just as well I had my new ipod to keep me occupied! We arrived and got checked into the hotel - just across from where the conference was taking place so it couldn't have been handier. I had a gig scheduled for that night, doing a solo spot followed by a fiddle-off with myself and a few other fiddlers. We also had a quick rehearsal beforehand. It meant I had been up for 32 hours, I usually get a sleep after travelling before I perform so this was a new experience for me! Was great fun though, and what a vibe in the Threadgills room!! I was asked to perform Stepping Stone, Memphis Crawl, and the song which has been getting success already in Tennessee and has been selected as a finalist of the ISC awards "Reachin Out", it went down well. The fiddle off was fab, we worked out that we were going to play "Orange Blossom Special" and take a verse each, and finish with the tune "Bowing the Strings". Was a great way to begin the folk alliance, and meant that I met some amazing folk straight away!

February 18 2008 - Arbroath Suite
We had our first rehearsal for the Arbroath Suite with the musicians today. After weekes of getting the music ready I was finally able to hear the music performed by real musicians instead of my computer! That was a real treat. It went well, everyone got on well together and the music was starting to come alive. I had Rachel Newton on small harp and fiddle, Simon on pipes and whistles, Wendy Weatherby on cello, and Stevie Lawerence on bodhran, bazouki and G whistle. Was great fun. The show is going to be on the 5th April in Webster Theatre Arbroath, and the 6th April in the Oran Mor, Glasgow.

January 26 2008 - Border's performance
Border's store in Glasgow were doing a show in con-junction with Celtic-Connections and they asked me to do a short set. There were a few other artists from Celtic Connections appearing, and I took the last slot at 3pm. It went well, all the kids clapped and sang along on Hail Caledonia and I even had two wee ones up with me. One Scotland also went down a treat with the wee ones, ashame I didn't have my childrens' choir from Whitench and Bridgeton with me!

January 24 2008 - Studio / Josh White Jr
Today we went into the studio to record a demo of Josh White Jr's new song "We Can Do It" - it is a tribute to Barack Obama. We had Josh himself on guitar and vocals, a mini gospel choir, and myself on fiddle and vocals. We got a good demo done for one day's work, so everyone was happy with the result. It was also good to work with Josh in a studio situation too. Its a great song.

January 22 2008 - Jim Lauderdale - ABC, Celtic Connections
Tonight I was invited play with Jim Lauderdale at his Celtic Connections show at the ABC. I performed on the songs "Lost in the Lonesome pines" and also "When The Apples Are Just Turning Ripe". The show was packed, and it was great to get another chance to perform with Jim and his bluegrass band before thay all headed back to Nashville.

January 20 2008 - Tayside 2 Tennessee show - celtic connections
This is it. The time has come for my Celtic Connections show, it was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. A lot to pull together, but it worked. First good thing was that it was a sell-out! The audience were brilliant as were my guests Jim Lauderdale and Josh White Jr. The concept of the show was to exlore the links between celtic, bluegrass and gospel music. Josh joined me on Reaching Out (my gaelic meets gospel track) and then I joined him and his gospel choir on his own gospel songs - I also did two duets with Jim: my song "Johnny McRae" and the famous "Tennessee Waltz", and I joined him and his bluegrass band for his own songs. We finished the 1st half with Jim singing and me on fiddle on the "Memphis Crawl" our co-penned track. As Jim said the ink was still wet on the page as it had just been finished! We finished the whole show with an encore of our rendition of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" and got a standing ovation. A perfect way to end the show...........on a high note!

January 19 2008 - Final rehearsal / Tayside 2 Tennessee
Jim and his bluegrass band flew in today and we had our full rehearsal. We got it all together really quickly and everyone was happy. Jim was still writing the lyrics for Memphis Crawl which he was doing for the show - he says its his writers curse and he can only finish a song under pressure! Its a great bunch of guys and I'm really looking forward to the show tomorrow.

January 18 2008 - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall with Josh White Jr
Today Josh White Jr and I headlined the children's show at the Royal Concert Hall, part of Celtic Connections. It was the earliest sound check in history! 8am! Thats most singers and/or musician's nightmare, but we managed fine. I lost my skirt on the way to the venue! and no not the one i was wearing, the one i was going to wear for the show - it must have fallen out my bag on Renfrew street. ooops. The gig itself was fab, all be it lively with 2000 3-7 year olds in the concert hall! They loved Josh, his songs went down a treat, as did my song "One Scotland" which they loved!

January 10 2008 - Rehearsals for Celtic Connections show.
Rehearsals started today for my Celtic Connections show "Tayside tae Tennessee". The line up is exciting, with Scottish and American musicans both on the bill. We will not be able to rehearse with Jim Lauderdale's bluegrass band until the day before the show so i have emailed them mp3s of the songs. The Scottish group got together today though and all went well.

December 20 2007 - One Scotland presentation.
Today the Oran Mor Outreach programme team went out to both schools involved in the programme (Dalmarnock and St Pauls), to present each child who took part with a DVD collection of the project, (from the song performance to background clips, studio clips, the children working etc.) It was a great package for them and definately an extra Christmas treat. Colin Beattie of the Oran Mor presented each child with their award, in front of the entire school. It was a special day for all.

December 8 2007 - last tour date- Runrig
The finale performance at the famous Barrowlands Ballroom in Glasgow. What an event and close to the tour! The Glasgow young audience certainly know how to enjoy themselves. The Vatersay Boys were supporting this time and I was playing with the band, they also invited Gary Inness on accordion to join them for Clash of the Ash. Just watching the way Runrig perform to their fans has been an experience for me. They really know how to interact with the audience and their show is very much visual as well as musical. They have such great hooks in their songs and plenty of places for the audience to join in. They know how to do it right. Bruce Guthro on lead vocals has a rapport with the audience as well as with the performers and guests on stage. They did a quirky thing near the end of the show which was a surprise to us and the audience, and got all the backstage crew on stage singing and playing with their Santa hats on , all dressed up. What a laugh we got. They gave us a great reception at the end with a wee after show party. Once again I'd like to thank Runrig and their production team, Regular Music and everyone involved for having me on the tour. Its been great "craic" as they say, and I would love to work with them again soon. Thanks!

December 7 2007 - Runrig - Stirling.
The audience in Stirling were definitely family orientated. You could tell straight away. They were more of a listening crowd. It was great to see yet another full concert hall all ready and waiting for the headlining act! Johnny was back in form for the show and we were all set. It turned out that there were quite a lot of Germans at the gig, as I got the chance to meet them at the album signing after the show. I know that Runrig have a huge following in Germany but didn't realise that some of them also travel here to see their favourite band! Thats dedication. I joined Runrig again for Proterra and Stamping Ground. It is sad that it is coming to an end but the tour has been invaluable experience for me as a performer, and I loved every minute of it. Sharing the stage with Runrig has been a privilege and great fun!

December 4 2007 - Runrig in Perth
Next stop - Perth Concert Hall. I got a mighty Tayside welcome at this show I tell you. It wasn't without its other hitches mind you. My guitarist the mighty Johnny Cameron, came down with a tooth abscess. He couldn't talk, couldn't move and as a result could play or sing. Yikes! Luckily though, we had Sean anyway, and Gary Inness on accordion that night. I also played a few more songs than usual on guitar to fill out the rhythm. Poor Johnny, but once again "the show must go on". (Thats a great cliche). The audience were amazing, and our choreography worked a treat and really got them jumping. I was totally sweating by the end with all that moving, but energy levels were high all round. I also had my family in the audience that night, which added to the buzz. I joined Runrig for both songs tonight, I think Malcolm forgot I was coming on for Stamping Ground and didn't realise I was there till the solo - then he got a wee surprise! It gave me a giggle. I was signing albums at the end at a very busy merchandise stall, so got the chance to meet some of the fans. They were a great bunch. Another show over.

December 3 2007 - Monday night in Aberdeen - with Runrig
Onwards and upwards to the next leg of the tour. The journey up to Aberdeen was fine with no hitches. The car was fixed and there were no more problems. Again got to the venue in plenty time for sound-check. It was the first time I had been in the Aberdeen Music Hall, having heard so much about it. Its a stunning building. Very old and impressive. We kicked off our part of the show this time with Reachin Out, which the audience seemed to enjoy. The crowd were very energetic and up for it with the occasional "Go Laura" from a familiar face near the front. It all added to the atmosphere in the hall. Unbeknown to them though we were having a few technical problems on stage, as there was an electrical fault with the monitors, as a result we couldn't hear anything on stage, just what was going out front....so the sound was booming back! It didn't bother me too much. As they say "the show must go on". Once again I joined Runrig for "Proterra". The audience were fab that night! All in all a great gig.

December 1 2007 - Runrig - Inverness
I had my 2nd show with Runrig today, and it was the first one we had to travel to. We hired a car which we picked up in the morning. Was big enough for 4 of us plus all the gear! We got there with no wrong turns and no hold ups on the road....phew, and made it in perfect timing for our 4pm sound check. The Ironworks venue was great. Sound-check ran smoothly, we'd done most of the work the previous night so Chris knew what we needed. The show itself was good, we warmed up the audience, and by "One Scotland" they were all singing and clapping along. I also joined Runrig on Proterra, but couldn't do the 2nd one I normally do called "Stamping Ground" as we had to travel back to Glasgow that night! And what a journey that turned out to be! After nearly not getting out the car park as we were locked in, we only got to Aviemore, when the oil light came on and we had to stop, we feared there might be a leak and the shop didn't have the correct oil for the vehicle so we phoned the RAC and as a result didn't get home till 6am! Needless to say I spent the majority of the next day in bed! Catching up on sleep and re-charging my batteries for Monday night's gig in Aberdeen. It was annoying but hey "C'est la vie" at least it wasn't on the way TO the gig! That WOULD have been a nightmare.

November 30 2007 - Opening Night of Runrig UK support tour
First day of the Runrig support tour today and it was all hectic as I had a live radio broadcast on the BBC in the morning, one of my musician's Sean had just flown in from the States for the tour, and we had to be at the Concert Hall for 4pm for the sound check. The road crew gave us a lovely welcome, making us feel at home and we hit it off with Chris the sound engineer. At one point during the sound-check the stage manager Martin asked if I would get my mark for lighting for when I was to play with Runrig. I thought he meant for the Barrowlands gig but no, it was for that night! Had no idea I was to be playing with the band that night. Just a wee surprise to kick things off....keeping me on my toes! There was a feeling of tension backstage just before we walked on to open the show for Runrig.......not knowing what to expect form the audience and how much they would like the songs! Turned out to be a fantastically warm and appreciative audience. My new song "One Scotland" went down a storm and was especially fitting as this was St Andrews day. There were a few folk flying the St Andrews flag in the audience. Felt great, and think us Scots were all feeling particulary patriotic at that point. We finished on a high note with Hail Caledonia, which also rocked the hall. 1st show down and I was pleased with how it went. Was very happy to be invited back on for 2 numbers with Runrig. The energy in the room by this point was high with everyone on their feet. Clapping, stamping and singing. Just what you'd expect at a Runrig show.

November 30 2007 - BBC radio Scotland broadcast
Today was a very exciting day for some of the kids from Dalmarnock primary, and St Pauls....and me! Not only was it St Andrews Day, but we got the chance to perform the song "One Scotland" on BBC radio Scotland. The kids were very excited and nervous beforehand, but they did amazingly well. Such great experience for children of that age to be given that opportunity. I was so happy it went well for them. The song was released today worldwide on itunes.

November 23 2007 - One Scotland debut performance - Oran Mor
Tonight I performed my latest multi-cultural single "One Scotland" with the school children of Dalmarnock primary and St Pauls primary at the Oran Mor, Glasgow. This was part of the Oran Mor outreach programme. It was a successful night. It was the first public perfomance of the song, after weeks of workshops, working with the kids on their artwork, and recording the song. It was great to see the two schools from different religious backgrounds integrating and getting along with each other. At the same time it was great to see kids from ethnic minorities involved, as that was the whole idea behind the project and the song. I hope to be getting more schools involved in this kind of project next year.

November 20 2007 - workshop
Did another workshop in school today. Part two of the 2 days workshops I've been doing about Multi-cultural Scotland which is as part of the Oran Mor Outreach Programme. The kids were great. Really enthusiastic and responsive. The last time I visited that school we recorded them singing the "one scotland song". This time we practised for the performance of the song this coming friday in the oran mor, and the children created a mural of drawings and stories relating to different cultures that have migrated to Scotland.

November 16 2007 - studio
I recorded vocals for my new song Careless today at Riverside studios Glasgow, with the legendary producer Duncan Cameron. He is fab to work with. I get great adrenalin and enjoyment from recording aswell as performing live, and its great to hear the finished result. This is due for release on itunes early next year.

November 9 2007 - Jim Lauderdale
I joined Jim Lauderdale onstage tonight in Glasgow for the number called "Lost in the Lonesome Pines". Was great to see his gig and get the opportunity to work with him again.

October 20 2007 - Ian Hunter / Old Fruitmarket.
I performed tonight again with Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople at the Fruitmarket. Last gig I did with him in May was acoustic, this time was with the full band. It was kicking! My friend James who performed with my band at the Knitting Factory is on tour with Ian in the UK just now, so it was great to see him again too! I played fiddle on the song "Big Mouth". I hope the rest of their tour goes well and hope to work with Ian and the band again soon.

October 17 2007 - Studio
I was in the studio again today to do more work on the new single "One Scotland" - Johnny recorded the electric guitar parts and we got all the children's parts transferred over and slotted into the track...as they were recorded on the mobile studio. This took hours to do. All the parts are recorded now and we are happy with it. The final task is to mix and master which we are doing on Friday. Can't wait to hear the final mix!

October 16 2007 - Tribute to Wallace Cameron
Today is the 1 year anniversary of the death of Scottish folk singer Wallace Cameron. I took part in a special tribute to him tonight in East Kilbride organised by his brothers Duncan and John. The first time I met Wallace was on a trip to NYC in 2004 for a Matt McGinn tribute concert on Broadway. He was excellent at the McGinn songs and gave great renditions of songs such as "Manura manya" and "Foreman O' Rourke". He fulfilled one of his long time ambitions that night by performing onstage with Pete Seeger.

October 14 2007 - Studio
I was in the studio today to record the song "One Scotland". I did my vocals before my US tour and we are now recording all the other parts. We had an excellent drummer in called Stuart Kidd (The BMX Bandits, Nice Man & The Bad Boys, The Primary 5, Saint Deluxe). I recorded my fiddle parts and Johnny and Stuart also did the backing vocals...the mighty Johnny also did the keyboard and Hammond parts and Stuart did some percussion too....Oh we also started another new track as well. All in all a very productive day!

October 9 2007 - Multi-cultural workshop
I am working on a multi-cultural song with schools around Scotland, due for release as a singe for St Andrews day. The song is called "One Scotland" - its about embracing all cultures in Scotland today. Today I did a workshop at another school - I taught the children the song then recorded them.

October 5 2007 - Community project
I am working on a community project in schools, part of the Oran Mor community arts programme. This involves workshops in local schools as well as recording a new single due for release for St Andrews's day. I have been teaching the children the song and today we went into the school with Duncan Cameron and his production team to record them. They had done excellent work and were really singing out well! We also recorded a small instrumental group who had been working hard on their parts. They were really well prepared for today! I was very impressed with the attitude of the children. Well done to the p7s of St Pauls!

October 1 2007 - back to sunny Scotland
Made the trip back to my home land today. Was glad to be back and brought the sunshine with me! Makes a change from taking the rain everywhere! Getting organised to go into the studio to record a new single. Its part of a multi-cultural project I'm doing involving Scottish school children.

September 29 2007 - Recording for Midpoint music festival
Just finished recording a track and interview for the MidPoint music fest podcast at the Sound Images studio, Cincinnati. Did an acoustic version of Tell It Tae The Lover with Sean Seymour on guitar, backing vocals and percussion. We did some over-dubs so I was able to play guitar for the live performance of the song then over dub the fiddle parts. Sean played guitar on live take then overdubbed the backing vocals, tambourine and shaker. I found out that only 10 of the artists were selected for this pocast from the whole festival, so I was very happy to be picked. Will be aired soon, will let you know when we find out when. I also did an interview with Steve, chatting about my trips to the US and my music. Matt was the engineer in the studio. A great bunch of folk. Enjoyed doing it and meeting them. Now looking forward to my gig tonight at Arnold's.

September 29 2007 - Midpoint music fest, Cincinnati - Arnolds
Fab gig tonight in Arnolds! Absolutely loved it....apart from my hairpiece falling out....ooops. I got a new hair piece for stage which I thought was pretty funky and have actually worn it successfully a few times now, but unfortunatley tonight I must have been giving it too much laldie and it fell oot. lol. Apart from that awesome gig! Great crowd in good ole Cinncy. The band behind me were brilliant. Mike Hodges on drums and Kurt Hall on bass. Excellent players - played with Bowie. Also the dazzling Jim Morris on keyboards and the shining Sean Seymour on guitar. We rocked Arnolds. Even got an encore to which we performed the Burns/Beatles cover I've Just Seen a Face with Tam O' Shanter intro. We literally finished the gig, packed away the equiptment, had a drink, then jumped into the car back to NJ....15 hour journey! Puts the journey back to Scotland to shame!! All in all a brilliant trip. Wish I could do it all over again. But I've got lots to look forward to coming up in Scotland so its all good.

September 28 2007 - Rehearsals
Today was registration day at the midpoint music festival Cincinnati, followed by rehearsals with the band for tomorrow night. It was great to see another new city. Georgetown Kentucky where we stayed last night is only an hour and a bit from Cincinnati. Nothing compared with the previous journey! Rehearsal went really well. Can't wait for the gig now. Oh, we also checked out the venue when downtown. It looks really cool.

September 27 2007 - Off to Kentucky
We left New Jersey for Kentucky yesterday. A long 12 hour drive so we decided to leave last night and stop over at Sean's mum's in Virginia on the way to break up the journey. The 1st leg went very smoothly and we got there about 3am. I was so tired I was out like a light. We got very nice hospitality there and it was great to see another part of the country. Beautiful place. We left this morning for Kentucky and half way there we stopped at a rest stop only to discover we had a flat tyre!! Sean put on the spare and it was also flat!! Couldn't believe the bad luck. We had to call a local garage to come and tow us and repair the tyre! Luckily we still made it to the venue in time for the gig, slightly later than planned but it all worked out! I did my hair and make up in the car! Thats a first for me. So it was arrive at the venue and straight on stage after a 12 hour journey... rock and roll! The gig was great. We played to a very captive and appreciative audience! They were great. I did a signing of albums for them after the show. We then recorded a live interview for the celtic folk podcast, due to be aired soon, with Al Mann. Thanks to him for a great night. Hope to play there again next year.

September 22 2007 - Long Valley, New Jersey.
As New Jersey is such a big State we decided to fit in another gig here before we leave. This time in a place called Long Valley. Very beautiful scenery there. Reminded me of home. This time had full band, Sean Seymour on guitar, Pat Robinson on accordion, Chris O' Hara on drums who recently appeared in the Sopranos, South African Keith Lentin on bass, and Chris Flynn on banjo. All fantastic musicians!

September 18 2007 - The Goldhawk, Hoboken
I played an impromtu night at the Goldhawk in Hoboken with Sean on guitar and Nelson on Djembe. Yes the birthplace of thee one and only Frank Sinatra! I've been asked to do a showcase night there next year as part of my East Coast acoustic tour.

September 15 2007 - Chuck Berry
Got a great treat today! Got to see Chuck Berry playing live at the New Jersey music festival. He was amazing! Can't believe he was on, I honestly thought the band were winding me up and it was going to be a Chuck Berry tribute, so when he walked onto the stage and did his duck walk I got a shock.

September 14 2007 - Cranford, New Jersey
Did a gig tonight in Cranford New Jersey for the Union County festival. Was yet another outdoor gig! Told you I was doing a lot of them these days. This time it was a smaller acoustic set up but the crowd were still into the music. Did a half hour set. Met loads of great folk including Mike Peters from The Alarm who did a fantastic set. Hoping to be involved in this again next year.

September 11 2007 - 911 memorial anniversary.
Flew over to NYC yesterday as I'd been asked to play for the BMG concert in Hanover Square for the anniversary of 911. It was obviously a big event in New York for a very important day. I was to play my piece "Commemoration" written especially for the 911 victims. There were also 2 singers, American and Welsh singing their own nation anthems. The weather was threatening rain but as it has always been an outdoor event they decided to go ahead outside. The full pipebands were there marching down the street. It was only drizzly to start with but as soon as I started Commemoration the heavens opened and down it poured. We're talking a thunder storm! We all had to move inside as soon as I finished the piece. I finished my set inside, and had John Smeaton, Glasgow local hero from the terrorist bombings to recite the words from the Declaration as I played.

September 9 2007 - London gig 2.
Played 2nd gig in London for the festival today. Numbers were up and the place rocked. I met Billy Boyd and his band Beecake. They were excellent. Also met Eddi Reader who seemed to enjoy my set. I also got the chance to watch her set which was great. We also did a couple of numbers at the after show party. Excellent weekend. Definately reckon "Hail Caledonia" went down the best yet again.

September 8 2007 - Gigging in London
Did a gig in London today for the Scottish festival the "London Gathering" It was a first year event which is going to become an annual thing. I played an up-beat set with the full band, Ross McFarlane on drums, Kevin MacGuire on bass and Zac Ware on guitar. The gig was at the Temple garden, lovely setting for outdoor gig. Weather good this time. Seem to be playing mainly outdoor gigs just now! It was on the Thames at Westminster, right in the heart of the city. Great location.

August 30 2007 - Diabetes UK
I was auctioned at a gig back in June to raise money for the diabetes UK, and a man called Tony (Chivas Regal) put in the highest bid. He booked me for tonight, so I did the gig for his party. Did an hour's set, with album tracks as well as some new songs. The high point of the night was Hail Caledonia at the very end. The audience seemed to love the song.

August 20 2007 - BBC TV filming. - Phil Cunningham
I was filming today for the BBC TV documentary about the history of Scottish music presented by Phil Cunningham. I was asked to be involved because of my interest in Matt McGinn. They were talking about him along with other Scottish figures from the 1960's folk revival. I performed the song With Fire and With Sword, the anti war song, because of its relevance today, and its also a great wee tune! Johnny Cameron accompanied me on guitar and backing vocals. Later in the day I was filmed chatting with Phil about McGinn. It was definately an informal vibe as it was all filmed in a wee pub in Glasgow and we were chatting over a drink. A fitting setting for the subject matter as thats what folk music is all about after all. "Scotland's music" is going to be aired in November, and I will be featured in the 1st episode.

August 18 2007 - Runrig, Drumnadrochit- Beat the Drum.
17,000 people, big stage, RAIN RAIN RAIN all day long!!! I have never seen mud like it. Sods law that the very day of the gig they have been planning for over a year the rain doesn't let up. But then again this is Scotland after all. What do you expect?? Anyway. The gig itself was amazing. The buzz onstage was brilliant. I loved it. Got to watch the band from the wings....attempting to stay out of the rain! I played on Proterra, and a fantastic uplifting song called Stamping ground. The mud and rain definately didn't phase the crowd! A brilliant gig. Watch this space for DVD release.

August 17 2007 - Off to Inverness
Got the train to Inverness for the Runrig show today. I am staying in the Thistle hotel. We had to do all sound checks tonight as there are other bands on throughout the day tomorrow. I am using a radio pack which I can clip onto the shoulder rest of the violin. This is great as you can't see any wires. I am also using in ear monitors for the first time. It is also great as no matter where you walk on the stage you can hear yourself.

August 15 2007 - Rehearsal with Runrig
I had a rehearsal with Runrig at the Braehead arena. Fantastic venue. They hired it for a run through the whole show with lights and full stage set up. They are recording the show for DVD. We had 20 minutes to rehearse the 2 songs I am playing on. We also choreographed the songs so I knew exactly what part of the stage I was to be on at specific points. I began on a riser and then walked down the stairs to the middle of the stage. After the rehearsal they began the full run through. It was great to have a proper rehearsal before the show. Last time I played with them I didn't even get a proper sound-check!

August 12 2007 - Riverside Studios.
Another day another dollar....(or so they say???) The work continues and the tracks begin to take shape. We are going electric! I love the up-tempo vibe of the new songs we are recording. Looking forward to getting it all finished. These things take time, but its good to do a bit then take time out and come back to finish it...with fresh ears as they say! Its long hours working in the studio and I admire the producers that do it every day.

August 11 2007 - Riverside Studios.
Back in Busby, Glasgow working again with the Cameron Clan at Riverside Studios. What a laugh. Its great to work with people who clearly love what they do and have a laugh as they produce great records! The work continues on the tracks.........

August 1 2007 - Studio
We started working at Riverside studios on the forth-coming EP. I am recording 3 tracks to begin with. Its great working with producer Duncan Cameron, and once again musician extrordanaire Johnny Cameron. The songs are up-tempo with a country-rock vibe. Watch this space.

July 31 2007 - Ricky Skaggs support gig
I had a gig supporting Ricky Skaggs tonight at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow. A cracking venue! Amazing sound and has been recently refurbished apparently. I loved the gig. Just did a wee acoustic set for half an hour, accompanied by the fantastic Johnny Cameron on acoustic guitar, mandolin and some sweet backing vocals! We kicked off with my Gaelic meets gospel track "Reachin' Out", and continued with a set of some songs from my "Green Eyes" album, plus a new instrumental called the "Memphis Crawl". Definately a toe tappin' lively number to get the audience going. That went down well, especially since the audience were all Bluegrass lovers. I met Ricky and some of the band members - a lovely bunch from the deep South. Cool accent! The band were amazing! I got to see most of their set. It was fab. Hope to work with them again soon.

July 18 2007 - USA new Album Release & Maxi Download Single
I have now started the pre-production for my new USA album. I am recording at Riverside Studios in Glasgow also in New York and Nashville. My maxi download single Careless/Seven Days of Wonder/Convincing Me is due to be released in September to co-incide with my US tour (exact dates will be up on site in next few weeks). So far I am performing in New York City, Cincinnati Ohio, and Raleigh North Carolina. I am really looking forward to recording my new songs. It is exciting having some new material ready and I can't wait to let everyone hear them!

June 10 2007 - Scottish Music Series - BBC TV
I have been asked to appear with Phil Cunningham in a BBC TV documentary he is doing on the history of Scottish music. In the 1st episode they are talking about some of the figures involved in the Glasgow Folk Revival, including Matt McGinn. As I have performed contemporary arrangements of McGinn's songs at various tribute concerts over the last few years, they have asked me to perform one of his songs on the show. I am also going to be interviewed by Phil about Matt McGinn. I have chosen to perform "With Fire and with Sword". One of his anti-war songs, which is as relevant today as it was when it was written in the 60's. Arthur Johnstone who set up the Star Folk club will also be appearing, talking about some of the key figures in folk music in the 70's. He will possibly be singing a Hamish Henderson song. I am looking forward to the experience, which is going to be recorded next month, due to be aired in November this year.

June 1 2007 - Diabetes UK fundraiser
I appeared at a diabetes fundraiser with Fred McAuley (renound radio presenter and comedian) in Glasgow at the Radisson. I performed 2 songs. The audience were brilliant. They had an auction to raise money for the charity, at which I auctioned my services. A 40 minute set at their own home by myself. I was auctioned for £2000. It was the director of Chivas Regal that won the bid. I am doing the show for him on the 30th August in Stathaven. Never been auctioned before. It was more nerve-wracking than performing!!! Alls well that ends well! The charity were happy with the extra 2k

May 30 2007 - Youtube videos
You can now see videos of my show in NYC on www.youtube.com . There are several songs up including Reachin' Out and the Robbie Burns meets the Beatles cover version of "I've just seen a Face". (As I said before the meter of that song mirrors that of the Tam O' Shanter by Robert Burns). I decided to start the first verse with the 1st verse of Tam o' Shanter when I did the song in NY. There is also a new song called "Strange Love" up on youtube. As well as these from the Knitting factory there is also a news report video which was filmed and broadcast the day after I got back from NYC. Think I was still on a high from the amazing trip and didn't seem to notice the jet-lag till the following day. I did a live acoustic session for that also. It was filmed at my parents house which was cool.

May 21 2007 - The Simpsons sing folk/rock
Have a look at the video of Reachin Out put together by 15 year old Lolly from Glasgow UK. We found it on youtube. Great to see Bart Simpson singing folk/rock. I hope he decided to do some more in the near future!. lol, anyway thanks for doing that Lolly

April 5 2007 - New Scotland / New York
I was performing in my own show at the Knitting Factory at 8pm. We had booked a band from New York that play regularly together. The band were absolutely fantastic, top quality! I had a blast onstage. The energy was high and we gave it our all! The feedback from the audience was extremely positive, everyone seemed to really enjoy the music. I think the Beatles song probably went down the best. We have put our own unique slant on the song. I now start the song with a verse from Robbie Burns "Tam O' Shanter" The meter of the poem fits exactly with the meter of the song "I've Just Seen A Face". It takes the song back to its roots and shows how the music has come full circle, coming from Scotland over to the US where it developed into country music then influenced bands like the Beatles in the 60's. We had also extended some of the arrangements of songs like "Reachin' Out" and "Green Eyes"...so we now have the live versions and the studio versions. The set was an hour in total, and it was very hot up on that stage! I was sweating a lot by the end of it. I finished off with "Hail Caledonia". It always goes down well with audiences and is definatley a great finale. I break into a reel on the fiddle at the end of the song which gets folk jumping! I also joined Scottish Asian DJs "Tigerstyle" onstage for a 10 minute slot during their set. The fusion of Scottish and Asian worked really well and brought the two cultures together. Really summing up the focus of the show "New Scotland New York". I am hoping to work with them more in the future. I also joined MASH onstage for live versions of the dance remixes he has done of "Reachin' Out" and "Green Eyes". He joined them both together to make a ten minute mix. It worked really well. It was great performing the dance mix live for the first time and I hope we can also do more in the future. There is a possibility of the Green Eyes dance remix being released as a single fairly soon. MASH has had dance hits in Belgium and is well known in Europe. He is a great person to work with.

April 4 2007 - British Memorial Garden
I was invited to perform at the event for the British memorial garden trust fund. I performed my piece "Commemoration" in memory of those who lost their lives in the 911 tragedy. I also performed "Amazing Grace" with two of the pipers from the Strathclyde fire and rescue pipe band that were performing on the day. The event was meant to be hosted outside near the garden itself (which is still under construction at the moment in Hanover Square), with the dinner taking place afterwards in India House. However, this was the only day that it rained in a whole month! Typical bad luck. They had to move the whole thing indoors into India house, and intersperse the speeches and the entertainers with the dinner. I performed at the beginning, then enjoyed a beautiful meal.

April 1 2007 - Interview with Sunday Times
We got an email asking me if I'd like to do an interview for the Sunday Times back home. We arranged a phone interview from an office in NYC. It was pretty extensive and covered a lot of my background and career, especially my work with Jim Lauderdale, and how we are going to be working together later this year. From that I ended up getting a lot more press back home on the run up to Tartan Week. The Scotsman, the Scotland on Sunday, the Herald and the Metro.

March 24 2007 - Odetta tribute concert
I had the absolute priveledge of appearing at an Odetta tribute concert in Washinton DC. For those of you Europeans who don't know know she is, she is an absolutey amazing singer and folk/blues icon in America. She did the song "This little light of mine". It was her who made that song famous! And I got to perform it onstage with her in the finale, along with numerous other well-known American folk artists, Josh White Junior, Janice Ian, Oscar Brand to name a few.What a great experience for me! Oscar asked me to join him playing fiddle on his two songs. He has the longest ever running radio show....been running for 60 years! He is 88! I was also asked to perform a solo violin interpretaion of one of Odetta's songs. I chose one called "Roberta" It has a lovely melody and worked extremely well on the violin

March 20 2007 - Hayley Westerna New Zealand TV broadacast
I had been booked to play with Hayley Westerna at her New York performance. I joined her on stage for "Amazing Grace" on which I played fiddle. I also did a few songs as a support slot. There were lots of record company people at her show and the audience were very responsive to my music, especially considering its totally different from Hayley's style. It was amazing working with her. She has such a beautiful voice and I especially loved her rendition of "Danny Boy". I would love to work with her again in the future.

March 16 2007 - Nightmare journey
I got ill in Austin with Cedar fever just after my performance. I felt so ill in the airport I had to be put in a wheelchair! I could hardly walk. Our flight ended up not being able to land in New York as the airport was closed due to 14 inches of snow in NYC! We landed in North Carolina and got given hotel vouchers. The next day we spent most of in the airport finding out when our flight back would be. Luckily I was feeling much better that day. We were delayed even more then my manager couldn't get in touch with his mum in Glasgow and had to have the police bash down her door, when she wasn't there she was reported missing! Finally landed in Newark and eventually found out that she had been found in hospital with a broken knee, she had fallen two days earlier! Then I got my mobile phone stolen, then my luggage falied to turn up at airport and we had been waiting 4 hours in airport for it to arrive. Luckily I got my guitar. We totally missed St Patricks day, it was midnight before we left the airport! What an experience!

March 15 2007 - SXSW / Red Gorrilla
I was performing at the Red Gorilla festival at South by South West in Austin. We found a band even quicker this time! In the taxi coming from the airport! The taxi driver had a band and gave us a couple of contacts. We had to find musicians over there as the trip to Toronto and Austin was self-funded. It was a difficult job but we managed in Toronto so we were convinced it would work again. The players we got were great, but we had even less rehearsal time this time as my gig was earlier! Nonetheless, we made it, and got through the set no problem. The venue seemed to fill up throughout my set which was great. Darwin's was on 6th Street, the main street where it was all happening, and it had huge windows with no glass so people could see right in and hear what was going on. At the end of "Hail Caledonia" we got a roaring applause! A few promoters also made it down to that one as well which was great, as there is so much going on at sxsw. There are potential gigs coming out of that show which is great. Afterwards I was asked to do a TV interview for sxsw.

March 10 2007 - CMW -Toronto
Canadian Music Week. I started off my North American tour with a perfomance in Toronto during Canadian Music Week. The gig was the Cadillac lounge, the time was 10pm and the bass player was Janice Joplins! He was fantastic, Brad Campbell. We only rehearsed that day and he didn't hit a bum note the whole gig! The audience were excellent. It was full of young people who seemed to love the music. I even had a group of girls sitting on the floor infront of the stage. It was cool! I performed a new song for the first time that night called "Strange Love" Its a great one to perform, and gives me such a buzz. A Canadian agent we had met with at Celtic Connections came along with another promoter. They seemed to enjoy the set.

February 22 2007 - North American Folk Alliance, Memphis
We did a lot of net-working during the day in the hotel. We also met up with 2 black guys from Miami, which we asked to join me on stage for my gig that night. They were excellent players. We had a rehearsal with them in the afternoon and they were well up for it. The show at night was fun, apart from breaking my guitar string half way through the set! Luckily there was a spare guitar handy and sound guy on hand to change string for me! There were a few promoters and record company folk there who seemed to enjoy the music. All's well that ends well...We flew back via NYC the following day.

February 20 2007 - North American Folk Alliance, Memphis
Made my first trip to Memphis Tenessee today for the Folk Alliance music conference. Had my first private showcase tonight. I had read up on the plane about the conference as I had no idea what to expect, being the first time I had done anything like this. It said whatever you do do not worry if you don't have a huge audience. These showcases are private for people from within the industry and the ratio of perfomers to promoters at the conference is about 20:1! Therefore a lot of times they might be committed to seeing another showcase at the same time as yours etc etc. In the end I was lucky with a reasonably sized audience who responded to the music. I had Fats Kaplin from Nashville accompany me which was amazing. He is a fantastic musician and multi-instrumentalist. We performed a mix of material including 2 of the "Tayside tae Tennessee" tracks. It went well apart from the sound people not being able to get the monitors working! Yikes. The whole conference was taking place in the Mariott hotel and it was soooo busy. You couldn't move in the elevators! It took us about half an hour to get down from the 24th floor. There were also showcases taking place on the 24th floor, which is the music floor, in rooms which people hire, and organize themselves. We figured out that would be the best idea for me for next year. You can do as many performances as you want and work round the promoters schedules. The following night I met Jim Lauderdale, (Country music grammy nominee) who asked me to join him for a song. We rehearsed it just before the show. It was an excellent song called "Lost". Was amazing getting to perform with him, and then sitting back to watch the rest of his show. He did most of it solo with acoustic guitar. What a performer, and such a great entertainer. He is also a comedian. Very witty guy.

February 18 2007 - Trip to Nashville
Flew over to Nashville, home of country music for the 1st time ever today. What a place. I love it! Could really imagine myself being there long-term and working with those fantastic musicians. I met Phil Maderia, a producer I really admire who has written for the Dixie Chicks and also produced Dolly Parton to name a few. He is up for working with me on my next project "Tayside tae Tennessee" which we are planning to record in Nashville later this year. This will be the part of the Arbroath Suite that deals with the immigration and Scots and American music coming together for the 1st time. I also mentioned one of my influences being the Small Faces in terms of the direction we are going with my full band line up for my solo set, and he said he had a song which he thought would suit me. I am very excited about working with Phil in the near future.

February 5 2007 - Celtic Connections gig
I did my celtic connections gig at the Classic Grand last night. I was supporting the David Munnelly band, a band from Ireland. I had a great line-up on stage with me: Stevie Lawrence on Bazouki, Johnny Cameron on acoustic guitar, Zac Ware on electric guitar, Garry-John Kane on bass and blues harp player Fraser Spiers. I did a 40 minute set, some of which was new material. Got a new song called "Half Way There" which I co-wrote fairly recently. The set was all up beat, and the audience were fantastic. Included in my set was the Elvis Cover song his Latest Flame, and I finished my set off with "Hail Caledonia.", that got everyone singing along. Was a great night and I seemed to warm the audience up for David's band who got eveyone up dancing. The band were fantastic. They also had a step dancer with them doing a spot who was also great! All in all a brilliant night.

January 20 2007 - McGinn night / Glasgow singer -songwriter festival
I was asked to join a line up for a smaller scale McGinn night tonight. I opened the show with the afore mentioned "Fire and Sword song" (see next blog entry) and I did my rendition of the "little ticks of time" plus finishing with comedy song "Two Foot Tall". In addition to this I also did an arrangement of Matt's song "Depth of my Ego". A lovely song in the minor key, we did a plaintive version of the song which has a beautiful melody and lyric. I have come to love Matt McGinn's songs and look forward to doing more shows and possibly the "McGinn sessions" will strike again somewhere else.

January 18 2007 - The McGinn Sessions
I was one of the artists performing at the Matt McGinn night at Celtic Connections in "St Andrews in The Square." It was a celebration of Matt McGinn's work. It was a fantastic night. The venue was sold out and the concert was both varied and enjoyable. I sang 3 songs accompanied by the band in the 2nd half of the show. That was the McGinn session line up, with lots of fantastic musicians including blues harp player Fraser Spiers, John Cameron on banjo and acoustic guitar Stevie Lawrence on Bazouki and Sean O' Rourke on whistle and flute. To name but a few! The 1st half was more of an acoustic set up with the fantastic singer Carol Laula, Mick West and Duncan McRoane. I joined Duncan's band on stage to play fiddle on the famous "Loch Lomond" but not as we know it. It was as sung by McGinn with the original and beautiful Jacobite lyrics. In my solo spot in the 2nd half I performed the anti-war song "With Fire and with Sword" I also did an arrangement of "Little Ticks of Time" a light-hearted song with a sentimental lyric. But we gave it a contemporary approach and gave it a more swampy feel. It was cool. Lastly I did one of Matt's comedy songs "Two Foot Tall". A great fun way to finish my spot which got the audience singing along. The words in it are hilarious. We finished the show with the McLuskey Brother's rendition of "Tinny Can". It was also great to join the band playing fiddle

December 2 2006 - Celtic Folk Podcast
www.celticfolkpod.com My Celtic Folk Podcast interview with Al Mann was aired this month. We caught up in the Woodlands hotel in Dundee in October, and over a cuppa tea we had a chat about my music. We talked about how I sing in a Scottish accent and how my song "Reachin Out" is a mix of Scottish Gaelic and American Gospel influences. How the two infuences sit side by side: Scottish peasant women sang gaelic mouth music during harvest in the highlands of Scotland, and I married this with gospel song from the harvesting of cotton by Negro women in the Southern states, to create a song which celebrates both cultures. He took a genuine interest in my music and was keen to talk about my "Arbroath Suite" project. I also talked about doing a cover song of the Beatles "I've Just seen a face" on my album "Green Eyes". One of the reasons for doing it was because the rhythm of the lyrics are the same as the "Tam O' Shanter" by Robert Burns. I did this song to bring it back to its roots. It was great meeting and chatting to Al Mann. He is originally from Brechin, very close to my home town and has been living in Kentuky for 16 years! He was over for a visit when we caught up.

November 30 2006 - St Andrews Day
In celebration of Scotland's patron Saint, St Andrew, I was asked to perform in Dundee on St Andrews night, along with the Lomond Ceilidh band. It was great to perform in my home town for the last time of 2006. I don't think I'll have so many opportunites to perform there as much next year, as I have stuff at celtic connections in Glasgow in January and I'm off to Canada and the States after that. I'll miss home but its exciting to be touring

November 19 2006 - Finbar Furey
I performed onstage with Finbar Furey at an MS fundraiser in Glasgow, after dashing back from the Christmas lights concert in Dundee. Yeah, it is possible to do 2 gigs in different cities on the same day....just! (Well in Scotland anyway as we're such a wee country!!) It was amazing to meet the Irish extrordinaire. I really admire his work and was great hearing him play his whistle live, with such passion. He seems keen to work with me in the future. He is a charater and despite having a really sore throat, he was on top form

November 19 2006 - Rockin' with Santa
I know it seems early for some, but this is the time of year when people start thinking about their Christmas shopping and the Christmas lights are switched on in the cities. I was on the bill for Dundee's big Christmas light switch on. What an event! It all started at one in the afternoon in preparation for the big switch on at night. My set was great fun. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and what a buzz we had on stage! Infront of an audience of 10, 000 it was pure rock and roll. Craig Hill was also on the bill and really got the audience going. Considering it was freezing out there they all looked liked they were havin' fun!

June 12 2006
I have another rehearsal this week for the folk club gigs. We are also working on a new version of a cover song that I am going to be recording soon. Will not let the cat out of the bag yet but all will be revealed soon! This is exciting. I was invited to be a judge at the Paisley University Degree show, there was a prize for each subject and we had to judge the music technology course. The winner was Steven Easton, who put together a short film called Lacuna. He wrote the story board and script and did the sound design. He also wrote and recorded all the music for it. Very impressive! I also had an interview with journalist Richard Purden for a piece for the Scotland on Sunday. I then had a photo shoot which lasted almost 3 hours. Think he got some good shots though. We went to Ashton Lane and asked at Bar Brel if we could take shots there. They were totally cool with it. Luckily it was in the morning so there were no customers in. I did get a few odd looks from the workmen passing by though!

June 5 2006
I am working on song-writing this week. Have a new song that should be ready soon for the live set. Its an up-beat and lively number. I am also continuing with the arranging of the Arbroath Suite. This takes time! As well as this I have been rehearsing for my folk gigs that are coming up at the end of the month. Really looking forward to them!

May 29 2006
No gigs this week, so I have been concentrating on arranging my Arbroath Suite. I am hoping to start recording this very soon. I finished writing the work before Christmas, and Im now in the process of arranging the parts. This is a more traditional work, but Im really excited about it. It has been in the pipeline for a while, and to finally get the opportunity to record it is fantastic. Watch this space for more Arbroath Suite updates!!

May 22 2006
I was over in Belfast this week. I was invited to perform at the launch of the George Best Liver Foundation. They had a dinner to celebrate what would have been the stars 60th birthday, at Belfast City Hall. What a venue. Its stunning! I performed the title track of the album Green Eyes, which seemed to go down well, as well as a special tribute to George Best. As he was nick-named the 5th Beatle, I sang my cover version of the fab fours Ive Just seen a Face. That afternoon I did a live radio session on BBC Ulsters Just Jones show. It was great to see George Jones again, and this time I performed 2 songs from the album in the studio with Kevin on piano. I love doing the songs acoustically as well as with the band. I also had a wee chat with George on air. He was also the host at the evening event, so the whole day tied up quite nicely. I hope to be back in Belfast soon doing more gigs.

May 12 2006
I performed in Dundee City Square on Saturday, during the radio 1 big weekend in Camperdown park. The buzz in the city was incredible. Luckily the weather was sunny when I was playing my set, beforehand and afterwards it was cloudy and cold. The band were on top form and it was exciting to play our first live gig together. We kept the set up-beat and lively and there was quite a big crowd watching. Everyone seemed to enjoy the music. We finished with a re-vamped version of last years single Hail Caledonia. On Sunday I performed on the Discovery ship at a reception for the Radio 1 big weekend. I performed the title track of the album Green Eyes as well as my Gaelic meets Gospel cross-over song Reachin Out. All went well, despite minor PA problems!! (sometimes to be expected), but I got great feedback from the listeners. Mondays rehearsal with the band went well. Im getting to know the guys better. They are a great bunch. We extended some of the songs for live gigs, and worked on a new version of the Credence Clear Water Revival song Bad Moon Rising. It may be added to the live set very soon!

May 8 2006
I performed at the Scottish fashion Awards. It was held at Stirling Castle. An awesome venue. A lot of the stylists I had already met at Dressed to Kilt in New York. I was given an Escada dress to wear. It was gorgeous. I met Sandi Thom who was also performing at the event. She was great. I closed the show in the Great Hall with the dance remix of my world music track Bhoona Haggis. I also performed Reachin Out my Gaelic/Gospel track, after the dinner. I met some great stars including Lulu who won the award for fashion icon. I enjoyed the whole experience. My hair was wild!

May 1 2006
The smaller radio stations are great. I had an interview on Loch Broom fm! Its based in Ullapool, and before you ask, no I didnt have to travel all that way. It was a phone interview! (thank goodness!) Thats not to say I wont be up there at some point if Im ever doing a gig in the area! The interview was with Kevin Guy. I also had an interview on Oban fm with Campbell Cameron. I actually went into the studio for this one, as Oban isnt TOO far away. I also played a tune live. As well as this I went to Central fm in Falkirk and did an interview with Lindsay.

April 24 2006
The album is released this week!! I had a hectic HMV tour, interspersed with radio interviews and sessions. Started the tour off in Aberdeen, where I also sang tracks and got interviewed on Northsound with Cammy. Great fun, and a great team up there. Then it was down to Dundee on the Tuesday. I did performances at a couple of the primary schools. Pretty sure they enjoyed it! I also did an interview with Alistair Smith on Radio Tay. Then it was on to HMV. It was mobbed. I was shocked. Wednesday morning I was on the MacCauley and co show, again on radio Scotland. Fred is so funny. There was a fair bit of hilarity there, but I also performed two songs live, with Ramond Harris, John Gray and Johnny Cameron. Then it was off to Edinburgh for the Princes street performance. Thursday I was interviewed on Saga radio in the morning, and they played a track from the album, then it was on to the last HMV store in Glasgow. A busy week to say the least! But it went well!

April 17 2006
Its the week before the album is released and I am doing promos over in Belfast. Up at 5am to catch the 1st flight over, and it was straight into the UTV studios on arrival. I met the presenter Tina. Everyone was really friendly and welcoming. I did a live performance as the Fiddler on the Roof. Yes, I was literally playing on their roof! Then I had an interview with Tina. It was recorded and Broadcast that evening. They managed to get me a last minute spot on their radio show U 105. The presenter Lynda was a hoot, she called me the funky fiddler! I had to scoot from there down to Downtown radio. Just made it on time to do my spot before the 1 o clock news. I was interviewed by another Linda, the DJ. (Most people I met that day were either called Laura or Linda!) It was touch and go as we were held up in traffic. Panic!! But we made it. Then it was back up the BBC for my afternoon slot with George Jones. He was a laugh. He got his guitar out and accompanied me for my live track Riverside. Lastly, I got interviewed for an article for the Irish News. All in all the day was a success, but very tiring! I flew back to Glasgow the same night. Back in Scotland, I did a live session and interview on the Janice Forsyth show, radio Scotland. I really enjoyed it. Especially getting to perform my tribute to Jinky track Commemoration live for the 1st time. I also performed one of the album tracks Never Loved At All, (inspired by the poetry of Tennyson) with two fantastic musicians, Johnny Cameron on guitar, and Donald Shaw on piano.

September 22 0200 - 12th and Porter / The Billy Block show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgB66yAO12U12th and Porter / Billy Block showcase gig I had my second showcase at Billy Block's western beat at 12th and Porter. This time I had a different band with me. Bill Bois and Kevin Welch from the JC Anderson band, and also a fantastic drummer called Lex Reeves. A fab bunch of players! We got to the venue early to set up the drums and have a full rehearsal. It was sounding really tight really quickly. The performance went really well. I loved it and the vibe on stage was great. Can't wait to do another show with that band. They are a great bunch. The audience were also fab and its a great venue.

- MAY 2010- AMA CHART SUCCESS
MAY 2010-Celticana reaches 9 weeks in top 40 AMA "Celticana" has today reached 9 weeks in the top 40 of the Americana charts, peaking at number 30 a few weeks ago. I am so pleased with this achievement, and to be named "The first Scot to ever reach the top 40 of the Americana charts". MAY 2010 Performance in Glasgow City Chambers I did a spot today at the Glasgow City Chambers for the Sense over Sectarianism event with 7 primary 7 classes from 7 primary schools from around Glasgow. There were about 1000 kids there. I started off with Radio Love. Then all the schools performed their pre-rehearsed sketches. Then we all finished with my song "One Scotland", a multi-cultural song that was recorded for an outreach programme I did in 2007. All the school children learned it and they nearly brought the roof down. It was a great finale. 21 May 2010 The Hour Show The Hour Show I did a TV show today called the Hour show, hosted by Stephen Jardine and Michelle McManus. I had an absolute ball! I rehearsed last night with the mighty Johnny Cameron on guitar. We are doing the song they requested that is getting the most airplay over in America, "The Shape I'm In". This morning I got my hair done at 9am, then we drove over to the STV studios for make-up and sound-check before the show. Had plenty of time to set up and sound check. Our section was pre-recorded so the interview was actually after the performance which was great for me as it meant I was totally hyper for the interview. I really enjoyed the performance and interview, I could definitely do that every day. We were done by 1pm and went for some lunch then I took my violin bows to get re-haired. They were badly needing it after all my sawing in the states! Big thanks to Johnny Cameron and all at the STV.

- Working with David Amram
28th March David Amram Today I got the train from Grand Central. I got on the Metro North train upstate and got off at Croton Harmon station to meet David Amram, who picked me up from the train station. His car broke down on the way to get me, but he got it fixed. He is such a fascinating man. He has done the most incredible work and has some magical stories. It was great to just listen to him talking. He is 80 years old so has a long life of memories. At his home I played him some of my pieces and we worked out a plan for the project to work as a show. He gave me some of his CDs and scores which I am very much looking forward to hearing and looking at. He said he could score the Arbroath Suite for orchestra, which would be amazing. I can't wait to work with him again. I am honoured that he would like to work with me on this project.

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