Top Scottish talent coming to Priddy

Two of the best and most highly acclaimed outfits from north of the border will be appearing at Priddy this year.

Adam Holmes and the Embers have been making big waves of the live scene in Scotland. Led from the front by soulful singer- songwriter Holmes the band mix folk and Americana to make a beautiful, haunting sound with echoes of John Martyn.

Adam (above) was born in Edinburgh and began writing songs early. A finalist at Celtic Connections in 2009 and nominated for Best Newcomer at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards two years later, his 2014 debut album Heirs and Graces received immediate acclaim, being nominated for Scottish Album of the Year and Best Album at the Scottish Traditional Music Music Awards

His second album, Brighter Still, is out soon and he will be appearing at Priddy following a UK tour supporting Eddi Reader. You can get a taste of the band here.

Last year Priddy enjoyed  an appearance by Scottish duo Jenn Butterworth & Laura-Beth Salter and we are delighted to have Laura-Beth back in 2017 as part of the six-piece all women outfit The Shee

The Shee
The Shee

Not so much a band as a cultural force, The Shee spent 2016 celebrating their 10th anniversary with a project called The Shee Continuum which involved performing songs specially written for them by such stellar figures in the folk world as Karine Polwart, Martin Simpson, Chris Wood, Andy Cutting and Brian Finnegan.

The year yielded a fine album, called Continuum, and they culminated the celebration with a live session on Mark Radcliffe’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Show.

Featuring Rachel Newton (voice, harp, fiddle and viola), Lillias Kinsman-Blake (flute), Shona Mooney (fiddle), Olivia Ross (voice and fiddle), Amy Thatcher (accordion) and Lara-Beth (voice, mandolin) the band mix traditional Scottish music with social comment into an intoxicating whole. Hear for yourself here