Phil Cunningham’s Christmas Songbook

Perth Concert Hall, December 17

For anyone not yet in the festive mood the season takes off on Sunday when Phil Cunningham’s all-star line-up reopens his Christmas songbook.

The folk composer’s Yuletide concert has become a Perth favourite, and once again he’ll be bringing along Scottish singing legends Eddi Reader and Karen Matheson, as well as acclaimed fiddler John Mccusker. And the supporting cast is almost as impressive — Orcadian songsmith Kris Drever, Kate Rusby’s guitarist Ian Carr and double bassist Kevin Mcguire, plus a guest brass band that features five Coldstream Guards.

The feelgood mix of Christmas standards was first staged as an intended one-off in Edinburgh in 2005. A huge success, it returned to the capital the following year before going on to become a fixture in recent years across five Scottish cities.

“The concept, for us, has now become a tradition,” says the multiinstrumentalist.

“We get together as pals and spend a few days eating and drinking our favourite Christmas fayre, playing and singing our favourite Christmas songs and tunes — trying to put our own Scottish slant on them — and we take the result to the road. It’s our office party.”

Such is the bond among Cunningham’s collective that he freely admits they don’t rehearse until a couple of days before their tour, which starts tomorrow in Stirling.

“It sells out every year wherever we go and it’s one of the most fun things to do,” Phil says. “Watching people’s faces and knowing that they’re coming to see us to start their Christmas is a great joy.”

The accordionist’s big break came when he joined his late brother Johnny in Silly Wizard in 1976 aged 16.

When the Edinburghers wound down the Cunninghams formed Relativity, with Phil later recording seven albums with fiddler Aly Bain and producing four studio sets by American songwriter Connie Dover.

He recently helmed the latest offering from Irish chanteuse Mary Black and is planning his first solo album since 1989. “It’s about time,” Phil laughs.

“I should have made at least 10 solo albums between then and now but it was just the way life turned out.

“I ended up not getting much time to get in and do my own stuff but I would dearly love to make a solo album and within the next 12 months I’m going to make a serious start on it.

“I love to write. I’m 57 now so things are a little bit slower up top but I have to write. It’s in me, it’s the way that I express myself.

“I’ve got a good bunch of stuff lying on the backburner and I have some nice recording equipment nowadays so I can jump into the music room and start making noises.”

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Phil Cunningham and his band.