Curmudgeon

Glenfarg Folk Club, August 13

Lothians-based trio Curmudgeon slip in a visit to Glenfarg Folk Club on Monday in between two gigs on the Edinburgh Fringe’s leading and longstanding folk music venue, the Acoustic Music Centre.

Comprising fiddler, cittern and mandolin player Donald Gorman, piper and whistle player Andrew Macintyre and the Essex-born but longtime East Lothian-based singer-guitarist Laurie Brett, the trio specialise in Scottish traditional music and place great store in the quality of their instruments, helping to create a high standard of sound.

Both Donald and Laurie play instruments made by revered Northumberland luthier Stefan Sobell, whose guitars have been played and endorsed by masters including Martin Simpson, Mark Knopfler and Darrell Scott. Donald’s fiddle was copied from a Giuseppe Guarneri violin (the Stradivari family’s biggest rival) by Shetland’s go-to fiddle maker, Ewen Thomson.

“These instruments give us great pleasure,” says Donald, “and we hope that goes for the audience too.”