Crieff date has great appeal for Perthshire songwriter
An Auchterarder songwriter will tell the story of the Scottish Folk Club scene at a show in Crieff next week.
Fraser Bruce will present excerpts from his book ‘The Folk River’ at Crieff Folk Club.
Interspersed with songs from popular folk performers of the 1950s and 1960s, it tells the story of how the folk scene developed.
It will feature songs by folk giants like Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Ewan Maccoll as well as Scottish folk artists like The , and Matt Mcginn.
Fraser said: “It is a fun show which strongly encourages audience participation, just as the original early folk clubs did.
“However, that is only the first half of the show. The second half consists of a mix of my own songs and songs I love.”
‘The Folk River - Tales of the Early Scottish Folk Clubs’ had been nominated at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2022.
Fraser’s first album release was 1971 with Shamrock and Heather which was recorded in the famous Denmark Street studios in London.
After a spell working there he returned to Scotland in 1980 and teamed up with his brother Ian, releasing three albums before they split in 1986.
He went on to create a specialist construction company which is now run by two of his sons, Euan and Jamie.
In 2014 he resurrected his singing career - and a few years later created a show called ‘Auld Hat - New Heids’ which toured Scotland.
He spent 2019 travelling up and down the country meeting people who were part of the early folk club scene for his book.
His most recent album, ‘Every Song’s a Story’ was released in 2022, includes six of his songs.
However, 77-year-old Fraser has decided to wind down from touring in recent years.
He said: “Travelling hundreds of miles, getting home at 3am, rehearsing day after day, no longer appeals to me.
“But having a concert in Crieff, only eight miles from my home in Auchterarder, does appeal to me.”
“There are also lots of afternoon venues and that definitely appeals to me too.”
He will be joined on stage my multi-talented musician Gavin Paterson.
Fraser will appear at Strathearn Arts Centre on Thursday, April 25. Doors open 7pm. Tickets £12.
Fraser recently appeared on Michael Portillo’s Great British Railway Journeys show when it stopped in Perth.
He wrote a song to commemorate the former defence secretary’s visit to Perth’s oldest hostelry the Old Ship Inn. It is available on BBC iplayer.
Travelling hundreds of miles, getting home at 3am, rehearsing day after day, no longer appeals to me... but having a concert eight miles from my home does Fraser Bruce