Kit Hawes & Aaron Catlow Live
Touring Dates 16th, 17th, 21st - 24th October 2025
Kit Hawes & Aaron Catlow combine heartfelt
musicality, unparalleled virtuosity and vocal harmony. Using the folk music of
the British Isles as a catalyst, Kit and Aaron create dynamic and effervescent
interpretations of centuries-old material as well as original songs and
compositions, all the while celebrating the timeless aural quality of a guitar,
fiddle and vocals duet.
Their studio albums The Fox (2016) and Pill Pilots (2019)
received wide critical acclaim, receiving five star reviews and local and
national airplay. The duo tour extensively in the UK and internationally across
Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. BBC 2’s Mark Radcliffe is a champion of
their work, saying “Kit and Aaron are reminiscent of the late Dave
Swarbrick and Martin Carthy… I can give them no higher accolade. They deserve
to be thought of as amongst the best”.
“Fleet
fingered and ingeniously arranged. .....deserve to be thought of as up there
with the best of them” - Songlines
“At
the top of their game” - Mark
Radcliff, BBC Radio 2
“Such
dexterity, energy and passion.....mightily impressive" - RnR
Magazine
KRIS DREVER & CHRIS STOUT- Live Touring Dates March 2025
Kris Drever and Chris Stout are icons
of the Scottish roots culture and two of the most powerful contemporary
voices to sing out of it in the last quarter century.
Both come from the Northern Isles (Kris from Orkney and Chris from Shetland)
and represent the strength of those identities in the music they inhabit.
Inherited through childhood, family and osmosis, you can hear the wind
whistling through the strings, the rhythms washing against your animal self
and the old stories whispering out from the ingleneuk.
In Glasgow in 2019 the two found themselves to be neighbours in the West End
and began meeting up and playing music together. Both musicians found a sound
of great interest and emotional power in these little get-togethers, and it
soon became a more regular happening.
Now they’ve decided to share the experience with a wider audience. Come and
hear songs and tunes you know and some you don’t, shining through the unique
prism of these two ‘one of a kind’ musicians.
Kris is a guitarist, singer and founder member of the trio Lau. He’s a multi
award winning singer songwriter and has played and written with a galaxy of
stars (Eddi Reader, Roddy Woomble, Mark Knopfler, Kate Rusby, Jack Bruce,
Karine Polwart…).
Chris is a virtuoso violinist, viola player and composer, founder member of
the legendary Shetland band ‘Fiddlers Bid’ and long-time collaborator of the
genius harpist Catriona McKay. He has performed in venues as storied as the
Sydney Opera House and has composed for and performed with The Royal Scottish
National Orchestra, The Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, The Trondheim
Symphony Orchestra and a great many more.
For Live touring dates in March 2025 and festival gigs
Kris Drever and Chris Stout are
icons of the Scottish roots culture and two of the most powerful
contemporary voices to sing out of it in the last quarter century.
Both come from the Northern Isles (Kris from Orkney and Chris from
Shetland) and represent the strength of those identities in the music they
inhabit. Inherited through childhood, family and osmosis, you can hear the
wind whistling through the strings, the rhythms washing against your animal
self and the old stories whispering out from the ingleneuk.
In Glasgow in 2019 the two found themselves to be neighbours in the West
End and began meeting up and playing music together. Both musicians found a
sound of great interest and emotional power in these little get-togethers,
and it soon became a more regular happening.
Now they’ve decided to share the experience with a wider audience. Come and
hear songs and tunes you know and some you don’t, shining through the
unique prism of these two ‘one of a kind’ musicians.
Kris is a guitarist, singer and founder member of the trio Lau. He’s a
multi award winning singer songwriter and has played and written with a
galaxy of stars (Eddi Reader, Roddy Woomble, Mark Knopfler, Kate Rusby,
Jack Bruce, Karine Polwart…).
Chris is a virtuoso violinist, viola player and composer, founder member of
the legendary Shetland band ‘Fiddlers Bid’ and long-time collaborator of
the genius harpist Catriona McKay. He has performed in venues as storied as
the Sydney Opera House and has composed for and performed with The Royal
Scottish National Orchestra, The Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, The
Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and a great many more.
Live Touring Dates February 2025 HANNAH READ & MICHAEL STARKEY plus two very special guests CAHALEN MORRISON and VERA VAN HEERINGEN
Over recent years, Hannah Read and Michael Starkey have fast become one of the most sought-after fiddle-banjo duos on the UK acoustic music scene. Their richly dynamic take on Appalachian old time music has seen them enthrall audiences up and down the country, both during their live shows and on their critically-acclaimed debut duo album 'Cross The Rolling Water', released on Hudson Records. They bring a unique depth of expression to traditional music, looking forwards and reaching out whilst still finding an anchor in its timeless language. At the heart of their sound is the complex and driving rhythmic interplay between fiddle and banjo, which draws the listener in “the way lungs draw in air” (Songlines), as they shine a light on “the powerful essence of the music” (RNR Magazine). To complete their sound they bring a range of old, contemporary and original folk songs, sung with charismatic voices that are “destined to be appreciated for a very long time” (Old Time News).
They will be joined by Cahalen Morrison for dates throughout Scotland from 5th - 13th February 2025 and Vera Van Heeringen for dates throughout England & Wales from 14th - 23rd February 2025.
Liz
Stringer, Arguably Australia's Finest Female Singer-Songwriter
and Guitarist Touring Dates plus festival
dates 26th January – July, 2024
Liz Stringer is one of
Australia’s most admired and versatile songwriters and instrumentalists. A
venerated guitarist and vocalist, her notoriously powerful live performances
and melodically rich, story-based songs have earned her a unique place among
the most important Australian songwriters of the modern era. Liz Stringer
has performed all over Australia and the world for her own musical projects
aswell as being a session musician for countless acts, most recently
including performing with Midnight Oil for their final ever tour in
Australia, North America, Europe, UK and New Zealand. 2019 saw the release of
collaborative project Dyson Stringer Cloher's self-titled debut album through
Melbourne's Milk records to wide media acclaim and a sold-out headline tour
and Stringer was honoured at Woodford Folk Festival as an 'emerging legend of
Australian song' with a performance of selections from her back catalogue by
her musical peers.
Lizs' sixth studio album - First
Time Really Feeling - was released in April 2021. This ten-song
collection documents a recent personal reckoning and metamorphosis Liz
experienced while living in North America just prior to the pandemic.
Recorded at Toronto’s Union Sound Company and produced by Chris Stringer,
known for his work with Timber Timbre and the Rheostatics, this is regarded
as Stringer’s seminal work to-date and her most searingly personal: a musical
time-capsule of love, loss and legacy, profound change and her recent path to
self-acceptance. Between rock stylings, knee-buckling ballads and a
world-class lyrical and story-telling prowess, Liz writes affectingly from a
range of perspectives. Any fan will testify to the strength of her live
performances, and this album is arranged much like one of her iconic shows
such is the power and intent of her arresting vocal delivery.The album has
been nominated for two AIR awards including Best Independent Album, APRA song
of the year, Music Victoria award for best Solo Act and debuted at no. 14 on
the ARIA charts the week of release. Emotional, unflinching,expansive and
revealing - this album is unmistakably Australian music at its finest, and
is, without question, Liz Stringer at her best.
For Live touring dates: January - July
2024 plus festival appearances please contact: gail@laughingdogmusic.co.uk
JOHN DOUGLAS (Trashcan Sinatras) - Live Touring Dates March / April / May 2024
Solo album tour
John Douglas
Scotland's Reveal Records is pleased to announce that the
debut solo album from one of Scotland’s finest songwriters - John Douglas
(Trashcan Sinatras) - will be released worldwide on October 6th. At long
last, fans and newcomers alike are treated to an intimate snapshot of the
talent, charisma and depth of this celebrated Scottish indie songsmith. With
this release comes the start of a new chapter in John Douglas' creative life
as he simultaneously looks back at a lifetime of musical adventures and
accolades and moves forwards.
The album 'John Douglas' features new recordings of some of John's favourite
Traschcan Sinatras material, alongside new songs he has written and his own
rendition of the Prefab Sprout classic ‘We Let The Stars Go’. The eleven
songs on this record were performed solo, recorded live at Kyoti Studio in
Glasgow (with no overdubs) by producer Mark Freegard, who also mixed and
mastered the album. John Douglas explains, “I’ve often been encouraged by
friends over the years to make a solo album, but the timing or inclination didn’t
flow. Last year - out of nowhere - everything suddenly felt right and the
process was quick and natural. Mark just set the mics up and I played my
songs. No other musicians or overdubs. Me and my guitar. That way, I became
the songs and they became me. The finished record, though varied in song
styles, has a mood to it… it’s warm, thoughtful and quiet.. as I generally
aspire to be.
Hailing from Irvine on Scotland’s west coast, John has a rich history, making
music with Trashcan Sinatras for over thirty years. Apart from his role as a
songwriter (and guitarist) there, John has been playing live gigs across the
UK and Ireland as part of his partner Eddi Reader’s band. He has also been
performing solo sets at shows with musical friends, such as Norman Blake
(Teenage Fanclub), Jill Jackson and James Grant (Love & Money). Whilst
visiting Irvine recently, John was invited to guest with Martin McAloon
(Prefab Sprout), the two artists having first met in 1990 during Trashcan
Sinatras' ‘Jordan - The Comeback’ tour with Prefab Sprout.
Get in touch if you would like to book a date for a live performance.
For live touring dates mid March - mid April & May
2024 please contact:
Songs are central to Salt
House. New songs that sound as if they’ve always been here.
Ancient ballads
woken up. Poems given the tunes they’ve long deserved. Songs about place,
politics, landscape and birds. A collaboration of writing and song from 3 of
Scotland's foremost performers; Jenny Sturgeon, Ewan MacPherson and Lauren MacColl.
Their latest album 'Huam'
sees them solidify their reputation as fine interpreters of words both old and
new. It's their third collection of songs, and the second pairing with folk
heavyweight producer Andy Bell. It was released amidst the impressive roster of
Hudson Records in 2020.
Their most recent EP 'Working For Zeus' was released in 2021, featuring 5
amazing guest musicians Maija Kauhanen, Dean Honer, Cahalen Morrison, Petter
Frost Fadnes and Olav Luksengård Mjelva.
The trio continue their
love of recording ‘on location’ with this album, taking themselves to rural
Argyllshire to finish writing and recording the songs which were crafted
between their homes of Inverness-shire and Shetland.
'Undersong' (2018) was
recorded in the stunningly restored Telford Church on the island of
Berneray
(as seen on Channel 4’s Restoration Man.) You can hear its tranquility in the
sympathetic and dynamic recording. A sense of place captured both in songs and
sound; Ewan claims if you listen closely you can even hear the flies in the
overhead lights.
You’ll also hear echoes of
Pentangle, a touch of Dick Gaughan, murmurs of Scandinavian and Scots, all woven
into a music that’s traditional and new. The group’s meticulous attention to
detail, shared passions and care for their craft sees Salt House soar.
More
about the band:
Singer, guitarist and
harmonium player Jenny has a PHD in seabirds. Described by R2 Magazine as “a
singer-songwriter who brings together the old and new with a rare skill.” Her
songs are earthy and wise; she sings them with beauty and power.
Ewan brings to Salt House
a wealth of understanding and experience gained with the highly respected Fribo
and Shooglenifty. His songs are poetic and layered; his voice plaintive and
from the heart.
Lauren’s arrangements hold
a rich, deep, darkness flecked with gold. You can hear the Highlands in
Lauren’s elegant bowing, honed while performing with the quartet RANT, The
Rachel Newton Band and as a prolific and award-winning soloist. She plays with
warmth, wisdom and soul.
“Wonderful… a trio of exceptional talent.” – Folk Radio UK
LINE
UP:
Ewan MacPherson - vocals,
guitars
Jenny Sturgeon - vocals,
harmonium, guitar
Lauren MacColl - fiddle,
viola, vocals
Touring
Dates available on FRIDAY 30 SEPT / SAT 1 OCTOBER / MON 3 OCTOBER / TUES 4
OCTOBER / THURS 6 OCT (North) 2022, March/April 2023 + festival appearances.
‘Elegant’ - Mojo
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Scotsman
‘Effortless’ Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music
‘Awfy Bonnie’ Roddy Hart, BBC Radio Scotland
‘An album of temporal beauty that touches the eternal’
Folking.com
‘Light and quick, profound and full of care, it is an album of
serenely balanced opposites.’ Folk Radio
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ fRoots
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Songlines
⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Characterful new
songs and settings, deftly woven" The Scotsman
"Outstanding"
Irish Music Magazine
PLEASE GET IN TOUCH FOR
FESTIVAL DATES & TOURING DATES IN SEPT / OCT
2022 & MARCH / APRIL 2023
The Mighty, STATE OF THE UNION (Boo Hewerdine &
Brooks Williams) - MARCH 2023
STATE OF THE UNION return with some
new tunes and a rescheduled full tour in MARCH 2023.
Boo Hewerdine and Brooks Williams
aka State of the Union, create a magical, stripped back and enthralling musical
atmosphere with two guitars and two voices. Their performances are consistently
brilliant, equal parts emotive and entertaining. Audiences are still buzzing
about their previous festival main stage appearances.
The two formed their collaboration
in 2011 and created two albums in rapid succession, State of the Union and
Snake Oil. Subsequent tours took them around the UK, to Ireland and Portugal,
including a 14-date stint playing theatres with Eddi Reader and an appearance
on The Andrew Marr Show (BBC 1).
What followed in 2017 is Saltwell
Sessions, an album of covers, some obscure and some well-known, including Don’t
Blame Me (The Everly Brothers), Halfway (Greg Trooper) and Unforgettable (Nat
King Cole). Their 25-date tour that followed saw full houses night after night.
Here's another opportunity to catch the brilliant duo.
PLEASE GET IN
TOUCH FOR LIVE DATES : MARCH 2023 (plus general availability)
Get in touch now, contact gail@laughingdogmusic.co.uk
The Little Unsaid - Full Band Tour October
2022 + Festivals
The Little Unsaid is a musical vehicle for the diverse music of
songwriter and band leader John Elliott. Born out of the English indie-roots
scene of the 00’s, The Little Unsaid have built up a solid committed following,
received glowing reviews and gained the attention of national media since
signing with UK independent Reveal Records (home to award winning international
artists such as Joan as Police Woman, Lau, Kris Drever and Eddi Reader).
In 2021 The Little Unsaid released two albums: the full band
& experimental “Lick The
Future’s Lips” followed by a contrasting, intimate solo winter
music reflection “December
Songs”.
Both albums were played on radio and reviewed with acclaim, and
awarded Album of The Month by Folk Radio UK (the number one roots media
platform in the UK). The band has frequently collaborated with renowned
producer Graeme Stewart (who alongside engineering for Radiohead has produced
Oscar-nominated film scores by Jonny Greenwood) and have received several
awards for their work including: the Steve Reid InNOVAtion Award (PRS
Foundation & Gilles Peterson, with mentoring from FourTet) and Help
Musicians Emerging Excellence Award.
The band have played a variety of major Festivals (including
Glastonbury) and their recent UK tour was described as “a soaring piece of sonic beauty…one
hell of a show” (MusoMuso). During the Covid lockdowns, John
created the Relay album project, collaborating on two covers albums with
artists including Billy Bragg and Frank Turner to raise money for the Music Venue
Trust.
To get in
touch for touring dates in October 2022 and festival Appearances
Fay
has teamed up once again with fiddle maestro Sam Sweeney and Rob Harbron on concertina to tour songs from her new album, Wrackline, and some old
favourites.
Exploring
ideas of the space between, Wrackline
was inspired by ghosts, fairies, spirits and talking animals to understand what
it is about the unknown that entrances us. Working with traditional materials
and ideas, Fay explores the feelings they evoke and how they relate to her
experience in the contemporary world. Universal ideas of death, love,
motherhood echo through time and space. Playing with these difficult ideas through
the eyes of an unobtainable other, whether that be the spirit of a dearly
departed, a fairy from another realm, or the thoughts animals have, gives us
space to work through very real social problems.
Shifting
between lighthearted stories about drunks sitting with pigs, to darker
questions about infanticide, Fay breaths life and meaning into old stories
presenting them with a fresh twist and consummate musicianship from Sweeney and
Harbron including fiddle, concertina, guitar and banjo.
Expect to be enveloped in music, woven through magical stories and
teased into thinking about your relationship with the world around you.
A master in the art of songwriting, Boo Hewerdine (The Bible) reaches his 60th year in the creative form of his life. Producing and collaborating with young artists, taking musical risks and focussing on the minute details of life through new songs.
Touring with a new solo album in May 2022 and releasing a new mini collaborative album titled 'Singularities' out on Reveal Records on 5 November 2021.
As much in demand as ever as a songwriter, Boo is a well loved musician and continues to write poignant lyrics about everyday life and people that resonate with everyone.
Laughing Dog Music Present The Clifftown Story
- M G BOULTER - Touring Autumn 2022
Clifftown is a celebration of the history and
culture of the English seaside. In this show songwriter and musician M G
Boulter plays music from his 2021 album ‘Clifftown’ (on
Hudson Records), which charts his personal history of growing up in the seaside
suburbia of Southend-on-Sea in Essex. Here you will find the neon lights and
burnt sugar smells of a Saturday night seafront but also the solitary Essex
noir of the salt marshland. With stories collected from his time creating the
companion podcast series ‘The Clifftown Podcast’ and accompanied by a full band
M G will bring his unique take on the English seaside to the stage.
Serving his apprenticeship in numerous bands in the hotbed of
the Southend-on-Sea pub rock scene (the precursors of which were household
names such as Dr Feelgood and Eddie and the Hotrods), M G has been quietly
working at creating rich and evocative story songs since 2013. M G creates
vignettes of suburban lives and seaside communities and is a contemporary voice
in the long tradition of the singer-songwriter. Often referred to as the
artist’s artist M G has been a much sought after collaborator in the folk and
Americana scenes, having significant tenures in the Simone Felice Group, The
Duke and the King, Emily Portman’s Coracle Band, Blue Rose Code and The Owl
Service.
Having previously released two albums and numerous EPs,
Clifftown is M G’s most complete work to date creating an immersive world rich
with ordinary lives glimpsed through fairground grease and mindless 9 to 5
jobs. As much social commentary as an honest picture postcard of his hometown,
Clifftown is an exquisite and life-affirming exploration of modern suburbia and
the British seaside by one of the UK’s finest
THE CLIFFTOWN STORY featuring the M G BOULTER BAND TOURING
PERIOD OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2022:
27 year-old Edinburgh born
singer-songwriter Adam Holmes is one of the brightest rising stars on the UK
roots music scene, with influences from either side of the Atlantic mixing
traditional and contemporary folk with his own brand of soul and Americana.
Twice nominated for BBC Radio 2
Folk Awards, his first two albums were also nominated for Scottish Album of
the Year in 2014 & 2017, and there is much anticipation as to whether he
can make it three in a row this year with his third album ‘Midnight Milk’.
His first album, ‘Heirs &
Graces’, was produced by John Wood (producer of all Nick Drake’s albums and
John Martyn’s iconic ‘Solid Air’ album) and mastered by Simon Heyworth
(co-producer of Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’) and second album, ‘Brighter
Still’, features two-time BRIT award winner Eddi Reader on backing vocals throughout.
His latest album was recorded in
his one bedroomed flat in Edinburgh, complete with full brass section, an
eighteen piece choir and a widescreen folk/soul/electronica production,
influenced by a 2016 collaboration with Adrian Utley of Portishead, Dominic
Aitchison of Mogwai and Martin Green of Lau.
A rare solo tour, stripped back and
showcasing the songs, giving them the space they deserve.
If you have booking
enquiries, contact gail@laughingdogmusic.co.uk
Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow will be touring in 2021 / 2022. Promotors
are invited to book in a date for brighter times ahead -
Brooks Williams is a Cambridge
UK-based, Statesboro, Georgia US-born guitarist singer and songwriter.
With over 30-plus recordings and 30-plus years of touring,
Williams is named one of WUMB-FM Boston's Top 100 All-Time Artists and is listed in the Top 100 Acoustic Guitarists. He was playing Americana before it was called that.
Known for both solos shows and collaborations, RnR writes, Williams is a "guitarist in possession of
rich vocal powers and a talent for lyrical imagery, his songs are imbued with
uplifting generosity
Aaron Catlowis a Briston, UK based fiddle player playing acoustic, folk
and roots music.Aaron Catlow | Facebook
The pair will be touring the UK in 2021 / 2022. Dates may be available outside of the
official touring periods so please enquire. email gail@laughingdogmusic.co.uk
