In Pictures / A sellout evening of high quality music at Mareel
A CLASSY cast list of leading Shetland roots musicians entertained a sellout audience at Mareel on Sunday night.
Billed as a Winter Gadderie, the three-hour concert brought together many of the islands’ finest players and singers, with the night headlined by homecomers Amy Laurenson and Kevin Henderson.
With the help of various special guests, Amy and Kevin delivered a rich mix of reels, jigs and airs, followed by much hilarity at one of Maurice Henderson’s trademark lengthy ‘yarns’.
Also featuring were local Americana exponents Kansa, with high points in their set including a powerful rendition of Sierra Ferrell number Fox Hunt and an instrumental section showcasing outstanding fiddle work from Lois Nicol.
Before the interval there were also some tight vocal harmonies from Megan Nisbet and Lauren Johnson, accompanied by Seth Travins and Bryden Priest, while the night was opened by the talented George Spence & Liam Slater.
On a night that melded the best of traditional and contemporary Shetland music, with each set offering a sprinkling of seasonal tunes, there were also poetry readings from Louise Scollay, with proceedings expertly anchored by compère for the night Claire White.
Rounding off the evening – organised by local promoters Ragged Wood in association with Shetland Arts – was a multi-pronged rendition of Shane McGowan’s Fairytale of New York.
Neil and Kelly Riddell of Ragged Wood said: “We’d like to thank all of the artists for giving up their time to deliver such a warm, high quality evening of music.
“We’re also very grateful to everyone at Mareel for their hard work, and to the 320 folk who came out and gave the musicians such a tremendous reception.
“We hope everyone has a great festive and we’re looking forward to lots more live music in 2025.”
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