Live Music with Michael Starkey Hannah Read & Cahalen Morrison

Three unique musical voices unite to deliver a powerful yet intimate blend of old-time Appalachian songs, alongside a collection of beautifully crafted soulful originals.

Fiddler and singer-songwriter Hannah Read met banjo player Michael Starkey at an Appalachian old-time session in Edinburgh in late 2019. The moment they struck up a tune together marked an immediate meeting of musical minds. They have since become a dynamic fiddle and banjo duo, playing repertoire sourced from deep in the old-time tradition, as well as new self-composed tunes and songs. Their compelling sound can be heard on the critically acclaimed debut album Cross the Rolling, released on Hudson Records in June 2022.

Hannah is an award-winning Scottish musician based in Brooklyn, NY. She moved stateside to study American fiddle styles and to immerse herself in the thriving string music scene. She has toured extensively, performing solo and collaborating with musicians such as Tony Trischka, Sarah Jarosz and Jefferson Hamer, as well as being one part of the BBC Folk Award-winning Songs of Separation.

Michael is a multi-instrumentalist, music teacher and old-time banjo enthusiast living in Scotland. His mission as a musician is to keep things simple: clear melody lines underpinned by solid, infectious rhythm. Recent collaborations include work with Wayward Jane (an Edinburgh-based UK/US folk and roots music four-piece) and Faultlines, a collection of Lisa Fannen’s poetry set to music.

Originally hailing from the high desert of northern New Mexico, Cahalen has toured solo, as a duo with Eli West, and with his band Western Centuries over the past 15 years, and has performed on stage with the likes of Tim O’Brien, Kelly Joe Phelps, Hot Rize, David Grisman, Dirk Powell, Crooked Still, Sierra Hull, Jerry Douglas, Phil Cunningham, Aly Bain and Kris Drever.

Well known for his singular turn of phrase and curiously poignant songs, Cahalen dips deep into the well of tradition while the pushing boundaries of contemporary songwriting. He is equally at home on guitar, banjo, mandolin, singing three-part harmony or unaccompanied.
Cahalen has played all over the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Western Europe, and at festivals that include the Transatlantic Sessions, the Strawberry Music Festival, the Shetland Folk Festival, Celtic Connections, and many more.
Cahalen is based in Glasgow. Currently working on an exciting new project, he is also a regular at many sessions, eats as much black pudding as he can and is to be found most evenings in one of the city’s many parks or along the Clyde with his dog.

This is a BYOB event.
Doors open at 7.30pm.