Posts for April, 2022

Boat of Garten Community Hall is delighted to welcome The Grahams all the way from America. This will be a night to remember.

The Grahams are New York grown, Nashville based Alyssa and Doug Graham.
This tour will be a multi media performance with a 30 minute documentary film ‘Searching The Milky Way,’ to proceed a 60-75 minute live performance. The film was shot by New York filmmakers Natalie Brasington and David Johnson during The Grahams‘ motorcycle adventure across the legendary Route 66.

They released the EP, Sha La La, in Summer 2021. Recorded in 2020, the songs reflect the artist’s need to escape and be joyous, when the world is spinning backwards. As Alyssa Graham says “When unable to make plans, make art!”.

The museum is proud to present the folk singer and songwriter Sarah McQuaid. Her award-winning musicianship, distinctive chocolatey vocals and mastery of the songwriting craft have led reviewers to describe Sarah McQuaid as a “triple threat”. Add to that a warm, charismatic stage presence, six critically acclaimed solo albums and a battery of instruments including acoustic and electric guitars, drum and piano — and you’ve got a one-woman powerhouse who defies categorisation because there simply isn’t anyone else out there quite like her. Not to be missed!

Singer and fiddle player Eilidh Shaw and guitar supremo Ross Martin are set to entertain concert goers with their dynamic, modern take on traditional Scottish music – but not before they have spent the afternoon with Fèis Spè’s senior band, ‘Monadh Ruadh’, running a special music workshop just for them.

The concert on Friday 8th April with Eilidh and Ross, will feature performances from ‘Monadh Ruadh’ and their dedicated band leader, Charlie McKerron of Capercaillie and Session A9 fame.

Eilidh Shaw, probably best known for her work with the all female folk group ‘The Poozies’ is now also a member of much loved Scottish band ‘Shooglenifty’, while Ross Martin is a member of Gaelic supergroup ‘Dàimh’ who have twice won Folk Band of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards. Individually they have worked with all manner of top musicians from the Scottish scene and beyond, clocking up over 100 album appearances working with the likes of Scottish Gaelic star Julie Fowlis as well as 70’s pop crooner Tony Christie!

In 2017 they made their first album together, Birl-esque, which was released on their own Rhubana Records label to critical acclaim. Since the album release and the launch of their duo project they have been touring Scotland, the U.S., France and Germany, and performed at Celtic Connections in Glasgow.

Ahead of their visit to Carr-Bridge, Eilidh said: “We are really excited to be coming to Carr-Bridge and working with the fantastic Charlie McKerron and his amazing group of young students. We have a lot of live music to catch up on and hope to see lots of people there.”

As well as a chance to catch up on some live music, the event is a chance to raise some funds for Fèis Spè, to help the organisation to continue to deliver traditional Scottish music tuition and performing opportunities for young people in Badenoch and Strathspey.

Charlie McKerron is considered one of Scotland’s finest fiddler players and composers and has toured the world with various bands during a long and varied career. Now a resident of Badenoch, he works closely with Fèis Spè, tutoring both ‘Monadh Ruadh’ and the organisation’s ‘Junior Band’.

“I’m thoroughly looking forward to getting a few tunes with Eilidh and Ross, but more importantly – they will be offering our ‘Monadh Ruadh’ members a great afternoon’s workshop, preparing a piece of music which they will then perform at the concert. For our young musicians, to get to work with well established, talented artists like these, is very exciting indeed,” said Charlie.

The concert takes place on Friday 8th April at the Carr-Bridge Village Hall. Doors open at 7.pm with the concert getting underway at 7.30pm. Entry is by cash only with tickets to be purchased at the door. Tickets are priced £12 for adults and £8 for children. Tickets can be reserved by texting 07799 338730 but must be collected by 7.15pm or they will be resold. There will be a raffle and refreshments available by donation.

The lineup for this year’s Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, one of the world’s most anticipated whisky celebrations, has been unveiled.
Over five hundred events within the Festival, which runs from 27 April to 2 May, have been announced. These will allow ticket holders exclusive access to world famous distilleries, the chance to meet the craftspeople behind the liquid and immerse themselves in the heart of malt whisky country.

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival team gathered yesterday (3 March) with key event partners to reveal some of the events on offer. Tickets will be available to buy on Tuesday 8 March.

Programme highlights include History of the Highball with whisky legend Sarah Burgess, an evening not to be missed with Glen Moray’s Iain Allan at Elgin Cathedral and one of a kind experiences at a number of distilleries not usually open to the public including Dufftown, Tamdhu and Tamnavulin distillery tours and tastings.

George McNeil, chairman of The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, said:

“We have an impressive range of events on offer, with some stellar new additions to the 2022 programme including an eclectic amalgamation of Star Wars and whisky tasting in memory of Brett Ferencz known to many as the Scotch Trooper, with 25% of ticket sales going towards cancer research.

“The last few years have been difficult for everyone and as we begin to return to normality I know that the many partners and people who help to bring the Festival to life are gearing up to welcome people from all over the globe to Speyside.

“I hope to see people from far and wide joining us to celebrate the world’s largest producing whisky region, from whisky novices, budding master blenders and everyone in between. I look forward to welcoming people once again to an area I am lucky enough to call home.”

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said:

“We are delighted to support the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival through our International Events Funding Programme. Its 2022 line-up of tastings, ceilidhs, distillery tours and more looks set to deliver another fantastic celebration of Scotland’s national drink. Uniquely Scottish events such as the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival can only serve to further strengthen the country’s reputation as a world-leading events destination.”

Verlon Thompson and Friends in Concert
‘A joyful gathering and sharing of songs’

Verlon Thompson returns to the St Margaret’s stage in 2022.

“A few years ago I led a week-long songwriting workshop in Scotland. Our lodging and classroom was the beautiful Kincardine Castle on the River Dee west of Aberdeen. When we weren’t strolling the beautiful estate or eating like kings and queens we managed to get down to the business of songwriting and honing our craft. But the most beautiful magic was when we gathered with the talented and gracious musicians from the area.

The music we shared in the great room of the castle, the pubs, churches and venues…it was all so beautifully spontaneous and joyful that I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I returned to Tennessee. There were lots of pictures and cell phone recordings of these gatherings but I found myself wishing I had better documented those beautiful moments. So…..Scotland, I’m coming back!

I’m returning in 2022 with another group of songwriters, but this time I’m bringing an award winning documentary filmmaker, who also just happens to be my beautiful wife (she should get an award for that as well!). With plans to enlist an agile and professional sound engineer to follow us around, I hope to recapture some of the magic and music that followed me home…and has never stopped calling me back.”

Songwriters seem to flourish on the fertile Oklahoma plains. Woody Guthrie, Roger Miller, Leon Russell, J.J. Cale and Jimmy Webb.

Add Verlon Thompson to that list.

Thirty years as a professional songwriter and traveling troubadour serve as credentials. As a solo performer, and as the trusted sidekick of Texas Americana songwriting icon Guy Clark, Verlon has viewed the world from stages everywhere from Barcelona to Binger (his hometown in Oklahoma).

Along the way Verlon Thompson compositions have been recorded by Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson, Dierks Bentley, Suzy Bogguss, Anne Murray, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Del McCoury, Sam Bush, Trisha Yearwood and many more.

Equally important in his songwriting and live performances, Verlon’s guitar work cannot go unnoticed. His guitar can be heard on recordings by Restless Heart, Pam Tillis, and many more, including, and especially Guy Clark.

Verlon co-produced Guy Clark’s Grammy nominated CD “Cold Dog Soup” as well as “The Dark”, “Workbench Songs” and “Somedays the Song Writes You”.

As the in-house musician for Genuine Human Productions, Thompson scores themes and background music for documentaries and special film projects.

Verlon Thompson is currently on the road. Or in the studio. Or writing in his bunkhouse on the river in Tennessee…
….but never far from the fertile plains of Oklahoma.

Legendary Braemar is a new commission from St Margaret’s, exploring landscape, love and legends: tales from the village and upper Deeside area.


A collaboration in music and storytelling, Legendary Braemar features original music from award-winning duo Chris Stout (fiddle) and Catriona Mckay (harp) and stories selected and retold by North East Makar Sheena Blackhall and actor Hamish Somers.


This new work is created especially for the magical, intimate surrounds of St Margaret’s Braemar, drawing inspiration from this unique corner of the Grampians which has borne witness to major historical events, hosting kings, queens, Jacobite rebels and mysterious murders — spawning countless ghost stories and local legends. Little wonder it was Braemar that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to create one of the most fiendish villains in literature in the form of Long John Silver.


The performers will weave together spoken word and music, immersing the audience in this world of local lore and legend.

Highly acclaimed Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith OBE performs live in St Margaret’s for an intimate and personal performance. There will be no form of amplification to allow Tommy to use and experiment with the natural acoustics of St Margaret’s. This special performance will be a part of Tommy’s April tour across the country in association with Scotland on Tour.

Born in Edinburgh, Smith grew up in the housing schemes and began his prolific career at 14 when his quartet won Best Band, and he received Best Musician Trophy at the 1981 Edinburgh Jazz Festival. A year later, he was invited to appear on the TV show ‘Jazz at the Gateway’ with Niels Henning Ørsted Petersen and Jon Christensen; toured with the European Youth Jazz Orchestra, and recorded his quintet for BBC Radio. At 16, he released his first two albums, Giant Strides and Taking Off! and studied at Berklee with financial assistance from Sean Connery.
He joined Gary Burton’s quintet after a recommendation from Chick Corea at 18, toured worldwide, and recorded on ECM’s album Whiz Kids. Smith has documented over thirty solo albums for Blue Note, Linn, ECM and his own Spartacus Record label; toured 50+ countries, composed over 300 works, and collaborated with musicians, poets, and visual artists, including Arild Andersen, Scofield, MacCaig, Alan Davie, Kenny Munro, Jaco, Wheeler, DeJohnette, Liz Lochhead, Christine de Luca, Trilok, and poet Edwin Morgan who he developed a unique artistic relationship in 1996 collaborating on 55 works of poetry and music.

In 1995 he established the SNJO and ensured its progress until funding began in 1998. He founded the TSYJO in 2002 to provide an educational opportunity for the country’s best young jazz musicians and fought to establish the first full-time jazz course in Scotland. In 2009 Smith was appointed head of Jazz at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and became Professor in 2010.

Smith holds numerous jazz accolades: 2 BBC, 2 British, 2 UK Parliamentary and 9 Scottish – Jazz Awards. His contributions to Jazz were recognised nationally when in 1998, he became the youngest-ever recipient of an honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in recognition of his extraordinary artistic achievement. He subsequently received honorary doctorates from Glasgow Caledonian and Edinburgh Universities. In 2019 he was given an OBE for services to Jazz from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Gordie Peters delivers a fun night with both Karoake and some amazing vocals.

Live in our Bothy Bar

Playing a variety of music