Review: Kansa impress at Mareel album launch

Kansa at their Christmas Concert and CD Launch at Mareel last night. From left: Lois Nicol, Karlyn Garrick, Adrian Wishart, Adam Priest, Robert Wishart and Norma Wishart. Photo: Kevin Jones

Local band Kansa treated a packed Mareel auditorium to a festive evening of excellent music on Saturday night, which not only highlighted the strength of local musical talent, but also helped Kansa to showcase their new release, The Rowan Tree.

Opening the evening with a cover of First Aid Kit’s My Silver Lining, Kansa slipped effortlessly between well-known covers and their own material, with new song Ruby (brought to the band by fiddler Lois Nicol) from their new album an early highlight of the set.

Hold Onto The Rushing Minutes, an ode to making the most of the time you have, proved an audience favourite also.

Huddled tight together in a semi-circle at the front of the Mareel stage, Kansa appeared in a number of different guises throughout the night, with fiddlers Lynda Anderson and Lois Nicol swapping sporadically.

After the interval, former Kansa member Stewart Grains provided the audience with a mixture of reels and Christmas classics with the accompaniment of Kirsten Hendry on piano.

An undoubted highlight of the second half of the concert was the appearance of The Wisharts, the trio playing live for the first time in 4 years. Their second song, the wistful and melancholic Sweet Dream reduced some audience members to tears.

The night belonged to Kansa though, and their return to the stage for the end of the concert was greatly appreciated by the full audience. Their 80s medley, featuring covers of acts such as The Police, Hall and Oates and Blondie, had feet tapping and audience members singing along throughout the auditorium.

• A full review of Saturday night’s concert will feature in Friday’s Shetland Times

by Ryan Nicolson