Talented musicians to return for springtime gig

Talented Orcadian singer and guitarist Kris Drever will be back in the isles for a gig this spring, accompanied by respected Irish tenor banjo player Éamonn Coyne.

The Edinburgh-based pair will be showcasing a selection of tracks from Drever’s two solo albums, his highly-acclaimed 2006 debut Black Water and last year’s Mark The Hard Earth, as well as tunes from their 2007 collaboration Honk Toot Suite. The gig, with local support, will take place at Lerwick’s Sound Hall on Friday 1st April with doors opening at 7pm.

Drever was here less than a year ago for the Shetland Folk Festival as part of multiple award-winning contemporary folk outfit LAU, and also makes up one third of Drever, McCusker & Woomble. Dublin-born Coyne is also no stranger to these shores, having appeared at the same festival on several occasions in various different guises, as well as performing separately with Salsa Celtica in 2004.

Drever is the son of singer-songwriter Ivan Drever, the former lead vocalist with Celtic rockers Wolfstone. Brought up on a diet of rock music and the Orkney Folk Festival, Kris left for the Scottish mainland at 17 and eventually gravitated towards Edinburgh’s burgeoning session scene. In the years that have followed he has been honing his distinctive guitar style – an individualist blend of rhythm and harmony with folk, jazz, rock and country inflections.

Coyne is internationally renowned for his dazzling banjo playing and has performed and recorded with the likes of Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Michael McGoldrick and Sharon Shannon. While rooted in Irish traditional music, he is a stylistically varied and nimble player with influences including jazz, old time and bluegrass.