Phil Cunningham and his merry band of musicians return to Courier Country this Christmas. Gayle Ritchie finds out more…
Teeming with jovial anecdotes, modern and traditional Christmas music and songs that will tug at the heartstrings, Scottish folk music star Phil Cunningham’s Christmas Songbook is the perfect winter warmer.
The renowed accordianist, best known for his BBC Hogmanay shows, and for collborating with fiddler Aly Bain, Phil will be joined by some of the finest folk musicians, including Eddi Reader, Karen Matheson, John McCusker, Kris Drever, Ian Carr and Kevin McGuire, along with a special guest brass band.
Phil, who made his name with iconic folk band Silly Wizard, says the festive roadshow will be the perfect Christmas warm-up.
The six gigs – in Stirling, Perth, Aberdeen, Glasgow and two in Edinburgh – follow the release of the album, Phil Cunningham’s Christmas Songbook, earlier this month.
“After 10 years of concerts with the Christmas Songbook, the concept has become a tradition,” says Phil.
“Every December, we get together as friends and spend a few days eating and drinking our favourite Christmas fayre, playing and singing our favourite festive songs, trying to put our own Scottish slant on them, and then we take the result on the road.”
As always, rehearsal time is tight, with the musicans only having two days to get together at Phil’s house in Edinburgh.
“My main task is clearing the living room to make space for the musicians and making a truck loads of sausage rolls,” laughs Phil.
“It’s not much time to rehearse but these guys are wonderful musicians. Every year, we come up with our favourite Christmas music and find a way to play it together. The format is the same but the material changes ever so slightly.
“We listen to each song, make a little chart of it so everyone has the same chords, and then once we play together, we start to add in improvisations and creations of hook lines. We’ll take a traditional Christmas song and give it a trad (traditional) twist.”
Phil says the concerts will have a major focus on audience participation, with a section of carol singing.
“It’s like a big family affair. It’s all about fun, enjoying the music and each other’s company. I’m so in awe of the musicians that very often, I realise I’m standing watching them with my mouth wide open when I should be playing.”
The tour kicks off at Stirling’s Albert Halls tonight (December 16), before moving to Perth Concert Hall on December 18 and Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom on December 19. It’s then staged at Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall on December 20, Glasgow’s City Halls on December 21, and finishes up at Edinburgh – at the same venue – on December 22.
