We are all delighted to reveal that Karine's (mostly) spoken-word poem I Burn But I am Not Consumed (with music by herself and brother Steven) from Laws Of Motion was chosen as Best Original Track 2019 at the BBC Radio…
Read moreBBC Radio 2 Folk Singer Of The Year 2018, Karine Polwart is a multi-award-winning Scottish songwriter and musician, as well as theatre-maker, storyteller, spoken-word performer and published essayist. Her songs combine folk influences and myth with themes as diverse as Donald Trump’s corporate megalomania, Charles Darwin’s family life and the complexities of modern parenthood. She sings traditional songs too and writes to commission for theatre, animation and thematic collaborative projects. Karine is seven-times winner at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, including three times for Best Original Song.
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SCOTTISH SONGBOOK REVIEWS
Some lovely reviews have started to come in for Scottish Songbook which is released on Friday August 2nd!!
OBSERVER ★★★★ : “A personal testimony from Caledonia’s reigning folk queen”
MOJO ★★★★ : “Heart-stopping...Affecting…Beguiling”
SCOTTISH EXPRESS ★★★★ : “Polwart surprises and…
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SCOTTISH ALBUM OF THE YEAR | Laws of Motion
We are delighted to announce that Karine, Inge and Steven's album LAWS OF MOTION has made the longlist of the SAY AWARD amongst this incredible bunch of albums.
Aidan Moffat and RM Hubbert – Here Lies The Body
Aidan O’Rourke…
SCOTTISH SONGBOOK | NEW VIDEO | CHANCE (Big Country)
CHANCE by BIG COUNTRY
Our second video for my Scottish Songbook. Big Country’s Chance.
Thanks to Sandy Butler on camera, to this gorgeous generous band & to Douglas & Jane Anne at Soundhouse for the venue.
Wait for the wee…
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BIRNAM BOOK FESTIVAL : KATE LEIPER & KARINE POLWART ~ A Wee Bird Was Watching
Birnam Arts and Conference Centre, Station Road, Birnam, PH8 0DS
Birnam Book Festival presents: KATE LEIPER & KARINE POLWART ~ A Wee Bird Was Watching ~ a family friendly interactive workshop Saturday 23rd November 11-12 am £5 + £1 Booking Fee
We are delighted to be welcoming songwriter and musician Karine Polwart, curating an event exclusively for the Birnam Book Festival. The six-time winner at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, including Folk Singer of the Year in 2018, is also a spoken-word performer, storyteller, theatre-maker and published essayist. Karine will host a one-off solo evening of songs with literary connections, conversation storytelling. This is a rare opportunity for an intimate audience with an artist who is very much in demand.
Explore the diverse and brilliant traditions of music-making from Scotland, as folk musician Karine Polwart and friends celebrate the eccentric spirit of songwriting.
The music of Scotland has always had a renegade soul, even in its poppiest modes. Karine Polwart is joined by bandmates Steven Polwart and Inge Thomson, plus Graeme Smillie, Calum McIntyre and Louis Abbott of Admiral Fallow, tracing this tradition from the 60s to the present day. Eighties classics from Deacon Blue, The Waterboys and Big Country sit alongside the stadium balladry of Biffy Clyro, while absurdist poet Ivor Cutler rubs shoulders with the electro-pop of Chvrches and the immaculate song craft of John Martyn.
Karine says, ‘To me, these are songs of resilience and resistance, cries of despair and dreams of something better. They’re pop songs, but also love songs to people and places we all recognise. They totally fill my heart up’.
Every autumn, two and a half thousand pink-footed geese fly from Greenland to winter at Fala Flow, a protected peatbog south-east of Edinburgh. From this windy plateau, writer and singer Karine Polwart surveys the surrounding landscape through history, song, birdlore and personal memoir. Ideas of sanctuary, maternity, goose skeins, Scottish football legend and medieval medicine all take flight, in this compelling combination of story and song.
First produced for the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, Karine Polwart’s exquisite piece of gig theatre has become a favourite with audiences all over the country, winning plaudits, awards and inspiring a record shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year. Wind Resistance returns home by popular demand to enchant yet more audiences and satisfy established fans.
★★★★★ “remarkable and beautiful” The Scotsman
Every autumn, two and a half thousand pink-footed geese fly from Greenland to winter at Fala Flow, a protected peatbog south-east of Edinburgh. From this windy plateau, writer and singer Karine Polwart surveys the surrounding landscape through history, song, birdlore and personal memoir. Ideas of sanctuary, maternity, goose skeins, Scottish football legend and medieval medicine all take flight, in this compelling combination of story and song.
First produced for the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, Karine Polwart’s exquisite piece of gig theatre has become a favourite with audiences all over the country, winning plaudits, awards and inspiring a record shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year. Wind Resistance returns home by popular demand to enchant yet more audiences and satisfy established fans.
★★★★★ “remarkable and beautiful” The Scotsman