Rura at Dalry Town Hall

From Kirsten Ansell at The Catstrand


Rura will be playing at the Dalry Town Hall on Wednesday 15th April at 7.30pm. Details available here

Rugged yet disciplined, heartfelt whilst rousing and anthemic, refreshingly contemporary but rooted in tradition… Rura are a band inarguably at the forefront of Scottish folk.
Internationally renowned for their punch-packing mix of highland pipes, whistle, flute, fiddle, bodhran, guitar and voice, Rura are one of the most exciting bands of their generation. Steven Blake, Jack Smedley, David Foley and Adam Brown create muscular, yet intricately arranged and lyrical instrumentals to match singer/songwriter Adam Holmes’ haunting songcraft – a perfected mix that has seen them rise to headline status at festivals throughout the UK and Europe.

Since bursting on to the scene in 2010, as award winners at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival, Rura have firmly established themselves as a major force. The release of their heralded first album, Break It Up, in 2012 (produced by Lau and Kan fiddler, Aidan O’Rourke) was accompanied by multiple award wins and nominations – including the running for the BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award 2013 - and now the five-piece’s second release is just around the corner. Due for release in spring 2015, it is one of the most hotly-anticipated albums in recent years – and from a band of the very same.

“What every festival needs…barnstorming!” BBC Radio Scotland
“Scotland’s hottest folk prospects” The Scotsman

www.facebook.com/ruramusic
@RURAband

Daimh at the Catstrand

From the Catstrand

Dàimh celebrate 15 years since their first album with a Scottish tour that showcases why they have earned the reputation of being the "Gaelic Supergroup" in the intervening years. 2014 saw the group win the “Eiserner Eversteiner” European Folk Music Award in the 23nd German Folkherbst competition and also nominated for Folk Band of the Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards.

A unique concert presenting a mixture of self penned material from their most recent ***** album, Tuneship, combined with some choice old Highland favourites arranged anew in Dàimh's inimitable style. Much of the material performed will be featured on the band's first live album, due to be recorded in the Hebrides this spring.
The archetypal pipe and fiddle led instrumental powerhouse of Angus MacKenzie and Gabe McVarish with Ross Martin on Guitar now sees Gaelic Champion Griogair Labhruidh cemented as the vocal Main Man and features a new member in the shape of Murdo "Yogi" Cameron on Mandola and Accordion.

This is a great Gaelic band and definitely worthy of the title Gaelic Super Group.
BRIGHT YOUNG FOLK

Dàimh have carved a reputation from the bedrock of Gaelic culture... authentic Gaelic music with a modern edge and a magnificent range of expression. This could be one of the best Scottish releases of 2014.
FOLKWORLD

Love, life, loss and Lochaber; Tuneship displays the growing maturity of a group whose work screams of place but which is rooted firmly in the present.
SUNDAY HERALD

Susan Calman Lady Like at the Catstrand

From Claire Hoyda

Susan Calman and her tour ‘Lady Like’ which is coming to the CatStrand @ Dalry Town Hall (venue moved due to flooding) on the 13th March.

Writer’s Guild Award– Best Radio Comedy 2013
Chortle Award – Best MC 2012
Real Radio Scottish Variety Awards – Best New Scottish Comedian 2009

Fresh from the successful first leg of her debut tour, the multi award-winning Susan Calman takes her hit show Lady Like back on the road this spring.

Lady Like is a chance to spend an hour with the woman known as “The Mad Cat Lady” to her neighbours, and Calman promises to reassure you, make you feel better about your own life and let you find out what being lady-like really means. How will she do this? With anecdotes, observations and no-holds-barred honesty of course, such is the manner of the feisty scot The Times called a “diminutive lesbian” with “chirpy, optimistic level-headedness.”

But Susan has a confession to make, and it’s a heart-warming one. Through plunging to life’s lowest depths she has, fortunately, come out the other end and wants to share her story. The show is, above all, a call to like ourselves no matter what others say; a journey of self-awareness, self-discovery and – here’s the fun bit – self-indulgence. Indeed, as the lady says: "All of us have mental health issues, it's just that for some of us, our issues make us go more mental than others".

Since reaching the semi-finals of the BBC New Comedy Awards in 2005, she has appeared on QI, Would I Lie To You?, Rab C. Nesbitt, BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz, CBBC’s Extreme School and Channel 4’s Blowout, which won a Scottish BAFTA in 2007. She also won the Best MC Chortle Award 2012, and Best New Scottish Comedian at the Real Radio Scottish Variety Awards in 2009.

Recently, Susan Calman has presented Don’t Drop The Baton, a BBC comedy broadcast during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and STV quiz show The Lie. Susan Calman Is Convicted, her debut BBC Radio 4 series, won Best Radio Comedy at the 2013 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards. It has now been commissioned for a third series.

What the press have said about Susan Calman

“Feisty Scot Calman is one of the best female comics to ever come out of the land of bagpipes and haggis. She’ll make you chuckle your pants off”
Time Out

“Susan Calman exudes a cheery joie de vivre, but behind it is a steely Glaswegian defiance”
Chortle

Patti Lean @ Catstrand

From Patti Lean

A great chance to catch some of Patti's work at the Catstrand until the end of this month, including new work from her recent residency in Iceland this summer.

'We are thrilled to be exhibiting the work of local artist Patti Lean at the CatStrand throughout November.  Patti  lives and works near Dunscore, Dumfries. She studied History of Art at Edinburgh University, then completed a BA (Hons) and a Master of Contemporary Fine Art at the University of Cumbria. She is influenced by contemporary abstract art, and makes frequent visits to Seawhite Studios in West Sussex to study with the abstract painter John Skinner.  Patti describes her work as “a response to the idea of the ‘continuous act of seeing’ that comes with hiking and walking in the environment; not only seeing, but also experiencing the sensation of rain, wind, snow etc., and hearing the sounds of the outdoors.” 

Olafsfjörður, Iceland: hiking study

(Limnology/Oceanology Series)

2014.  I

Exhibition is FREE and the work is for sale. For more info contact CatStrand 01644 420374 '

Changing Room @ Catstrand and Electric Theatre Workshop

From Jo Hodges

We invite you to join us in exploring one of society's last taboos. Rarely talked about openly, the menopause lies hidden beneath the surface in our culture. ‘Changing Room’ is an interactive installation exploring experiences of this challenging and powerful time of transition and includes work created by women from Dumfries and Galloway. This third stage of female ageing may be complex, but those that enter the Changing Room will find that it's also creative, outrageous, funny and profound.

Changing Room is a participatory artist led project by Jo Hodges and Denise Zygadlo

Catstrand, New Galloway. Fri 17th Oct 12-5pm. Sat 17th & Sun 18th Oct 10-4pm

Electric Theatre Workshop. 28. Munches St, Dumfries. Tuesday 21st Oct - Fri 31st Oct 9-5pm. Sat 25th Oct 11-3pm Closed Sunday

Opening & performance Tuesday 21st Oct at 6pm at Electric Theatre Workshop

Everyone welcome

Creative day facilitator Lee Seekings-Norman. A Luminate Festival of Creative Ageing Commission

Dance Galloway Launch and Day of Dance

From Sara Lockwood

Dance Galloway Launch and Day of Dance
Sunday 21st Sept 2014

Dance Galloway Launch
12pm - 1pm
Dance and Movement Workshops
10am - 4pm

Free - no booking required
Buffet lunch served at 12pm

The Catstrand
New Galloway
DG7 3RN
dancegalloway.org

Wanted: Fundraising & Project Development Officer

From The Catstrand

GLENKENS COMMUNITY & ARTS TRUST (GCAT)

Watson Birds Project - Fundraising & Project Development Officer

We require an experienced individual with a range of demonstrable skills to help us complete a capital and revenue fund raising programme to develop Barone, the former Watson Family home in St. John’s Town of Dalry, into a visitor, exhibition, archive and research centre for birds and the arts. 

The work will involve researching, developing and submitting funding applications, managing the delivery and compliance of capital and revenue funding, developing and supporting a scheme for private donors and Friends and working with the Barone Steering Group and GCAT Trustees to help them maximise the potential of the project as it develops.

The post will be two days per week based in St. John’s Town of Dalry, on a 12 month contract (with a 3 month initial probationary period).   

The terms and remuneration are negotiable based upon what you might be able to bring to the project; especially a passion for what we are trying to achieve.

In the first instance we would ask that you apply in writing briefly stating what you feel you can bring to this project and why you wish to be involved along with a suitable CV or business profile.

For further details visit www.catstrand.com

Postal applications: Brian Edgar, General Manager, CatStrand, High Street, New Galloway DG7 3RN

Or by email: briangm@catstrand.com

Closing Date: Monday 10th August at 2.00pm    Interviews: Week Commencing 18^th August

The Art of Movement life drawing workshop

From Katherine Wheeler

There are still a few spaces left on this workshop, so get yourself booked in!

Wind of Change at Catstrand

Document International Film Festival, Scotland's leading human rights festival, is going on the road this summer. Going into its twelfth year this October, highlight's of last year's festival will be screened in New Galloway, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness from May to July. 

The first screening will take place at New Galloway's premiere arts and cultural centre: The Cat Strand. We are proud to be showing Julia Dahr's Wind of Change. Dahr's film ventures to Eastern Africa, which has just experienced the worst drought the region has seen in over 60 years. This documentary attempts to give the drought a human face through the story of one Kenyan farmer with big dreams and a vision for his family’s future as he fights against the effects of both global and locally induced climate change. Dahr deftly combines images of a beautiful but harsh landscape with the farmer’s own video diary to provide an intimate portrait of his struggle.  

The screening takes place Saturday 10th of May at 3pm, tickets are free but you'll need to register online here first

The Life & Work of S. R. Crockett (1859-1914): A Centenary Celebration

The Catstrand, New Galloway,
Saturday 5 April 2014

A celebration, commemoration and exhibition of the life and work of Samuel Rutherford Crockett, Galloway’s best known and best-loved novelist and storyteller, on the 100th
anniversary of his death.

Speakers and participants include Margaret Elphinstone, Douglas Gifford, Ted Cowan, Alison Burgess, Pam Snell, Mary Hollern, Ingrid Shearer and Gavin MacGregor.

Tickets for the day programme are available from the Catstrand, New Galloway, £10 (non-returnable) Tel: 01644 420 374
Lunch by own arrangement but Catstrand lunch can be pre-booked on
01644 420 374

The Young Filmmakers most recent production will be shown and a small exhibition on S. R. Crockett will accompany this event.

On Saturday evening at 7:30pm at the Ken Bridge Hotel, New Galloway, there will be an S. R. Crockett Celebratory Dinner; an evening of excellent food, poetry and song. A three-course meal will be served and period costume (Victorian or Edwardian) is optional but warmly encouraged. Advance booking and payment for the Dinner are essential - £25 per person – directly from the Ken Bridge Hotel on 01644 420 211.

On Sunday 6 April a bus tour of Crockett sites in the Glenkens is prebookable

(limited places) at Catstrand: 01644 420 374

I Could Eat a Horse in D&G

I COULD EAT A HORSE is a Scotland-wide film arts project reflecting on food, daily rituals and the broader context of food production, accessibility and consumption. Here are three films made by the Dumfries and Galloway creative team, storyteller and dramaturge Anne Errington, film-maker Drew Johnstone and composer/sound engineer John Dinning. Gatehouse Primary school made one film, another was made with Dumfries High School Drama students and the third with the Let's Cook food group, a community group for adults in rural Dumfries and Galloway who cook together to help increase the members’ independence, enabling them to stay in their own homes for as long as possible.

The other national project teams are in Greater Glasgow, Edinburgh and the surrounding areas, and Aberdeenshire. Each film is led by and reflects the passions and concerns of the participants involved. For more info, head to the I Could Eat a Horse website 

Christmas @ CatStrand

Two Christmassy Christmas things at the CatStrand:

Greyfriars Concerts Christmas Ensemble

Friday 13 December   7.30pm                        £10/8

Matthew Moss - tenor

Dorothy King - soprano

Julia Daramy Williams - Mezzo Soprano
Dominic Barberi - Bass Baritone
Pianist Jennifer Redmond
And a small string ensemble.

  

A classical selection of your Christmas favourites will be performed by critically acclaimed singers accompanied by the Greyfriars concerts Ensemble including the works, O Holy Night, Hark the Herald and the Coventary Carol. Come and join in with the fun and sing your way to Christmas. A celebration not to be missed.

Forgotten Carol’s: The Feral Choir

Friday 20 December   7.30pm                        £10/8

This beautiful and atmospheric concert of carols woven together with readings of contemporary poetry and prose has become an essential part of Galloway’s winter celebrations. It features “forgotten” carols originating from Britain’s rich folk traditions. This year the soloist will be Kate Howard. 

see also here

 

Top Gigs at Catstrand

Many have commented on the excellence of the gigs that Catstrand are putting on in New Galloway....here are two more:

 

Jarlath Henderson & Ross Ainslie

Thursday 10 October                      7.30pm                 £10/8

Jarlath Henderson & Ross Ainslie

Fortuitously/accidentally formed at Celtic Connections 2012, following a double bill of the two frontline pipers' trio line-ups, the pair have fast become one of the most enigmatic duo’s to emerge from Scotland, these young musicians are not only vastly talented but have created a sound that is bursting with energy. 

A fusion of pipes and flutes the duo push the boundaries of what the instruments can achieve in a performance which is a vibrant mix of new and original compositions along with traditional tunes. 

Two of the fieriest talents in contemporary Celtic piping, Scotland’s Ross Ainslie and Tyrone-born Jarlath Henderson first met back in 2003 at the William Kennedy Piping Festival in Armagh After taking their time to hone and perfect their unique partnership of Scottish and Irish bagpipes, each also playing a variety of whistles, the pair exploded onto the scene with 2009’s stunning debut album, Partners in Crime. Taking a couple of years off, Radio 2 Musician of the Year Award nominee Ross performed with Salsa Celtica, The Treacherous Orchestra and Dougie Maclean whilst Jarlath became a doctor.  Now back recording and performing, a new album is due for release late summer 2013.

 “Two Stupendous young musicians”
* * * *

Mojo Magazine

The Pictish Trail

Saturday 12 October       7.30pm £10/8

Johnny Lynch, aka THE PICTISH TRAIL, is director of Lost Map Records, which he founded in 2013 after 10-years as label manager of Fence Records.  A singer-songwriter in his own right,  Johnny has released a number of LPs, mini-albums,  EPs, and singles under his Pictish moniker.  Critically acclaimed 2008 debut album,  Secret Soundz Vol. 1,  was a gloriously eclectic slice of lo-fi folk-pop that saw Pictish tour the globe.  January 2013 saw the release of its equally well-received sequel, Secret Soundz Vol. 2,  recorded up in his home caravan on the isle of Eigg.   Live, his intimate acoustic-guitar driven songs transform into foot-stomping, elegiac electro-metal rockers - courtesy of band mates (and fellow islanders), The Massacre Cave.  

“THERE’S AN EMOTIONAL PURITY TO THESE SONGS THAT’S INTOXICATING” ★★★★ UNCUT

 

Life Model required

I am Looking for a Life Model

Life Painting Workshop on September 14th at the Catstrand, New Galloway

4 hours modelling @ £12 per hour, 10.30 til 2.30

Please contact Katharine Wheeler by email kat@katharinewheeler.com for more details.

Places may still be available for participation as well, for information please contact the Catstrand directly on

01644 420374 or via their website

Canadian Bluegrass @ Catstrand

Gordie MacKeeman & His Rhythm Boys (Canada) 
Hailing from Prince Edward Island, the award-winning Gordie MacKeeman & His Rhythm Boys serve up old-time roots music with an energy level that practically yanks you out of your seat by the collar. 

The Rhythm Boys were given the Galaxie Supernova Award at the 2012 Ottawa Folk Festival for outstanding live performance. Tom Power, host of Deep Roots on CBC, recently called the Rhythm Boys his "Best Discovery Band" at the 2012 East Coast Music Awards. 

If ever someone was deserving of the nickname “Crazy Legs”, it just might be Gordie MacKeeman. His thrilling dance style mixed with great bluegrass vocals, Peter Cann’s blistering guitar solos, and the lively multi-instrumental talents of Thomas Webb and Mark Geddes, and Gordie MacKeeman and his Rhythm Boys are a complete entertainment package. 


Gordie MacKeeman & His Rhythm Boys will be playing next week at the Catstrand, on the 4th September from 7.30.
To find out more about their music head to their website

Upcoming Theatre productions at the Catstrand

A wee reminder that the Baroness  is arriving at the Catstrand on the 11th of September - 

 

In 1948, at the age of 62, Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), the great Danish writer of Out of Africa and Seven Gothic Tales, met the young poet and writer, Thorkild Bjørnvig, 29 years old. He was newly married and had a recent publishing debut of notable success under his belt. The two shared a powerful and intimate friendship, their pact, which lasted 6 years, before falling apart.

”The Baroness” premiered to rave reviews at the Folketeatret in Copenhagen in 2011 and was nominated as play of the year in the 2012 Danish Theatre Awards.  The play is Thor Bjorn Krebs’s provocative, free interpretation of the relationship between Blixen and Bjornvig, a relationship which is both platonic and sexually charged and which questions and challenges the role and nature of the artist. Full of tension and poetry, with three tremendous acting roles, the play is inspired by anecdotes, letters and books by and about both Blixen and Bjørnvig.





Also featuring in a selection of theatre related update from the Catstrand: Long Live the Little Knife by David Leddy and Fire Exit will be on the 18th of September.

On the 2nd of October, Rapture Theatre perform the Collection, - in association with The Beacon in Greenock, a timely revival of its production of  “The Collection” by leading Scottish playwright Mike Cullen. Rapture previously toured the play in 2006 to great critical and public acclaim

Lawson is the best collector in the business: operating in the seedy world of debt collection, he is at the top of the  “profession”. However when one of his clients commits suicide, Lawson’s life is shattered irrevocably.
As the mystery deepens around the suicide, the noose tightens, the stakes raised and Lawson and his colleagues are pushed into a deadly power game from which there can only be one winner. This mysterious play, which is both funny and shocking, will have audiences on the edge of their seats. Combining the wit and power of Harold Pinter with the gritty milieu of David Mamet: The Collection is one powerful night at the theatre.

International Musicians @ the Catstrand

The International Musicians Platform presents on Friday the 9th of August at the Catstrand the Jones Piano Trio featuring Nicholas Jones (cello), Gabriella Jones (violin) & John Thwaites (piano) at the Catstrand - tickets from the internationalmusiciansplatform.co.uk

Legends and Robots - Catstrand's upcoming events

A couple of upcoming events at the Catstrand.... as ever for tickets and further details head to their website!

Lunch and a Legendary Concert
Saturday 13 July         1pm          £10
Relax in club style seating, enjoy a wine or beer and watch a screening of classic concerts from back in the day. From Queen to the Who there will be something that you can look back on or introduce to a new generation. Check back for details of which concert will be screened.

Tall Stories: My Brother the Robot
Tuesday 16 July         2pm             £8/6  

Once upon a time in the future…
Bobbie lives with her inventor dad in a house filled with technology. Bobbie has everything she needs – except someone to play with.
So her dad builds her a robot little brother. But having a robot in the family can cause all sorts of trouble…
Music, magic and mechanical mayhem for everyone aged 4 and up, from Tall Stories (the Olivier Award nominated company that brought you The Gruffalo, and The Snail and the Whale).
Tour funded by Arts Council England .

Show produced in association with the Adaptive Systems Research Group at the University of Hertfordshire. 

     

Catstrand - Upcoming Musical Evenings

Open Stage

Wednesday 5th June - 7.30pm

£3 (includes a glass of wine for performers)

The CatStrand acoustic Open Stage night has been establishing itself as both a great evening and as a hotbed of local talent. It is a simple premise – Nicola Black hosts an evening of acoustic performance where the stage is handed over to you, the audience. Musicians, poets & comedians etc are all welcome. Come along and perform to a friendly audience or just watch and support those who do.

Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.

Alasdair Roberts Trio

Friday 15th June - 7.30pm
£10/8

Folk Star Alasdair Roberts is a Scottish singer songwriter, interpreting a mixture of original and traditional material, with a predilection for narrative ballads and recurrent interest in themes naturalistic, historical and folkloric. Accompanying him will be Stevie Jones on bass and Shane Connolly on percussion. You will leave in awe of this charismatic performer.

“One of Britain’s most singular and original talents” fRoots
Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.

Watercolour Workshop with Darren Woodhead

Catstrand
Sunday 19th May: 10am-2pm
£40

Master the art of Watercolour painting with one of the UK’s top nature artists.
This field sketching exercise will involve looking and understanding through observation, looking at landscapes as well as all forms of natural history. Through working with watercolours outdoors, we will aim to improve your understanding as well as technical ability of this most subtle of mediums.  We will look at painting animals in action, birds in flight and how to capture life on paper.
From beginners to masters, this is a great opportunity to enjoy painting in the field with a group.
Capture light, mood and enjoy the great outdoors!

This will be an outdoors exercise and will depend on weather conditions. There will be walking involved so please dress for outdoor activity and bring something to sit on. Although some supplies will be available, you are advised to bring your own materials :- watercolours, brushes, pencils and paper, as well as a packed lunch.

Interested? Hit the Catstrand website
For more info about Darren Woodhead head here