Five Star Review for my Edinburgh Fringe show, Songs Of Hope!

I’m absolutely thrilled that my Fringe show, Songs Of Hope, was given a five star review by Arts Reviews Edinburgh!

“very different from any Fringe show that I have ever been at…a message through songs that hope can, if you let it, be a very powerful force in society.” 

Huge thanks to everyone who made the show possible, and in particular, to the wonderful humans who joined me for an afternoon singing workshop and then sang beautifully with me, as part of the show, in the evening…it filled my heart.

You can read the full review HERE.

Photos from Consequences Launch

I can’t believe it’s now three months since the launch of Consequences at Celtic Connections! Time flies…

It’s been lovely to reflect on such a fun, exciting project – huge thanks to Creative Scotland for their support. Here are some photos from the event.

Kim Edgar – photographer Campbell Skinner

 

Kim Edgar – photographer Campbell Skinner

 

Horse McDonald – photographer Campbell Skinner

 

Boo Hewerdine & Kim Edgar – photographer Campbell Skinner

 

Dan Bettridge – photographer Louise Mather

 

Goodnight Louisa – photographer Louise Mather

 

J-P Piirainen – photographer Louise Mather

 

Sandra Le Couteur & Kim Edgar – photographer Campbell Skinner

 

James Grant – photographer Louise Mather

 

Louis Abbott – photographer Louise Mather

 

Mattie Foulds – photographer Louise Mather

 

Kevin McGuire – photographer Campbell Skinner

 

Mikey Owers & Matt Gough – photographer Campbell Skinner

 

Steven Polwart, Goodnight Louisa, Kim Edgar, Dan Bettridge & Horse McDonald – photographer Campbell Skinner

 

Kim Edgar and Friends on stage at Saint Luke’s Glasgow 02/02/2023 during Celtic Connections 2023 – photographer Campbell Skinner

 

MORE LOVELY REVIEWS!

Kim Edgar - Consequences

I’m delighted to share several lovely reviews which have come in for CONSEQUENCES over the past weeks:

“diverse, satisfying and sumptuous” * * * * The Scotsman – read full review HERE.

“particularly affecting images…an ambitious project, initially released as a song a month and now

gathering together in this superb album” Folk Radio UK – read full review HERE.

“Very special…as good as I could have hoped..atmospheric” FATEA – read full review HERE.

““really different, thought provoking, brave and just simply beautiful…despite the dark places she transports us to, the whole experience has left me with the serene sense of hope that I felt whilst listening to that very first track.” Rocking Magpie – read full review HERE.

It’s so heartening that people have really connected with the album! I’m feeling most grateful for the whole experience.

TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE – ALBUM LAUNCH!

Kim Edgar - Consequences

 

There’s still time for you to get some tickets to join me, a full band, and many of my CONSEQUENCES collaborators as we launch the album as part of Celtic Connections, this Thursday, 2nd February 2023.

Doors 7 pm for a 7.30 pm start – there will be two sets, which will feature all the songs from the album, as well as special feature songs from each of the collaborators who is joining me for the concert – so you can see why I admire their work so much!

Get your tickets now: https://www.celticconnections.com/event/1/kim-edgar-special-guests-consequences

It would be lovely if you could join me – hopefully see you there 🙂

CHARITY SINGLE FOR UNICEF

 

I am super excited that my Global Music Match team mate, J-P Piirainen – Guitele artist, is going to be joining me on stage on 2.2.23 for the Creative Scotland supported CONSEQUENCES album launch Celtic Connections, to perform our song It Only Takes A Silence, which we wrote together on the day that Russia invaded Ukraine. The song considers what it means to witness injustice without raising your voice or taking action. J-P will be bringing his fantastic instrument, the guitele, pictured here, with him – and you’ll also be treated to a solo piece to hear the beauty of its sound! Don’t miss out – GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!
We’re releasing the song on 13th January 2023, with all income from the single donated to UNICEF. Thanks to Gillian Eilidh O’Mara Artist for the beautiful artwork!
You can also donate directly to support children from Ukraine through UNICEF:

TWO LOVELY CONSEQUENCES ALBUM REVIEWS!

 

I’m over the moon with these first two reviews for the CONSEQUENCES album, including a five star review! You can read the full reviews here:

https://www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com/kim-edgar-consequences-album-review-december-2022.html

https://www.liverpoolsoundandvision.co.uk/2022/12/14/kim-edgar-consequences-album-review/

 

CONSEQUENCES ALBUM LAUNCH @ CELTIC CONNECTIONS 2023!

Kim Edgar - Consequences
I’m beyond delighted to announce that my Creative Scotland supported album project, CONSEQUENCES, will be launched at Celtic Connections on Thursday 2nd February, 7.30 pm at St. Luke’s & The Winged Ox!
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE.
Please join me and a fantastic band of musicians: Mattie Foulds, Kevin McGuire, Steven Polwart , Mikey Owers and Matt Gough! We’ll have many of my collaborators as special guests: Horse, Boo Hewerdine, Dan Bettridge, Goodnight Louisa, J-P Piirainen, Sandra Le Couteur, James Grant and Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow) – it’s going to be a whole lot of fun!
#ccfest2023

Collaboration 12 – William Crighton

30.9.22

Here’s our finished song – In The Long Run!

“It’s not enough to ask the question

When will these horrors cease?

Boxes pile up all around us

’Til we commit to peace”

Another first for this final month of the CONSEQUENCES project – William and I collaborated over Facebook Messenger! And it’s incredible that we managed to pull it off, considering that William was touring Europe at the time…

I have deeply admired the passion and the political content in William’s work, which you can get to know yourself here: https://williamcrightonmusic.com.au/ William and I had talked about ideas of refuge and compassion in advance by email, which led to us exchanging some lyrical ideas around the impact of war on the most vulnerable in our society. Having accidentally missed William’s best window of opportunity for collaborating earlier in the year, I’m extremely grateful that he was still up for the collaboration, even though it meant him recording ideas (like the lyrics and melody of the refrain!) into his phone, straight after coming off stage at a festival!

A huge thank you to the talented creative team who helped bring the song to life in this recording, and with whom it’s been a delight to work with over the course of the project  – to Mattie Foulds (drums, production), Kevin McGuire (bass) and Mikey Owers (vocals, brass).

It’s maybe not the upbeat way some might want to finish an album, but it feels right to me that we’re acknowledging  the reality and the horror of what’s happening across the world right now. Nevertheless, I’m pleased to end the album on an offer of warmth and comfort – something that those of us lucky enough to be in a position of privilege can choose to give others.

#committopeace #refugeeswelcome #consequences #quietlyfantasticmusic #kimedgar #williamcrighton

27.9.22

My twelfth and final songwriting collaborator in the Creative Scotland supported CONSEQUENCES project is William Crighton whose powerful work I had the luck to discover through Global Music Match. By the end of the month, all being well, we’ll be sharing a recording of our song! I’ll also write a wee blog about the experience.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to support the project by pre-ordering the CD of the album for delivery in October 2022, you can do so here:

https://kimedgar.com/product/consequences-cd-pre-order/

Thanks for all your support!

Collaboration 11 – Louis Abbott

31.8.22

Here’s our finished song – Whisper Pink! 

“Whisper pink, feel the ground

Far away from blissful ignorance

Far away from blissful…”

Louis Abbott is a very busy man! In amongst his fantastic work with Admiral Fallow (who incidentally released a new EP, Electric Eyes, in May), Louis is the Creative Lead at Vox Liminis, an inspirational arts and community organisation working within criminal justice – sparking fresh conversations and insights so that our responses to crime, harm and conflict might (re)build connections, trust and belonging rather than further divisions.

Established in 2013, Vox Liminis run creative projects in prison and in the wider community with people who have committed crimes, people who have been victims of crime, those who have family experience of crime and justice processes and others who work in this area. I was lucky to work with Louis recently on the AMPLIFY songwriting project with young people in Edinburgh, in collaboration with Edinburgh International Festival and Goodtrees Neighbourhood Centre. And Vox have just announced Paper Planes – a new monthly release showcasing songs written across their projects – you can check out the first Paper Planes here, including a beautiful song performed by Louis: https://www.voxliminis.co.uk/paper-planes/  I’m delighted that in addition to all this, he managed to squeeze in a collaboration with me for this project…

It’s the first time I’ve ever collaborated over WhatsApp! But it really worked 🙂 Louis was a great communicator, and a positive and thoughtful collaborator. We considered missing something, or someone, or home, and what that feels like, whether that’s because of the nature of someone’s work, or circumstances like the pandemic…and the song grew from there.

A huge thank you to the talented creative team who helped bring the song to life in this recording – to Louis himself, who, despite his extremely busy schedule, contributed acoustic guitar playing to the recording, and to Mattie Foulds (drums, production), Kevin McGuire (bass) and Mikey Owers (vocals, electric guitar, brass). I hope you enjoy the song!

#achingtobehome #consequences #quietlyfantasticmusic #kimedgar #louisabbott

24.8.22

My eleventh songwriting collaborator in the Creative Scotland supported CONSEQUENCES project is Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow). I’ve had the great privilege of working alongside Louis for songwriting workshops for young people recently for Vox Liminis and previously for Music Plus, too. I’m a big fan of his songwriting, and have really enjoyed the festival sets I’ve heard from Admiral Fallow, so it’s lovely to finally have the chance to collaborate with him!

A week today, all being well, we’ll be sharing a recording of our song! I’ll also write a wee blog about the experience.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to support the project by pre-ordering the CD of the album for delivery in October 2022, you can do so here:

https://kimedgar.com/product/consequences-cd-pre-order/

Thanks for all your support!

Collaboration 10 – Rachel Sermanni

31.7.22

Here’s our finished song – Ripples! 

“An open door, a cup of tea

I sit down and you sit with me”

It was a truly lovely experience to collaborate with Rachel 🙂

We were, luckily, able to meet and collaborate in person. We began with a long catch up! Pre-pandemic, we were working together on a weekly basis at The BIG Project, supporting young songwriters and musicians there – we had a lot of catching up to do…

That catching up informed our writing, in the end. We spoke about the value in being listened to, and the ripple effect that can happen when you feel heard, feel seen. And how sometimes, listening is enough – indeed, is all that is required. Not trying to fix things, not trying to find a positive. Just listening.

“A space to hold

To let unfold”

It’s a small song, in many ways, but that’s what we wanted. We wanted the song to do what it said, and provide a moment for listening. What I especially love about it is the ease and simplicity of (most of) the harmonies, Rachel’s lovely turns of phrase (both in conversation and in songwriting) and how the song now reminds me of that relaxing, peaceful day we spent together in the making of it.

A huge thank you to the talented creative team who helped bring the song to life in this recording – to Rachel herself, for contributing her beautiful vocals and guitar playing, as well as some inspired arrangement ideas in the studio, and to Mattie Foulds (drums, production), Kevin McGuire (bass) and Mikey Owers (brass). I hope you enjoy the song!

#JustListening #KindnessMatters #consequences #quietlyfantasticmusic #kimedgar #rachelsermanni

20.7.22

My tenth songwriting collaborator in the Creative Scotland supported CONSEQUENCES project is Rachel Sermanni. Some of you may have noticed Rachel’s beautiful voice on my last album, HELD – during lockdown, Rachel (and Karine Polwart) kindly recorded vocals remotely for me, which gave me a lovely buzz of group harmonising at a time when that wasn’t possible in person…it felt like a hug.

I’ve also been really lucky to work (pre-pandemic) alongside Rachel delivering music making opportunities for children and young people at The BIG Project in Broomhouse, a deprived area of Edinburgh.

When I approached Rachel for this project, she mentioned that she hadn’t done that much collaborating in the past, but I’ve seen her collaborating with children and young people to make powerful, meaningful songs from their experiences, and so I was thoroughly delighted that she was up for collaborating with me for this project 🙂

By the end of the month, all being well, we’ll be sharing a recording of our song! I’ll also write a wee blog about the experience.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to support the project by pre-ordering the CD of the album for delivery in October 2022, you can do so here:

https://kimedgar.com/product/consequences-cd-pre-order/

Thanks for all your support!