Hailing from the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands, fiddler and composer Lauren MacColl has built a reputation for music steeped in place and atmosphere. Whether performing solo or as part of groups like RANT, Salt House, or Heal & Harrow, MacColl’s playing is known for quiet intensity, favouring subtlety and depth over flash.
However, I left her future-looking retrospective Half a Lifetime equally impressed by her compelling sense of rhythm and showmanship. The latter was on full display when opening alone with James Oswald’s beautiful 18th-century slow-air, ‘Pentland Hills’.
A Stellar Ensemble Brings Old and New Tunes to Life
Whilst MacColl certainly has the talent and stature to hold the stage alone, she isn’t the least bit precious of the limelight. “It’s not much craic, playing alone,” she says, and so on with Rachel Newton (harp), Anna Massie (guitar), Mhairi Hall (piano), Mairearad Green (accordion), and James Lindsay (bass) to perform tunes from her most recent album Haar, as well as a clutch of numbers plucked from her extensive back catalogue.
Old friends and collaborators, the all-star line up fell into natural step, and the concert never looked back. Indeed, though Haar is an unmistakably bittersweet creation, the overwhelming feeling was one of celebration. That could be in the swift and merry working rhythms of Women of the Shore, or the topsy-turvy fun of Salt Fish and Dumplings.
“…I left her future-looking retrospective Half a Lifetime equally impressed by her compelling sense of rhythm and showmanship.”
Laments, Legends, and Evocative Storytelling
Of course, being a Lauren MacColl concert, there was plenty of introspection and lament on offer, whether mourning the wreck of the HMS Natal in 1915 with a beautifully evocative ode, or the salt-soaked Gentle Annie, complete with wordless chorus to summon up lost fishing communities and the weather deity being blamed for bad weather.
Each number was beautifully orchestrated and delivered by the talented line-up, with each having ample opportunity to show their worth. Where some bands find musicians fighting for space, here it was offered with grace.
“Of course, being a Lauren MacColl concert, there was plenty of introspection and lament on offer, whether mourning the wreck of the HMS Natal in 1915 with a beautifully evocative ode, or the salt-soaked Gentle Annie, complete with wordless chorus to summon up lost fishing communities and the weather deity being blamed for bad weather.“
A Musical Journey Through Highlands, History, and Heart
Along the way, the host wrapped her Edinburgh audience in tales of their city and her home in the north. Be it tributes to the dearly missed Coda Music on the Mound or tales of the Northern Lights in the dark skies of the North East, MacColl offered a gentle whistlestop tour of her life and inspirations to date.
Delightfully compelling jigs and melodic poems to the Roodadoo (that’s a heron to us lowlanders), heartbreaking meditations on the tragic manifestations of the Brahan Seer’s prophecies, and the wonder-laden happiness of North – Light: all were woven into an all-too-short audience with an artist at the height of her powers.
It certainly didn’t hurt having such an accomplished ensemble to help deliver it all with true elan.Finishing on the poetic and ambitiously arranged title track to Haar, it seems this fiddler may only be getting started. Indeed, the signs are good for another 20 years… at least.
Featured Image: Lauren MacColl on Facebook
Details
Venue: Traverse Theatre, 10 Cambridge Street, Edinburgh EH1 2ED
Date: 5 May 2025 (Edinburgh Tradfest)
Tickets: Event has passed
More Info: edinburghtradfest.com
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