A Beautiful Evening with Kathleen MacInnes at Tradfest 2025

Introducing the gig, co-founder of Soundhouse and Edinburgh Tradfest, Douglas Robertson, described Kathleen MacInnes’ gig as ‘the hottest ticket in town tonight’. Well, the packed Traverse auditorium’s rapturous response to her – and her chosen bandmates’ – 2 delightful, tuneful hours suggests he was probably right.

A little of that appreciation will likely be immortalised in McInnes’ upcoming album, tracks for which she was recording live on the night. Quite a Tradfest coup if you ask me!

A Captivating Solo Start and Natural Charm

MacInnes set a high bar by opening the show alone with an a cappella rendition of ‘Oran Talaidh na Mna-sidhe’. Her voice is a singular instrument, sweet and soulful, not lacking in power, but always laced with whispering grace. Think sunlight through a morning mist, or moonlight through wispy clouds.

Introducing the gig, co-founder of Soundhouse and Edinburgh Tradfest, Douglas Robertson, described Kathleen MacInnes’ gig as ‘the hottest ticket in town tonight’.

The first of Kathleen’s four musical collaborators soon appeared: award-winning multi-instrumentalist Mike Vass, the evening’s nominated guitarist and fiddler. With Vass on the strings, the audience was swiftly treated to a beautiful tune from South Glendale lamenting a lover who’ll come no more his beloved’s way, and ‘Thugainn a Bhlàrag’, a merry number concerning a stubborn cow.

“Just like me,” jested McInnes – and let’s hope her delightfully informal approach to the concert is preserved in the recording.

Building the Band: Vass, Shaw, and Sutcliffe Join In

Reader, the concert would have been completely delightful with just the two of them, such was the fine interplay between Vass’s dancing fingers and MacInnes’ versatile vocals. However, the stage was set with more than two chairs, so duets completed, it was time for no less than co-founder of Capercaillie, Donald Shaw take his seat at the keyboard, for a one-two punch of plaintive Irish slow-waltz, ‘Jimmy Mo Mhíle Stór’, and a hybrid walking song concerning pushing unwanted suitors into bushes.

Don’t ask me why, but I was getting strong shades of Richard Clayderman from Shaw’s elegant work at the keys – and that’s no bad thing.

Then it was time for 3 to become 4, with the appearance of Neil Sutcliffe, accordionist extraordinaire, vocalist, and old acquaintance of the QR’s. Cue a captivating Gaelic translation of ‘Farewell to Fiunary’, and some ‘very old’ walking songs recorded by Calum Johnston back in the 1950’s.

From Ballads to Puirt à Beul: A Full-Bodied Gaelic Showcase

Sutcliffe certainly seemed to come with the MacInnes seal of approval – on stage not just for his sparkling accordion and warm vocals, but to lead a few songs of his own, specifically Matt McGinn’s tongue-in cheek ditty, ‘Skin’, a miserable song about a lover not coming home, and John McEvoy’s ‘Wee Magic Stane’. The White Heather Club would be glad to know the line of Scots-language entertainers with a penchant for a sing-along is yet to be broken.

However, Kathleen wasn’t quite finished assembling her Trad Avengers, so after a heartbreaking lament for Deirdre of the Sorrows, the boys were left alone to play tunes – including an impressively rousing ‘Sound of Sleat’, given they’d never played as a band before the afternoon of the concert day.

Returning to the stage with fellow South Uist linnet, Sineag MacIntyre, found the pair of vocal stars indulging in some cracking puirt à beul, before supercharging the rest of the concert with two (and frequently three, thanks to Sutcliffe) part harmonies.

Harmonies, Humour and a Voice Like No Other

Cue a gorgeous ‘Gur Milis Mórag’, a sweet Gaelic translation of ‘How Great Thou Art’ – “in tribute to the new pope”, a pretty Scots/Gaelic take on Sandy Wright’s ‘My Shining Star’, and the very straightforwardly titled ‘Faca sibh Raghnaill no Ailein?’ (Have you seen Ronald or Allan?). Determined to leave her audience thoroughly entertained, MacInnes ended with her own tale of the Stone of the Destiny, ‘Oran na Cloiche’ – one of the standouts on her 2006 debut album.

The audience, of course, demanded an encore and duly received a rousing medley of familiar songs, old and less old, with an invitation to join in if they knew them. Even in the deep south of the country, it turned out a fair few did.

No amount of technique or training will equip another singer with such a uniquely burnished tone, or such a deep and powerful sense of the music itself.

All of the above is basically just a list of the lovely mix of songs and tunes put on by an excessively talented group of musicians. What it cannot capture is what makes a singer like Kathleen MacInnes stand out from a highly competitive field. Yes, she can hit all the notes, and yes, she has a particularly winning way with an audience, but it ultimately comes down to voice and feel. No amount of technique or training will equip another singer with such a uniquely burnished tone, or such a deep and powerful sense of the music itself.

It’s no surprise that such a wonderful band of players would rock up the Traverse to help her shine. They, just like the audience, were likely happy to bathe in the glow.