It was of course the arts organisation Hidden Door who put Leith Theatre on our radar first of all, but the Edinburgh International Festival took it to their hearts and have now staged many productions there.
During the last few weeks the EIF has gathered musicians of all kinds in a variety of Edinburgh venues, and offered them the chance to play and star in a YouTube video of their own. All of these videos are published on the EIF YouTube channel here. There are so many we thought you might like some help in picking your way through them.
These were all recorded at Leith Theatre:
Breabach
Breabach hail from the Scottish Highlands and Islands, uniting musical traditions from their home and further afield. The band is made up of Megan Henderson (fiddle, vocals), James Lindsay (double bass, vocals), Calum MacCrimmon (bagpipes, whistle, bouzouki, vocals), Conal McDonagh (bagpipes, whistle) and Ewan Robertson (guitar, vocals, cajon). Together they perform traditional songs and modern tunes, with brand new compositions thrown into the mix by each of the multi-talented band members. Formed 15 years ago, they are celebrated as Highland folk legends, and this energetic performance for film confirms that reputation.
Honeyblood
Honeyblood (aka Stina Tweeddale) is one of Scotland’s favourite indie rock musicians, celebrating the power of womanhood through distorted guitars, woozy harmonies and defiant lyrics. The Glasgow-based act originally started as a duo, supporting acts including Foo Fighters, Palma Violets and Courtney Barnett and playing showcases for The Skinny, Vice, T in The Park and SXSW. Tweeddale’s pioneering solo work has included the recent Honeyblood Studio Sessions, nightly live streamed sets with special guests to help bring joy to audiences during lockdown. She brings that same optimistic energy to this performance for film at Leith Theatre, where she performed alongside Spinning Coin and The Jesus and Mary Chain at the 2018 Edinburgh International Festival. Now, she performs tracks from across Honeyblood’s eight-year history including Bud, Babes Never Die and 2019’s The Third Degree.
Aidan O’Rourke, Rachel Sermanni, Bashir Saade, Graeme Stephen, Brighde Chaimbeul
Aidan O’Rourke is a multi-award-winning fiddler, composer, producer, curator and one third of Scotland’s most inventive folk band, Lau. To celebrate the grit, calibre and charisma of Edinburgh’s grassroots music-making, he has gathered musicians with long connections to the city. The performance includes stripped-back solos and new collaborations from pioneering young Skye piper Brìghde Chaimbeul, whose acclaimed debut album The Reeling was produced by O’Rourke. Plus ney player Bashir Saade, guitarist Graeme Stephen, singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni and of course O’Rourke himself on fiddle.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
