Folk singer, songwriter and storyteller Dick Gaughan sings about struggle with an unmatchable warmth, passion and integrity.
You never feel this is a fevered ego at work, as Gaughan portrays so much of what there is to be proud of being Scottish: the struggles, the resistance to landowners and corrupt governments, the work and much more.
As a special surprise, the day I went he was performing in a one-off gig with his son Sean Gaughan. This instrumental set (with one exception), reminiscent of his excellent 1978 “Coppers and Brass” set, was performed before about 30 fans.
Sean, visibly nervous, rose to the challenge and they played a beautiful eclectic set which included waltzes, tunes, Holst’s “In The Bleak Widwinter” and a fine original composition of Sean’s. Sean’s sweet lead playing on “Cry Me A River” was particularly notable for its’ economy and deftness.
When he referred to this being a first, Sean joked “For one of us it’ll be the last!” Based on this night’s excellent performance it clearly won’t.
5/5
Davey Blackie
