Letham Nights

Picture the Ocean & Aurora Jane

Saturday 29th September 8pm at Letham Nights

It’s a mystery how it happens but it just keeps happening! 

Once again, we have managed to land some quite extraordinary top quality acts to delight your ears.  The third international act to grace the stage at Letham Nights (after the Black Oil Brothers from Chicago and the Chloe Hall Trio/ Chloe & Silas from Oz),  Picture the Ocean, from Edmonton in Canada, are awesome!  You’d be a fool to miss ’em!

Just click and listen to this and you’ll see what we mean – simply JOYOUS!

Picture the Ocean is “refreshing alt-pop delivered by a powerhouse trio that sounds twice its size”

Their brand new album Picture the Ocean, 2012,  is the follow up to Our Ghosts Will Fill These Walls (Sept. 2011) which charted for 8 weeks straight in the top 10 on !earshot! and is still charting  across Canada. Very much on the heels of their previous offering, Picture the Ocean is a collection of songs/stories which have developed in the last year of hard touring together. Right from its inception to the recording process at Sound Extractor Studios in Edmonton, Alberta, it is a truly unique take on rock music that will leave you wondering where on earth this band came from.

Not only that, in an exciting new development, their exceedingly funky new bass player Aurora Jane will also be gracing the stage to do her own solo set.  Aurora Jane is the funkiest bassist we have heard in a long time.  In fact, she is no mere bassist but a funk MACHINE.  Check out this clip of her song Deep End on Youtube

And to complement these two international acts, English folk artist Jez Hellard will take to the stage with his own brand of folk.  Jez is a singer of potent songs, a stunning harmonica player, a guitarist and producer. He thrives on music of all stripes, playing traditional and contemporary folk music, from jigs and reels to tango, rhumba, funk and reggae. Listen in here!

So, we are over the moon that they are all coming to Letham Nights!

To book your ticket click the ticket link above!

Letham Nights #25 – Ambulances, Plum, Davy Saus

A change is as good as a rest as we always say and Letham Nights 25 was the proof of the matter. As the buses rolled into the carpark a veritable platoon of new faces thronged into our wee hall to supplement the usual good time girls and guys.

First up was Davy Saus. The last time Davy played for us it was only his second gig ever. He has obviously used the intervening time well and delivered a top set. His fan club were also in excellent voice particularly during ‘Sunshine’ which segued craftily into Walk On The Wild Side and back again almost before anyone had noticed. Indeed, Davy was so well received that he wasn’t allowed to leave right away and answered our calls for one more song with a brilliant cover of All Along The Watchtower. There is, as they say, only one Davy Sausage!

After Davy came the unimpeachable Plum. Plum (aka Shona Maguire) combines stunning crystalline vocals with layers of electronica and instrumentation to stunning, haunting effect. Playing songs from her latest concept album ‘The Seed’  Shona was joined tonight by the almighty Martin Sweeny who was in charge of macbook and other gadgets. Shona’s nuanced guitar picking complemented the moody bleeps and beats then gave way to the heavy four on the floor stomp of Dirt which in turn morphed into single (and internet sensation) ‘The Seed’ complete with ‘phat’ bassline. At times the vocals become chorally epic and at others the whole thing threatened to break out into a dub riot. Hard house beats in six eight time gave the anoraks something to chew over too. With this much class on display it was no surprise that an encore was called for and Plum did not disappoint. ‘Claw dancing’ was another novel twist to the evening and the climax with full on beats and pieces and cutting and scratching left the dance floor buzzing.

It’s not all about the music of course. Special mention must go to the hardest working bar staff in gigland who kept the Clap & Tipple marching along in spite of having to press gang the major part of the crew at short notice. Also, The Doorstep Bakery kept the excellent pizzas and garlic bread coming with satisfying regularity. Nice!

Ambulances returned to Letham Nights for the first time since 2009. The effortlessly cool five piece combine three part harmonies with a laid back delivery which at first impresses and then charms and delights. Playing songs from latest album ‘Flying Simply Explained’ and first album ‘The Future That Was’ simple guitar parts and backbeat drumming sit easily next to recorded electronic parts and give the accomplished songwriting room to breathe. The male/female vocal dynamic including classic call and response lines call to mind Spiritualized or Pixies at their most laid back. Single ‘Feeling Sick’s reggae guitar lines had the LN faithful sweating and swaying with delight and the inevitable encore filled the floor and called to mind nothing so much as T-Rex. Good times!

Ambulances & Plum with Davy Saus

Ward away the back-to-school-blues with a stunner of a line up… ticket info on the tickets tab above!

Ambulances created a huge stir in 2009 when they played Letham Nights #4.  About time we had them back!  Ambulances are a Scottish 5 piece distinguished (according to BBC 6 Music) by their stark, delicate pop melodies and bittersweet boy-girl harmonies. They have just released their second album ‘Flying Simply Explained’ which features the genius of Cian Ciaran (Super Furry Animals) on piano and backing vocals. Formed in Fife three years ago, their debut album, ‘The Future That Was’’ was produced by the legendary Kramer (Galaxie 500, Daniel Johnston, Jeffrey Lewis, Low) over 8 intense days in a rented cottage in the heart of the Fife countryside, recording what he would later hail as “a psychedelic masterpiece”.

Meanwhile we also have in store for you some leftfield electro-pop: Plum is the code name for Scottish songwriter and producer, Shona Maguire – a musical genius who creates a huge electronica landscape using a mixture of loops, beatboxing and powerful, delicious vocals.  Her technical know-how was honed at Split-Level Studios from age 15-19 and then at a Music Production course at Point Blank in London. She signed to American label Summer Rain Recordings, releasing “The Whispering Chamber” (2007) and “The Glory Feast” (2008). She is now well-established in the Scottish electronic music scene and was snapped up by prestigious label Benbecula Records, releasing critically acclaimed album Different Skin in 2009.  The Seed (released in April 2012) is her most recent work, a carefully crafted concept album around ‘the seed of an idea’.

Joining these two acts on the night will be Letham Nights favourite, Davy Saus.

Brrr!  It has been chilly  but Letham Nights #24 will warm you up!

Saturday 23rd June 8pm £8/£6

Before long it will be midsummer.  It’s sure to be a long balmy night and with the sound of The Gillyflowers drifting through the air, you won’t be able to stop yourself steppin out for a bit of a dance at Letham Village Hall…

The Gillyflowers are lead by hard-wired and intrinsic talent, Kirsten Adamson. Spending time in Nashville with dad Stuart Adamson of Big Country, at the tender age of 12 Kirsten recognised that her particular song writing style was ‘a little more country’ than a girl from Scotland’s should be.

Moving around so much as a child also landed Kirsten in Orlando for a while where she developed much of her live experience and, having served her ‘apprenticeship,’ became a guest vocalist for Big Country both live and on the album Driving To Damascus.

Now 26 and living in Edinburgh, she has just finished writing her first album and has been lucky enough to meet 6 like minded individuals with talent and passion for her music. The band have just finished recording their first album in Edinburgh with producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ali Moniak, which will be due for release summer 2012.

”The Gillyflowers have a growing following, and have in Kirsten Adamson a Dolly Partonesque country singer of poise and mighty ability.” David Pollock – The Scotsman

”With Adamson’s voice and acoustic guitar lent harmonic weight by two similarly apparelled female back-up singers, several examples of wild-flower discreetly adorn the stage. Both lend a showbiz dash to an already tight-knit and well-turned-out combo.” Neil Cooper -The Herald

“See them while you can still see the whites of their eyes. If your heart doesn’t melt, ask your doctor for a transplant.” Ed -17 Seconds Records

QUICK! Book a ticket!

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Letham Nights #23 was incendiary with all 3 acts setting the place alight with their performances.

Having sold out faster than any previous show, Letham Nights #23 on April 21^st promised to be a great night and it didn’t disappoint.  After Mike F had completed the in gig safety demonstration and introductions, Xander Duffy came on for the first slot of the night.

This was Xander’s third visit to Letham Nights and his unique style of cover versions and original compositions (often in the same song) was as fresh as ever.  He quickly won over the crowd with an impassioned performance and drew loud cheers and foot stamping following his tributes to Amy Winehouse and an impressive Whitney Houston medley.  I feel the vocal acrobatics at the end of “I Will Always Love You” might even have been assisted by the lady herself.

One swift stage changeover later and The Boston Tea Party took the stage.  Drawing from the rich seam of late ‘60’s blues-rock, these guys unleashed a string of classic songs by artists such as Muddy Waters, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, The Allman Brothers and Bob Dylan.  Into this they also mixed their own excellent compositions and played throughout with stacks of skill and drive.  The crowd loved this set and gave Reuben and the guys a rousing welcome to Letham Nights.  They will be invited back!

Another quick change and Anderson, McGinty, Webster, Ward & Fisher (AMWWF) squeezed themselves and a huge array of instruments onto the stage.  Having had some stunning reviews from recent gigs and lots of local and national exposure on local radio and press (not to mention the now classic session on Tenement TV), their reputation preceded them and we knew we would not be disappointed.  From the opening chord to the final encore it was a great performance with a huge dynamic range of whispering ballads to thundering climaxes sometimes in the same song.  Talent and charisma ooze from every one of these guys and the performance was a great showcase for their songs, playing and stage presence.  Instruments were swapped continuously but unobtrusively between the band, and the lead singing passed from one player to another seamlessly, giving new meaning to the term virtuosity.  Songs from the new album like ‘Poor John’, the burlesque ‘Agony’ and the beautiful lullaby ‘Jessica’ were mixed with songs we can only hope will appear on the next album like the rollicking ‘Sally Brown’, ‘Boo Hoo’ and a stunning encore of ‘Hold Still’.  The compositions were strong and memorable, played with passion and perfection and left the crowd shouting and stamping for more until the very last minute of the night.  It’s just too much talent for one band and what a privilege to have had them play for us

You might just be able to get a ticket for their show at the Reading Rooms in Dundee on 5th May.  If not you will catch them at one of the many Festivals over the summer, notably the Big Tent at Falkland.  A grateful Big Tent promoter happened to be at this Letham Nights and lost no time in booking them after the show!

Letham Nights’ own warm and friendly bar, staffed by volunteers giving freely of their time and bringing to you a fine array of drinks and snacks beautifully presented and served with a loving smile and a cheery bit o’ banter.  As far as possible, in keeping with the Letham Nights ethos of living lightly on the land, we source all of our drinks and snacks from local suppliers, particularly Luvians bottle shop and always try to offer you a range of local, organic or fair trade beers, wines and soft drinks.  Recently we have teamed up with St Andrew’s Brewing Company to create our own version of their ‘Fife Gold’ – Letham Nights Ale!

Enjoy, clap… and tipple!