Dear Readers,

I hope this finds you all well. Here in Scotland, we have just completed our second full month in lockdown though hope is on the horizon that these measures are to be slowly lifted over the coming months. Whisper it, but it may be permitted to meet with people outwith your own household soon!

As I’ve alluded to before, and elsewhere on social media, this time has given me ample opportunity to write music and songs. Solitary confinement has worked exceptionally well for this particular troubadour, isolation creations have been fruitful, and a wealth of new songs have been accumulated and lie patiently on my desk to be chiselled into shape. A new adventure has started on the classical guitar as well, which has also seen me working a little on my playing and composing on that front.

International travel may be forbidden for now, but signs are that the borders are slowly opening up in many of the countries which I tour. In the best case scenario I may make it over to Denmark in mid-July and the worst case scenario would see me back out in my old stomping ground of Central Europe in October. Plans to tour Canada and Russia in the interim are very much in the balance and subject to the daily changing of international travelling regulations and quarantine requirements. This Scottish troubadour can only hope.

Although I have no live stream performances set up yet, I have decided to reprise the Fireplace Sessions, a series of instrumental guitar videos which I am releasing on social media – these can be viewed on Facebook here and on Instagram here. The first was an arrangement of Steve Hackett’s wonderful composition ‘Horizons’ whilst the second was my own composition, first appearing on the now sold out ‘Estranged’ from late 2015 and has become a concert favourite – ‘There is a (very) Hot Lady in My Bedroom and I Shall be Needing a (Very) Strong Whisky. ( for anyone interested in hearing how the piece has developed, the Spotify link is here) The third will follow shortly – please stay tuned.

Many of you kind readers have kindly supported my career in these times of great hardship and from the bottom of my wee heart, it is really appreciated. My last album of songs, ‘Broken Before’ was released in Autumn 2018, and I had intended to follow this with a brand new album this summer. The pandemic has made these timescales an impossibility, but perhaps late 2020 might still be possible. That said, even though it may be practically possible in terms of being able to complete the work, finances may well dictate otherwise and delay the release until 2021.

In the meantime, in these troubled times where touring and concerts are forbidden, please know every purchase from my website helps to keep my creative output flowing. Here is the link to my shop – https://simonkempston.co.uk/albums/ – why not take the opportunity to complete your collection?

And please do take the time to follow or subscribe to me on the many social media platforms out there, that costs nothing and all the relevant links are at the footer of this page.

Thank you again for reading, and above all, please stay safe and healthy.

I’ll see you all down the road wherever.

SK x