Dear Readers,

The days pass a little quicker now as the world slowly returns back to the ‘new normal’. To meet with friends, family, to visit bars and restaurants again, all the elements of a fulfilled life we have taken for granted for so long, are now possible once more in Scotland albeit in a very different fashion than before, which has been later than most in returning (and rightfully so, in this humble songwriter’s view), . Live music is still not possible, but as it is now possible in mainland Europe and in England, Scottish musicians can now look forward to this with much more hope than before, as we patiently await this date to be confirmed.

Many you have kindly asked how you can support independent music in this time when musicians cannot tour, and more specifically my good self, for which I am highly appreciative. The best way to do so is to keep the wheels of the independent music economy turning by purchasing an album (or why not two – ;-)) from my shop here, the latest release which I’ve been unable to tour is available here.

Why not listen on Spotify, I hear some of you ask (though hopefully not too many)? This article by fellow singer-songwriter and troubadour Luka Bloom sums up why not perfectly. I only intend to use Spotify for releases which are now sold out OR no longer form part of my set, if you really wish to support my music and especially the new music I am releasing and intend to release in the future, then please always buy the hard copies online, or directly from me in a concert (once they can resume again, of course).

And at such a time when touring can no longer take place, one way to keep the momentum going is of course online. Earlier this month I performed online for the Bert Jansch Foundation on behalf of the intrinsic Save Our Venues campaign, you can view the whole performance featuring three other fantastic acts here, whilst my latest Fireplace Session can be viewed here.

I can also exclusively announce that the video previewing my next album release will be released next month on YouTube, please subscribe here to be amongst the first to view it. Your support would also be fantastic in helping to increase my subscriber base, something which I’ve sadly neglected as for the past ten years I’ve been too busy touring hard in 35 countries and counting. The same would also apply to Instagram, a relative latecomer (I’ve only been on there a year) to this, I’m aiming to post much different content from Facebook (keeps it more interesting for all of us!), so please do follow me here if you do not already.

Much as I would love to be on tour before the autumn, my Portuguese tour for September was cancelled yesterday, whilst the likelihood of Canada opening its borders in time for my tour there in late August/September given the catastrophic situation in the neighbouring U.S. is very, very slim. It is unfortunate, as I write, some of my contemporaries are embarking on or are enjoying long tours in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, countries which have handled the pandemic well. But unfortunately, when structuring my 2020 touring calendar, I, like everyone else, had no idea of what was to befall the globe. The tours I had booked of Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany, a total of five tours, all fell within the period when performing was not allowed. Now live performance is permitted in these countries once again but not in the ones I am scheduled to perform in, and I am not due to travel to mainland Europe again until the autumn.

So, I’ll be here in beautiful Scotland, working hard on the next album, my beloved readers, you can be very sure of that. Please stay tuned for the new video, on YouTube, and here.

Love to you all, I hope to see you all as soon as practically possible.

SK x