Hi
All I know is that me and Nancy used to do loads of small folk club gigs in Scotland up until about ten years ago. Then it stopped, and since then we haven't played anywhere up there apart from once or twice at Celtic Connections, maybe once at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen, and non-folk gigs at the Bongo Club in Edingburgh.
My knowledge of the Scottish scene now is that it is very divided between the big modern bands like The Peatbog Faeries, who up until recently regularly refused English work in favour of touring abroad, and more traditional acts which include The Poozies and the Harp Society or Gaelic societies and small folk clubs and festivals. Ben's perception of the English scene is that we don't want them, which I know is not true. All i say to him is that the Battlefield Band did great trade in England for years, as did the other big Scots folkie acts, and he refuses to believe me. There may be an explanation in the thought that big bands did find it very difficult to get work wherever they were from in the Eighties, which is when Ben started gigging and formed his opinions. Until people like the Barely Works came along it was my experience that solo and duo song acts, or at least totally acoustic, did best in England (Dick Gaughan, Vin Garbutt, Rory Macleod, my Dad, the Wilsons and Watersons, Swan Arcade,etc), while dance bands developed their own thing (Gas Mark 5, Edward the Second) and big starry rock festivals like Cambridge were still rare and tended to book acts like Buddy Guy or Michelle Shocked from over the water. Most English festivals couldn't have coped with the roots-rock thing a lot of Scots youngsters were trying out, and there were not yet Arts Centres to bulk up folk club gigs, which they also couldn't have played at.
The first young Scottish act I remember doing well down here was Catriona Macdonald, in a duo with Ian Lowthian. Sileas seemed to do alright as well, and I can only conclude that it was because they were small enough to cope with folk clubs and touring costs.
Obviously I can't speak for the Scottish people, and this is only rough theorising. I drove from Penzance to Worthing yesterday and did a gig and then drove to Robin Hood's Bay and arrived at six in the morning so forgive me if this is a bit patchy. I have been thinking about this paradox for a long time and have many more theories which I will have to share another time!!
There are so many fantastic musicians up there, but the scene is very two-tiered and the "traditional" English routes to becoming well known-through the festivals and folk clubs-is not well-worn or known. Bands since Shooglenifty have started to realise they can tour here and are trickling down, but it is taking a while. i find that bands that make the journey invariably do well and are welcomed, although there may not be the support network of decent agents who know what to do with them yet. Agents in England certainly don't seem to be able to book decent Scottish tours for people like me, don' t know why it is. For going up North, I have no idea what the shape of the touring circuit is as we never get booked there. It is one of the main reason I moved to Scotland, to see what it is like and if there is any work. I am starting to get bits and pieces now but i have been there for over five years and the bulk of my work remains in England.
There was something else...the rise of the big European Celtic festivals has also seen a marked decrease in the amount of work I get in Europe, and a marked increase in the fortunes of bands like Capercaillie and the Shoogles and Peatbogs. That's all I can think of right now!
brain hurty.....
eliza C