The stuff of Mumford and Sons’ dreams

That’s a description of Southern Tenant Folk Union’s ‘fierce, raw, earthy music’, by the Guardian’s Maddy Costa. The Southern Tenant Folk Union are the most highly acclaimed folk/bluegrass band in the UK today. “They know how to write a song, that band” said Radio 2’s Mark Lamarr, introducing them on his show. They’ve recently released their fourth album, Pencaitland to national and international critical acclaim.

Their compelling live shows lie at the heart of their success. On Friday 23^rd March they’re returning to Glen Urquhart Public Hall, Drumnadrochit where they first played almost exactly four years ago. “We’ve been wanting to come back to Drumnadrochit ever since 2008, “ says banjo player and bandleader Pat McGarvey “We had a really warm reception last time and it’s such a great wee venue”.

Friday’s concert gives Highland audiences a second chance to see what all the fuss is about after the Southern Tenant Folk Union appeared at Eden Court’s One Touch last month. “The band’s gone from strength to strength since 2008, and everyone who saw them then’s just thrilled they’re coming back”, says promoter Jennie Macfie. “I’ve not often had such a strong reaction from our audience. Their meld of traditional music and modern themes has real meaning for the Highlands”.

STFU have been making a name for themselves on the folk music scene ever since they started out in 2006. They’ve toured their captivating live show across the UK and Europe where they now regularly sell out. It hasn’t hurt that they’ve had airplay from the likes of Bob Harris & Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 2, live appearances on television and radio – including Radio 4’s Loose Ends – and praise heaped on their performances and albums by major national newspapers including Sunday Times and The Independent as well as specialist magazines like Mojo and Uncut.

A seven piece all-acoustic band with banjo, mandolin, fiddle & heart-tugging harmony vocals, the STFU perform with ’soul & beauty’ on their murder ballads & laments and tear it up with their ’Hootenanny sawdust-kickers’ and high energy sound.

Formed by Belfast born five-string banjo player Pat McGarvey in 2006 and taking their name from the groundbreaking multi-racial union of sharecroppers and non-landowning tenant farmers founded in Arkansas in the 1930’s (the Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union), the Edinburgh-based Southern Tenant Folk Union are now the most highly rated folk and bluegrass outfit in the UK today.

Now with their fourth album they’ve continued to appropriate themes and ancient sounding chord progressions from traditional folk songs. Using these to document and reflect modern life they keep the essential simplicity and directness of style but often with a modern update to the underlying lyrical subject matter. New tunes that touch on atheism, intolerance and most recently (on ‘The New Farming Scene’ and ‘Pencaitland’) a post-fossil fuel, post -technological, agrarian future.

Pat McGarvey served his musical apprenticeship touring the world and recording a number of albums with bands like The Arlenes & The Coal Porters in London. That grounding plus countless other collaborations with key independent Americana acts including Peter Case, Tandy, Amy Rigby, Rosie Flores, Jason McNiff & Bob Neuwirth (Dylan’s road manager in the 60’s) gave him the real experience needed to fuse together the band’s American folk and British roots sound with his own Celtic heritage.

Keen to find a more personal outlet for his writing McGarvey gathered a collective of like-minded musicians who share his love of traditional music but have their own individual take on it; like singer & guitarist Jed Milroy (The Aliens), Adam Bulley on mandolin (The Halton Quartet), Ewan Macintyre on lead vocals/cajon and three stalwarts of the Edinburgh folk music scene, Chris Purcell (The Flairbairds) on guitar/vocals, Carrie Thomas on fiddle and Jenny Hill on double bass.

Once up and running, Southern Tenant Folk Union released their debut album of original material in January 2007 to acclaim, positive reviews and national radio play. The rest of the year saw them playing festivals, arts centres and clubs around the UK and Ireland and only a little more than twelve months after the self-titled LP a follow-up was released. ‘Revivals, Rituals & Union Songs’ – a real step forward with its strong, confident tone.

With positive reviews coming in and even more well deserved nationwide recognition (including a live session for BBC Radio 2’s Mark Lamarr and airplay from Steve Lamacq) the band played an extensive UK & European tour. The album was named by the Morning Star as one of the top ten albums of 2008.

The STFU continued to gig the following year while their third album was being produced in Edinburgh. ‘The New Farming Scene’ came out on Johnny Rock Records in June 2010 to widespread critical acclaim. The Sunday Times described it as ‘More than simple roots-music revivalism’ and The Independent awarded it 4 stars and praised it as ‘A bold concept piece’ as well as Andy Gill mentioning the following month that they were the kind of artist that ‘deserved attention’ from the Mercury Music Prize judges.

Mojo magazine declared it an ‘Absorbing third album’ with ‘restrained harmonies on a series of rugged songs’, whilst Uncut found that it was a ‘Smart conflation of Celtic music and bluegrass played with rare intuition’. Being based in Edinburgh turned out to the key to forging their own identity and making waves in the UK music scene.

In October 2010 they were awarded ‘Americana Artist of the Year’ at the British Country Music Awards (voted for by journalists at Maverick Magazine) and appeared live on Radio 4’s Loose Ends show and a national RTE TV show (The View) in Ireland.

Their fourth album ‘Pencaitland’ was released in June 2011, a record that continues the band’s trip into the more interesting areas of acoustic sound, word and tone. They’ve moved out from the farmstead of their last album to harvesting their natural folk feel for this timeless music.

http://www.southerntenantfolkunion.com/home/

www.glenurquhart.info

www.booklochness.com/event.php – ticket sales

Source: Glen Urquhart Public Hall