Karine Polwart and Su-a Lee

A Kick Up The Arts with Nicola Meighan

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Before I go any further, I want to tell you that A Kick Up The Arts is coming to a venue near you, very soon!

If you’re in Aberdeen, I’ll be at Granite Noir on February 23rd, which is a Sunday afternoon, with a very familiar face from your telly - she’s a legend, and she’ll join me for an afternoon chatting about her life, and work, and her choice of a favourite Scottish album, film and book.

If you’re in Glasgow, we’re having a similar shindig with the brilliant poet and author Michael Pedersen at the Glad Cafe on the 1st of March… Siobhan Wilson and Raveloe will play some live music, I’ll spin tunes to soundtrack your Saturday afternoon, we’re all going to hang about for a blether, and sign books and records, and it’d be lovely to see you…

And in Edinburgh - this hasn’t been officially announced yet, but the absolute literary fever dream - and conjuror of This Is Memorial Device - David Keenan will be launching his collection of music writing, Volcanic Tongue, at the Portobello Bookshop on the 27th of March.

I’ll put ticket links to all of those on my website somewhere - if I can work it - but you should hopefully be able to find those events online via my social media quite easily too…

ANYWAY! On to this week’s episode, and as the mighty Celtic Connections kicks off for another epic year, I’m joined by two absolute musical legends…

Writer, performer, singer and musician Karine Polwart is an award-winning folk star, a pop and theatre visionary, and a storyteller whose reflections on landscape, and nature - and human nature - have sent ripples - and sometimes fired shockwaves - across stunning theatre work like Wind Resistance, and myriad gorgeous albums - get them all, every one of them, right now - and that’s not to mention her show-stopping Celtic Connections opener a few years back - I Burn, But I Am Not Consumed…

Karine’s about to release a collaborative LP called LOOKING FOR THE THREAD, with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Julie Fowlis - and Julie also features on Dialogues, which is the debut album from legendary cellist and Scottish Chamber Orchestra live-wire Su-a Lee…

Su-a’s worked with everyone from Jack Bruce and Mr McFall’s Chamber, to the Grit Orchestra - she’s with them this weekend - and Eric Clapton, who lured her into his studio, thanks to her musical saw…

Her debut album is called Dialogues, it’s just been reissued on vinyl, and that sense of conversation, and collaboration, rings out throughout the record - as songs come to life with guests, and friends, like Duncan Chisholm, Jenna Reid, Phil Cunningham, Donald Shaw, one Karine Polwart - and Su-a’s husband and fellow musical trailblazer Hamish Napier…

We talked about collaboration, community, and the power of coming together through music - Karine’s brought 300 voices into a rallying cry at this year’s Celtic Connections - alongside memories of being recruited by Mary Chapin Carpenter, and recollections of making Eric Clapton change his schedule - not to mention Sheryl Crow’s backstage rider… It’s all right here…

But we met at the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, which means one of the city’s greatest vintage clothing shops is just across the road, so we started with that, which led lovely Karine to pay me a compliment… Take them where you can, right?