Photo: Archie MacFarlane
Salt House: Riverwoods launch tour
Salt House have been a mainstay of the folk scene for a decade, with new songs that sound as if they’ve always been here. Ancient ballads woken up. Poems given the melodies they’ve long deserved and songs rooted in place, people and their shared love of the natural world.
The band’s reputation as fine interpreters of words both old and new has been solidified over the past few years with acclaimed album releases and extensive touring both at home and in mainland Europe. Salt House are Jenny Sturgeon, Ewan MacPherson and Lauren MacColl.
This spring marks the launch of their latest studio album ‘Riverwoods’ - a musical response to the feature-length documentary of the same name made by rewilding charity ‘SCOTLAND: The Big Picture’, and recently featured on Channel 5. This - their third release on Hudson Records with Andy Bell - is a collection of both songs and instrumentals inspired by the journey of the Atlantic salmon and the much-needed biodiversity along our river systems. “I encourage you to immerse yourself in this beautiful album, to ‘feel’ it and, crucially, to hear its message.” Pete Cairns, Executive Director, STBP.
The Salt House sound is carefully honed - melancholy viola entangled round rich vocals and double-guitar interplay. There’s a strong connection to place in their music - with the band based between the Scottish Highlands and Shetland. Taking their name from a dock in Ewan’s native Liverpool, Salt House draw on a wide range of influence from folk, traditional, and singer-songwriter worlds that they inhabit. Whether it’s on the festival stage or in an intimate theatre, the band share their songs with an empathy that has won them fans far and wide.
Ewan MacPherson - vocals, guitars
Jenny Sturgeon - vocals, keys, guitar
Lauren MacColl - fiddle, viola, vocals
About the band members:
Singer, guitarist and keys player Jenny has a PHD in seabird ecology. Described by R2 Magazine as “a singer-songwriter who brings together the old and new with a rare skill.” Her solo project ‘The Living Mountain’ based on the writing of Nan Shepherd was recently released to wide critical acclaim.
Ewan has brought his sound to a myriad of bands and projects in Scotland over the last 25 years since graduating from LIPA. His long-awaited solo project ‘Hushman’ showcases his own songwriting and arranging with a host of guests.
You can hear the Highlands in Lauren’s elegant bowing, honed while performing with the quartet RANT, Heal & Harrow and in her own right. Her latest solo work will be her 5th solo album to date.
“Wonderful… a trio of exceptional talent.” – Folk Radio UK
Reviews of Huam:
‘Elegant’ Mojo
‘Effortless’ Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music
‘Awfy Bonnie’ Roddy Hart, BBC Radio Scotland
‘An album of temporal beauty that touches the eternal’ Folking.com
‘Light and quick, profound and full of care, it is an album of serenely balanced opposites.’ Folk Radio
Praise for Undersong:
"Characterful new songs and settings, deftly woven" The Scotsman
"Outstanding" Irish Music Magazine
"A gentle lulling delight" The Guardian
Tickets are Pay What You Decide.