Posted: 3rd December 2018

​View or download our Christmas 2018 Newsletter (pdf format) with news on artists, releases and events, and also our Top 20 Albums in 2018.

Posted: 22nd September 2018

In August, Ian Green went on the Far, Far From Ypres Concert Tour of Oban, Portree and Ullapool, offering the CD Far, Far From Ypres - Songs, Poems and Music of World War I and the newly released DVD Far, Far From Ypres - The Concert. Sales were brisk and mail orders for the DVD have also been excellent. The CD continues to outsell all other Greentrax albums.

Ian met many old friends and mail order customers on the tour and their feedback after the concerts was consistent: “A wonderful concert and very emotional…” (as they wiped away a tear or two). Ian has seen the show about six times and watched the DVD twice and still enjoys the amazing spectacle (with a tear or two!).

The Usher Hall, Edinburgh, has recently made tickets available for the Upper Circle to accommodate the huge demand for tickets for 11th November.

Ian notes that Alan Brydon has recorded a superb album on the subject of World War I, war in general and of the Scottish Borders, called Reflections. Visit Alan Brydon’s website to order this fine album.

The Nick Keir Commemorative Concert at the Acoustic Music Centre during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe was a sell-out, and a memorable evening of Nick’s songs, sung by some of his friends and ending appropriately with Nick’s recording of Festival Lights. This song is a Fringe anthem and the words are painted on a wall of The Royal Oak, home of the Wee Folk Club.

Sales of Nick’s compilation album 1953 to 2013 - A Double Album Reflecting the Talents of Nick Keir sold well on the night. It includes 37 songs, all written by Nick apart from one, and is the definitive collection of Nick’s work.

Carmel and Eric Bogle are currently visiting Scotland but Eric has left his guitar at home, while he enjoys a well deserved holiday with his twin sister Sandra and husband Ron. Eric Bogle With John Munro - Voices is the most recent work by two remarkable songwriters. Sadly John passed away earlier this year and is greatly missed by all, particularly by Eric who toured with John for so many years.

The long awaited debut album from Gaelic singer Sineag MacIntyre has been recorded and now has to be mixed and mastered but should hopefully be released on 1st November. Produced by Iain MacDonald and with a host of talented session folk.

Posted: 1st August 2018

The Acoustic Music Centre - now at UCC, 14 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh - is again one of the venues for Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. Amongst the many highlights will be a show on 23rd August titled Festival Lights - The Songs Of Nick Keir, presented by The Quiggs, Sangsters and Dick Gaughan. In 2017 Greentrax released A Double Album Reflecting The Talents of Nick Keir. This remarkable 2CD collection is available for the price of one CD.

Ticket sales for the Far, Far From Ypres stage presentation, produced by Ian McCalman and with a cast of 25, are going well. The concert will be on tour from August to November in various venues around Scotland, and tickets are now on sale at the venues. The final concert will be in the Usher Hall, Edinburgh on 11th November 2018 (Armistice Day). The first concert in Selkirk on 5th August will be filmed with a view to Greentrax releasing a DVD of the full concert which should be available shortly afterwards. See the concert tour dates.

Posted: 24th July 2018

Scottish Tour - 2018

The Far, Far From Ypres stage show, produced by Ian McCalman and with a huge cast of performers, will tour Scotland in 2018:

• Sunday 5th August - Victoria Halls, Selkirk
• Thursday 9th August - His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen
• Wednesday 29th August - Corran Halls, Oban
• Friday 31st August - Aros Centre, Portree, Skye
• Saturday 1st September - Village Hall, Ullapool
• Sunday 7th October - Whitehall Theatre, Dundee
• Sunday 14th October - Albert Halls, Stirling
• Sunday 21st October - Eden Court Theatre, Inverness
• Sunday 28th October - Theatre Royal, Dumfries
• Sunday 11th November - Usher Hall, Edinburgh

The stage show is based on songs recorded on the Far, Far From Ypres double CD.

The concert is narrated by BBC Radio Scotland presenter Iain Anderson and has attracted some of the leading lights in the folk scene. Those joining the Scotland 2018 tour will include Barbara Dickson, Siobhan Miller, Mairi MacInnes, Dick Gaughan, Ian McCalman, Iain Anderson, Professor Gary West, Stephen Quigg, Ian Bruce, Sangsters and other well-known faces in the Scottish folk scene. Peter Heywood operates the overhead slide projection.

Read more about the Far, Far From Ypres stage show on the McCalmans’ website.

Edinburgh, Perth and Greenock shows - 2014

After selling out The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall at Celtic Connections 2014 and receiving two standing ovations in the emotionally charged main auditorium, this moving show was presented several times again in the year of Homecoming Scotland 2014. It was also in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the beginning of the so-called Great War of 1914-18.

The show was performed in August 2014 at The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh and Perth Concert Hall, and in October at the Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock.

The cast comprised Barbara Dickson, Phil Cunningham, Dick Gaughan, Siobhan Miller, Ian Bruce, Stephen Quigg, Gary West (pipes), Stevie Palmer, Mairi MacInnes (Gaelic song), John Blackwood, Fiona Forbes, Anne Murray, George Archibald, Charlie Milne, Jim Weatherston, May Weatherston, Peter McCulloch, Kenny MacDonald, Gordon Stewart, Norman Gore (snare drum), Donald Hay (snare drum), Brian Miller (guitar), Tom Ward (concertina), Dennis Wilson, Carol Prior and Allan Prior.

The narrator was BBC Radio Scotland’s Iain Anderson, Peter Heywood took care of graphic projection and Sandy Forbes was sound advisor. Ian McCalman, who instigated the production and wrote the script, directed and Ian Green took care of promotion.

Celtic Connections, Glasgow - January 2014

The latest sell-out concert of Far, Far From Ypres - the stage show which arose out of the double album of the same title, Songs Poems And Music Of World War I - took place in the main auditorium of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall at Celtic Connections 2014 on 17th January 2014.

The cast of twenty-six included Barbara Dickson, Phil Cunningham and Dick Gaughan and was brilliantly produced by Ian McCalman. The entire cast rose to the occasion and gave stunning performances which even exceeded those of 2012. Narration was by BBC radio presenter Iain Anderson and the overhead projection was by Peter Heywood.

“Congratulations to you and all those involved in this unforgettable production…” (Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture)

“What a moving concert and magnificent evening…” (Norman Drummond, Chairman of Parliamentary WW1 Commemoration Panel)

”Overwhelming! This show should be seen by everyone. It was a beautifully crafted show. Come back anytime…” (Donald Shaw, Celtic Connections Director)

“It was an incredibly powerful performance…” (Carole Robinson, Scottish Government Culture Division)

“Superb, two standing ovations says it all… (Alistair Findlay)

“Truly fantastic… I thought the entire production was sensational…” (Fraser McCreadie)

“It was an honour to be present at this wonderful event. You could have heard a pin drop during the performance and the audience showed its appreciation with a standing and resounding ovation at the end.” (Ian Green)

The show features the large screen projection of relevant images throughout the evening, enhancing greatly the audience’s understanding of the story unfolding before them. The format of the evening takes the form of two fifty-minute halves with an interval.

It has a cast of ‘folk singing stars’, who remain on stage throughout the performance, singing the ‘trench’, ‘marching’ and Music Hall songs of the time. From that chorus, groups and soloists come to the middle of the stage and perform songs, both contemporary and traditional, about the Great War.

The narrator, Iain Anderson, brilliantly links the songs with stories about the hero of the show, Jimmy MacDonald, who was born in “any village in Scotland”. It tells of Jimmy’s recruitment and training then follows his journey to the Somme and back to Scotland.

It would not be a Scottish tragedy without laughter, so there are also stories of humour and joy that take this production well away from the path of unremitting gloom.

Written and directed by Ian McCalman, the production features 26 folk stars. Previous performances have included Dick Gaughan, Iain Anderson, Barbara Dickson, Sangsters, Ian Bruce, Siobhan Miller, Ian McCalman, Stevie Palmer, Stephen Quigg, Ragged Glory, Sineag MacIntyre, Soopna, Donald Hay, Drew Talbot, Dennis Wilson, Brian Miller, Tom Ward and a host of others.

Ian McCalman wishes to encourage the use of the script by schools and colleges for educational purposes.

The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh - August 2012

Far, Far From Ypres - From A Scottish Perspective was presented in The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh on Thursday 16th August 2012.

The cast for this concert included Barbara Dickson, Siobhan Miller, Dick Gaughan, Ian Bruce, Nick Keir, Stevie Palmer, Stephen Quigg, Donald Hay, Brian Miller and Tom Ward, with groups Sangsters, Soopna and Ragged Glory, plus Iain Anderson of BBC Radio Scotland. Peter Heywood provided overhead projection.

“an inspiringly convivial experience, where the audience joined the performers in choruses that echoed into the deep spaces of the hall… a standing ovation raised the roof of the Queen’s Hall for several minutes after the show had finished. It was a stirring end to a night honouring a terrible tragedy, one that left the entire audience moved and sombre, but strangely elated.” (Edinburgh Fringe concert review)

Celtic Connections, Glasgow - January 2012

Far, Far From Ypres - From A Scottish Perspective was presented in The Strathclyde Suite of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall at the Celtic Connections festival on Saturday 21st January 2012. The show was a massive success.

It was sold out in advance and many people remarked that it was one of the most moving stage presentations they had ever witnessed. Members of the audience were visibly moved and at the end of the second half there was a genuine standing ovation.

Ian McCalman is highly complimented for his superb work as researcher and producer, while Peter Heywood’s overhead projection was well chosen and added greatly to the excellent stage performances of a cast of many, including Barbara Dickson, Dick Gaughan and narrator Iain Anderson. Everyone rose to the occasion and made this a very memorable event.

Far, Far From Ypres was originally one of four popular themed sections within the Greentrax 25th Anniversary Concert in October 2011 at The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh.

“Powerful solos, robust melody and beautiful harmony, told stories of excitement and hope, suffering and endurance, humour and escapism, fear and disillusionment, in the words of those involved in the horrors of the Western Front.” (STV)

Posted: 5th February 2018

Wonder Fools in association with The Brunton Theatre and The Citizens Theatre are performing a play with songs and storytelling 549: Scots Of The Spanish Civil War at Prestonpans Town Hall, East Lothian.

The show runs from 7th to 10th February 2018 in Prestonpans, and then at The Citizens Theatre, Glasgow from 13th to 17th February 2018.

See more details, including links for booking tickets, at the Wonder Fools website.

For the duration of the show, Greentrax will be offering the album ¡No Pasaran! (They Shall Not Pass) - Scots In The Spanish Civil War at a Special Offer price.

Posted: 5th December 2017

Posted: 5th November 2017

Apologies for some recent mail order delays, normal service has now been resumed. This was entirely due to the very sad death of Ian Green’s wife June Green on 7th October, after a long illness.

This month’s Special Offer as we approach Armistice Day is Far, Far From Ypres - Songs, Poems & Music Of World War One. A double CD, this album consists of World War One soldiers’ marching and trench songs, with music hall songs of that period, as well as songs, poems and piping tunes composed about WW1 and performed by such artists as The Corries, The McCalmans, Eric Bogle, Dick Gaughan and many more.

Margaret Stewart and Hamish Moore have recently returned from the hugely popular Celtic Colours music festival held annually in Cape Breton Island. Other Greentrax artists on the bill included Seudan, Cathy-Ann MacPhee, Allan MacDonald and Paul McKenna.

Posted: 15th October 2017

Ian’s wife June died in the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh on Saturday 7th October 2017.

The funeral took place on 18th October at Mortonhall Crematorium, Edinburgh.

Posted: 25th September 2017

The best selling Greentrax albums in recent weeks in the Scottish Parliament shop are:

• A Highland Journey In Music From Scotland (Celtic Collections vol 8) - £6.99
• Celtic Women From Scotland (Celtic Collections vol 12) - £6.99
• Celtic Airs And Reflective Melodies (Celtic Collections vol 15) - £6.99
• The Scottish Diaspora - The Music and The Song (A Companion to the Tapestry) - £12.00 (double CD for the price of one CD)

The current best sellers by mail order and through retail outlets are:

• Far, Far From Ypres - Songs, Poems & Music Of World War One - £12.00 (double CD for the price of one CD)
• Celtic Women From Scotland (Celtic Collections vol 12) - £6.99
• Matt Tighe - £12.00
• Nick Keir 1953-2013 - £12.00

Posted: 25th September 2017

​The Tannahill Weavers continue their busy performance schedule with tour dates in the USA in October 2017 and Germany, Belgium & Netherlands in November/December. In February and April 2018 they tour the UK. See the Tannahill Weavers complete tour dates on their website.

​The Tannahill Weavers are Roy Gullane, Phil Smillie, John Martin and Lorne MacDougall.

As they approach their 50th anniversary in 2018, the Tannahill Weavers are one of Scotland’s premier traditional bands. Their diverse repertoire spans the centuries with fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs, and original ballads and lullabies. Their music demonstrates to old and young alike the rich and varied musical heritage of the Celtic people.

Over the years ‘the Tannies’ have been trailblazers for Scottish music, and their tight harmonies and powerful, inventive arrangements have won them fans from beyond the folk and Celtic music scenes. In 2011 the band was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame, and in 2014 they are joined by innovative piper Lorne MacDougall. Lorne comes with a high pedigree, having arranged and performed pipes for the Disney Pixar movie Brave, along with a long list of other accomplishments.

See Lorne MacDougall’s Greentrax album Hello World.