FolkByTheOak2009-3

FOLK BY THE OAK, HATFIELD HOUSE, HERTFORDSHIRE

Sunday, 26th July, 2009

[3]

KARINE POLWART

"I have some of Karine Polwart's music and absolutely adore her voice, who, along with Eddi Reader, are amongst my favourite Scottish singers. I had been hoping to see her in concert and Folk By The Oak provided the first opportunity. I wasn't disappointed, save to say that the setlist was too short."

What has been said about Karine Polwart.....

Karine Polwart (born 1971) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide. She has been most recognised for her solo career, winning three awards at the BBC Folk Awards in 2005. Polwart grew up in Stirlingshire and had an interest in music from an early age. Her whole family has an interest in music and one of her brothers, Steven, is also a professional musician who plays guitar in the Karine Polwart band, whilst her sister Kerry is developing her own musical career. Despite an active musical career from a young age and ended up studying politics and philosophy at the University of Dundee. She moved to Glasgow to study for a Masters in Philosophical Inquiry.

In 2003 she released her first solo album, "Faultlines" which won the Best Album award at the 2005 BBCRadio 2 Folk Awards. In April 2006 Karine released her second solo album "Scribbled in Chalk", often looking at the darker side of life with tales of sex trafficking ("Maybe there's a Road"), the holocaust ("Baleerie Baloo", which is about the missionary Jane Haining) and the uncertainties of life ("Hole in the Heart"). But these stories of despair are balanced by others that describe the joy of a slower life ("Take Its Own Time"), of hope triumphing over cynicism ("Where the Smoke Blows") and the wonder of the universe ("Terminal Star"). She took time off from live performance during 2007 as she was pregnant with her first child. During this time she recorded two albums, "Fairest Floo'er" comprising mostly traditional songs, and "This Earthly Spell", containing only original compositions.

Awards:

2003 Scots Traditional Music Awards: voted Best Scots Singer.

2003 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards: nominated for Best Original Song ("Thaney").

2004 Scots Traditional Music Awards: nominated for Songwriter of the Year.

2005 BBC radio 2 Folk Awards: awarded Best Album for Faultlines, Best Original Song and The Horizon Award for Best Newcomer. Karine was also nominated for Best Singer.

2006 Scots Traditional Music Awards: nominated for Album of the Year (Scribbled in Chalk) and for Composer of the Year.

2007 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards: awarded for Best Original Song ("Daisy").