PlaidSong were delighted when our great friend Andy Middlemiss invited us to do a concert for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee way back in 2021. We said yes and put some ideas about songs and material to him and then Andy decided to think big - he does that! He thought about doing something that would bring even more people together and worked hard to arrange staging the concert at Perth Concert Hall - we were delighted that he did! What an evening he put together with musical director, Kevin Lamb. Pipes and drums, choirs, brass bands and an inspiring company of talented young dancers taking us through the music and dance of the decades! War time favourites from the McAndrew Sisters and a gorgeous selection of Scots favourites from the Jambouree Cabaret Singers, brought plenty of music to celebrate the jubilee.
PlaidSong added our own set to this wonderful line up and we can share a few images here.
How tremendous to be onstage performing at such a great occasion and we really enjoyed it! We chose The Bonnie Lass o Gowrie by Lady Nairne, as this song reflects the beauty of Perthshire and makes references to various royal aspects and locations, including Strathearn - which is the Scottish title the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge use.
Our other piece was the Gean Trees, which was mainly in our thoughts as the Queen's Green Canopy has been a part of the jubilee year that Syd has been involved with. As a forester he had to get involved with planting more and more trees!
The words of the Gean Trees are by Violet Jacob - we are going to be performing at the House of Dun, the home of Violet Jacob, on July 9th. Songs and Stories from Scotland's Landscape and History Please visit the House of Dun website for more information and to book tickets if you fancy coming along to this beautiful venue.
Our evening was not over at the concert hall, however. With military timing and precision planning the whole event was being run to coincide with the lighting of the beacons. This was being done in various local venues and we were going to Methven Castle to see the beacon lit there.
We were also asked if we could lead the singing of the Queen's song for the commonwealth. Here we are beside our massive bonfire with lots of friends, our hosts Alex Cairncross and David Murdoch, and guests all singing along.
What a great evening and such good fun to kick off all the Jubilee celebrations!
We have more gigs lined up and will be performing next week at the RPGS doing our set entitled 'Enlist Bonnie Laddie, Songs of the Scottish Soldier'. We are in the process of setting up another concert with Andy in November, more details to follow and also the House of Dun, more info coming on that too!
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