Well, my week in Caithness has come and gone. Saw very little live music, though I tried to keep my eyes and ears open as much as possible. Went to the folk night at the Comm. Hmmm... There was about six people there, none of them are actually from Caithness - I met a nice chap from Leeds who moved up to take advantage of the low house prices - and they mainly stuck to playing Shetland and Irish reels. They perked up, however, when my girlfriend, Shona Mooney decided to join them for a tune or two. We inquired about local folk music, and were somewhat surprised to hear there is little, or almost none at all written down in manuscript. Apparently Addie Harper and Bobby Murray - and yes, John Sutherland of Dunnet Head - are the closest Caithness has.
Speaking of Sutherland, thankfully I got to see him and his young lad, Isaac, playing at the Grove Lounge. Quality, as ever.
Apparently there was acoustic acts playing at the Orange Room on Saturday afternoon, but I tend to watch live music at night, and there's so much other good things to see and do in Caithness when there's daylight in abundance. Shame, it might have been very good.
And that was it.
Ah well, maybe see some more next time.
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