String Jam Club to welcome fiddler Ryan Young to Selkirk

A Selkirk-based music club is celebrating its 22nd year of bringing world-class live shows to the region by welcoming an award-winning artist to entertain at its first meeting of 2019.
Virtuoso fiddler Ryan Young.Virtuoso fiddler Ryan Young.
Virtuoso fiddler Ryan Young.

String Jam Club will welcome virtuoso fiddler Ryan Young to Selkirk tomorrow night.

The extraordinary musician brings new and exciting ideas to traditional Scottish music and has been described as “a force of nature” by the Scotsman in a five-star review.

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Ryan holds both a first-class honours and a master’s degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, as well as being a finalist in both the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards and the BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year, besides being named Scots Trad Music Awards’ up-and-coming artist of the year.

When Aidan O’Rourke of Lau praises this young man’s “uniquely graceful and expressive playing” and states that he is “a future star of the Scottish fiddle world”, you know that Ryan Young is very special indeed.

He will be joined on stage by the excellent guitarist and singer Jenn Butterworth from the Kinnaris Quintet.

Ryan recorded his debut album with triple Grammy winner Jesse Lewis.

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The album was launched at Feakle Traditional Music Festival in County Clare, Ireland, where he was accompanied by renowned guitarist Dennis Cahill.

The Glaswegian’s fiddle-playing is brimming with fresh melodic ideas, an uplifting rhythmic drive and a great depth of dynamics and precision. His sound is very distinctive and he takes the listener on an adventurous journey.

Ryan said: “I want to play in a way that allows the music to flow through me, and it is the music that is heard, rather than any technical or lack of technical ability.

“In the end, I think that playing in a heartfelt way is all that should matter.”

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Ally Fox from String Jam Club said: “That last sentence says everything you need to know about this extraordinary musician.

“His stunning technical skill is beyond most people’s reach, but when you actually listen to the music that is channelling through him, what takes your breath away you is not the technicality but its emotional intensity and lyricism, passion and sensitivity and a profound musicality that will touch even the stoniest of hearts.”

Ryan will be at the County Hotel, in High Street, this Saturday at 7.30pm. Tickets, priced £14, are available from the hotel or www.eventbrite.co.uk