Kris Drever in Kirkwall at Orkney Bands

Kris Drever in Kirkwall

Published by Gemma McGregor July 18th, 2006 in Reviews.

After an exhilarating weekend festival on the tiny island of North Ronaldsay, Kris Drever stopped off to play a gig for his old friends in Kirkwall. Joined by Eamon Coyne on banjo and mandola, Gavin Firth on guitar and Erik Laughton on bodhran and snare drum, Kris played some rollicking good sets with everything from Swedish polkas to Western swing barndances to Irish reels.

Kris gives of his whole self when he performs - all of life is here. His guitar accompaniments can travel from heartstopping chords to fingerpicking delicacy to heavy metal thrashing within a single chorus. His sense of when to give and when to hold back creates a desire by the audience to be manipulated. But for me, the moments of true artistry are when he interrupts the roof raising instrumental sets to sing quiet ballads penned by his own hand. “Green Laurel” was a beautiful song with a poignant chord accompaniment telling the tale of a girl loved and lost.

Official Site (not much on it):
Kris Drever

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