It’s not yet St Andrew’s Day and I’m already snowed under with Christmas tasks. Not that I mind as it is a pleasant thing to work at.
My band Arbelos is performing in Christmas With Arbelos And Friends on 12th December and we are in the midst of rehearsals and publicity work to make sure it is a success. It’s been a lot of fun so far, not least because we have two great new members in the band. Jenny Johnson now plays keyboards for us in true Rick Wakeman style (we need to get her a cloak) and, just this week joining us from Galloway Folk, is Alex Cook. Alex plays a wonderful array of percussion instruments bringing a much-needed rhythmic dimension and a real world-music feel. I’m so excited by it all that I’ve even started repairing my guitar synth. Expect sitars at a gig soon!
The show also features two Dumfries performers that I have shared the Brigend stage with in the past. Cheryl Easton has had a fantastic Homecoming Year with her Burns show Tea With Clarinda and now she is helping us out with a range of classical and modern Christmas music. The whole package will be bound up with the sparkling wit of local thespian (and my next-door neighbour) Ian Rennie who will introduce the music and tell some Christmas tales.
As if that weren’t enough, we are also launching a Christmas song When Snow Falls At Night as a fundraiser for UNICEF and we are providing a Fairtrade stall for refreshments during the show. All great stuff in the full Christmas spirit.
Come along and support us. Tickets are £5 and you can get them from Arbelos or in Dumfries at Barnstorm Records. The venue is the Brigend Theatre, Dumfries, and it starts at 7.30pm on Saturday 12th December.
Now if I can only find time to write our family Christmas letter and start sending cards….
