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The Often Herd + Sarah-Jane Scouten – SpringGrass Bluegrass Festival 2024

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Event Date
May 18 @ 7:00 pm

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A superb Saturday night awaits at this year’s SpringGrass Bluegrass Festival with the incredible The Often Herd (England) and Sarah-Jane Scouten (Canada). The Saturday concert is very popular so please book early to avoid disappointment!

The Often Herd transcend the traditional boundaries of the genre. Although they might resemble an American string band, complete with driving energy, tight vocal harmonies and dazzling instrumental interplay, their vibrant, transatlantic sound is deeply coloured by their surroundings; the striking natural and industrial landscapes of Northern England. This unique approach won them the title of “Best European Bluegrass Band 2018” at the prestigious La Roche Bluegrass Festival in France.Rupert Hughes (guitar) and Evan Davies (mandolin), write songs steeped in personal experience whilst drawing from a wide pool of influences ranging from old-time to psychedelia.

In March 2020, Canadian folk & country artist Sarah Jane Scouten was living in rural Scotland. With tours cancelled, days stretched endlessly, punctuated only by the steady unfolding of Scottish springtime, leaf by leaf, petal by petal. Growing up on the west coast of Canada, to her the flora of Dumfries and Galloway was a pageant of scent and colour, altogether new but still strangely familiar.

This is where Sarah Jane was initiated into herbal medicine – hawthorn, valerian, yarrow. The plants’ subtle power drew her onto an unexpected path. In May 2020 she applied to a professional programme in herbal medicine in the UK. Training in an entirely different field gave her perspective and space from a career in music which demands everything. It renewed Sarah Jane’s love of live performance, which had been diminished by life on the road. Studying herbs, and just as importantly people, gave her music a deeper dimension and she began to write again. Now for the first time this decade, she is releasing new music.

Events Details
Date :
18 May 2024
Time :
7:00 pm - 11:30 pm
Cost :
£15.00
Categories :
More Info:
Venue Details
The Vault Arts Centre, Victoria Street
Newton Stewart, Dumfries and Galloway DG8 6BT