DKOS Artists 27th January 2026:- Pauline Vallance & Penni McLaren from Ayrshire. –  Oran Ra hailing from Glasgow. – Willem McKee hailing from Glasgow. –  Some Strange Harmony hailing from Edinburgh. – Laura Silverstone hailing from Edinburgh

PAULINE VALLANCE & PENNI MCLAREN

Her last album The World’s a Gift, was supported by Creative Scotland and produced by James Grant. It was nominated for Scottish Album of the Year in 2023. “An album of heartfelt songs that make good stories” RnR Magazine.
Penni McLaren Walker is a multi-award winning singer-songwriter with ‘a voice to hear by the ocean’. Her signature open-tuned guitar style offers the perfect match for the musical depth, light and shade of her voice and many of her songs have been recorded by other artists. Penni was introduced to folk at an early age through Scottish country dancing and still immerses herself in Irish traditional music for three weekends every year.
Penni regularly performs at a variety of venues in the UK and Europe with Tin Giants, as a solo artist, in a duo with Bryan Causton in Causton & Walker and with The Boxwood Chessmen . She is also a great collaborator with other musicians and artists. Working with Bryan Causton and friends, she wrote the lyrics and songs for the ‘Scott of the Antarctic’ concept album released in 2022. She also worked with the late poet, Clare Crossman, to produce the magical poetry and song cycle Fen Song – A Ballad of the Fen.
Together, they have written The Twa Roberts, about the joys of dating Robert Tannahill and Robert Burns and are currently touring with the show.

ORAN RA

Oran Ra are a folk rock band from the rural Central Belt of Scotland, now based in Glasgow. They released their debut album, The Travellers, in May 2025, and took their music from the North East of England to the Western Isles of Scotland throughout the course of last year, finishing with a gig at 1990 in Glasgow, to celebrate that first record. hey have began work on their next album, which sees them developing the synthesis between their own background and diverse musical influences. They hope to begin recording in early 2026. For fans of folk rock; Big Country, Runrig The Waterboys.

WILLEM MCKIE

Hailing from the hills of rural Galloway, Willem McKie is a singer-songwriter whose work blends the heart of Scottish folk with the clarity and emotional depth of modern contemporary songwriting—rooted in stories, places, and people.
Now based in Glasgow, Willem has built a reputation as a skilled session musician and collaborator. He has worked with a wide spectrum of artists across the Scottish music scene, experiences that broadened his musical vocabulary. These lessons—absorbed in rehearsal rooms, recording studios, and late-night sessions—now flow naturally into his own writing and performance.
With a warm, expressive voice and a gift for crafting melodies that linger, Willem McKie creates songs that feel both familiar and new. He brings a quiet intensity and honesty that invites listeners into his world—one shaped by tradition, collaboration, and a lifelong love of storytelling.

SOME STRANGE HARMONY

This project has been slowly in the making for years, fueled by a mutual love of Scottish folk pubs, weird chords, and guacamole. We find our home in the intertwining of diverse folk traditions, favourite moments from our classical and choral upbringings, hymnal vibes, and our own imaginings and re-imaginings. We have also recently delved into spoken word, setting our original poetry to melodies and vice versa. Our music is rooted in journeys through various countries and realizations; it flickers between glorious darkness and obscure hope, dances on the line where dissonance dissolves into some strange harmony.
Kelly Nickels (Grapevine, Texas) — Harmonium, Vocals
Sylvie Nelson (Santa Cruz, California) — Violin

LAURA SILVERSTONE

From opening for Steph Strings (AUS), collaborating live with Skinny Living (UK) and Kim Churchill (AUS) in 2024, or her early performance with Glen Hansard in Berlin in 2019, Laura has forged a reputation as one of the most exciting, energetic and talented performers on the circuit. Her ‘Heartwood’ album tour sold hundreds of tickets across the UK, Europe,
Australia and saw her debut in the US after securing 20,000 streams in its first week of release.
Her most recent live appearances have included Celtic Connections, HebCelt Festival, Kelburn Garden Party, Fringe by the Sea, Dunbar Music Festival, tours across Scotland and Europe, and a stand-out performance at Frank Turner’s Lost Evenings VIII, with participation in expert panels and fan events.

Please remember the DKOS hosted at Celtic Connections is held in the Exhibition Hall at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is still free but is now ticketed>
You can obtain tickets online from 12pm on the day of performance LINK