DKOS Artists for Thurs 26th Jan – The Coaltown Daisies / GLASTUR / Vivien Scotson. / Brian Heron. /. Rae Lena

THE COALTOWN DASIES –Glenrothes

The Coaltown Daisies are a duo of singer songwriters who write and perform dynamic folk, soul and americana music and who have a wealth of experience as performers, recording artists and event managers. They are renowned for their highly engaging live performances and steady professionalism which has resulted in them performing at sought after venues and festivals all over the country.
The records they have released under their own Ragged Boot Records label feature a lineup of highly established musicians and have been exceptionally well received by listeners the world over; one of their compositions was chosen as the original theme for World Whisky Day and won them the coveted CalMac Culture Music prize.
Their acclaimed album, Listen, has been nominated for UK Album of the Year and UK Song of the Year at this year’s British Country Music Association awards. It explores the wide spectrum of Americana; the tracks have been intentionally arranged to draw attention to the album’s core theme of mental health. Each song is packed full of incredibly well-thought-out vocals and deliberate instrumentation as well as featuring an absolutely stellar line-up of some of Scotland’s most revered musicians. Invoking the likes of Steve Earle, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Bruce Springsteen, Shawn Colvin, Montgomery Gentry and the Indigo Girls, this is an album that definitely should not be missed.

GLASTUR – Glasgow

GLASTUR. Formed in early 2020, coming together out of a love of playing Scottish, Asturian and Bretton music. GLASTUR is a band born out of the lockdown with the founding members never having actually all met in person until 2021. During this time the band created videos by stitching together our individual performances into a cohesive band sound.
The culmination of these beginnings was in recording our E.P of original material which provided a satisfying way for all the founding members to celebrate the music and friendship formed over a tough couple of years.
The band’s line-up changed at the start of 2022 when founding members Amy Lewis (fiddle) and Mike Pont (whistle) were joined by Iain Wright (smallpipes/whistle) and Lewis Walker (guitar) bringing exciting new textures to the sound of the band, including a healthy mix of traditional and modern tunes from the bagpipe repertoire, Glastur’s sound has evolved while staying true to its roots.
In 2022 Glastur made the jump from “virtual” to “real band” having their first analogue concert as part of Piping Live’s Emerging Talent showcase, before rounding off their summer with a performance at The Glad Cafe. Looking forward the band is continuing to work on new material, further honing their craft and developing their sound.

Vivien Scotson – Glasgow

Vivien Scotson is a Scottish folk singer, who has recently returned to performing live, after a ten year break focusing on being a mother and a registered crofter.
Vivien and recently been writing and releasing new music, working with other writers such as Polly Paulusma, Angie Pollok and Gareth Jones. She recently released an EP with American producer “ Kramer”.

Brian Heron – Port Glasgow

Brian Heron is a singer-songwriter who has written and performed for over 45 years in the local Inverclyde area. He has been in manycal cover bands and have used songwriting and music as an important part of his work as a social worker and employability worker for 30 years. He has written songs with young offenders, people who have experienced unemployment, Syrian children, and many other groups. Brian, now retired, plans to be more active as a singer-songwriter within his local area. He has recently set up The Inverclyde Electric / Acoustic Open Mic Sessions, which has been running for the last 16 months on a weekly basis. This has been extremely successful and will continue throughout this year. His music has been played on several local radio stations and shared extensively on social media platforms allowing him to reach a wide audience over the past several years. Brians’ songs can also be accessed through all major streaming platforms.

Rae Lena – Glasgow

Rae Lena writes haunted piano folk music to express the darker parts of the human experience. She weaves stories of the shared emotions we all go through with rawness, honesty and vulnerability. A self taught pianist, Rae’s style is a mix of repetitive looping chords and soaring vocals. Originally from the Scottish countryside, Rae is now based in Glasgow.