It was predicted early on that the live music landscape for the remainder of 2021 would be dominated by home based talent. Early indication suggests that there is going to be a healthy diet of Scottish folk musicians particularly framed by the female vocals, which have such a mesmerising presence of interpreting song in its many guises. Last month Eddi Reader paid the English Midlands a visit with her touring show, and in the autumn a similar gig hinterland is set welcome visits from Karine Polwart, Siobhan Miller and Jenny Sturgeon. However let's park the past and future for a moment and focus on the present when the beautiful voice of Hannah Rarity was savoured for the first time.
The Acoustic Music Centre sounds like the sort of round the clock grassroots venue that continues to support a scene in its organic form. Closer scrutiny reveals it is a pop up operation to curate folk music in the vast cultural pool that is the Edinburgh Fringe for three weeks in August. While being aware of its existence over the last decade of visiting the Fringe, 2021 was the first time one of their events conveniently found its way into a busy packed schedule. In fairness, Fringe visits tend to focus more on other aspects of the performing arts leaving music to run amok for the other 51 weeks of the year.
So for a defined period the Ukrainian Community Centre, located in one of Edinburgh's many regal residential spots, lends its upstairs room to the Acoustic Music Centre, and on the evidence of this evening's sold out show a definite value was added to both the Fringe offering and the wider live music scene. There was a slight change to the line up with John Lowrie on keyboards replacing Innes White who was self-isolating. Co-incidentally, it was Innes White who stepped in as a late replacement in the band for the Eddi Reader gig and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him tour with Siobhan Miller next month. Anyhow John Lowrie is an established collaborator with Hannah Rarity, so his presence is only going to enhance a show.
Now with the background laid out, focus turns to the performance of one of Scotland's leading folk talents and indeed a previous recipient of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year. Over the duration of a meticulously managed hour (another trait of the Fringe's tight reins), Hannah curated a finely tuned performance of where she is as a musician in terms of the impact of the last 18 months; what inspires her and where the immediate future is heading. She is adept at many aspects of writing and interpreting song, whether drawing on personal influence and presence to compose original material; delving into the exhaustive vault of traditional fare or putting a Celtic twist on more contemporary output from legends like Joni Mitchell and Tom Waites. All this is wrapped in the quintessential package of a voice as pure as a Highland spring and an aura to warm a crowd courted by a dip into accessible virtuosity.
Covers, traditional numbers and songs being shared for the first time were joined by recorded ones such as the title track from her most recent full length album NEATH THE GLOAMING STAR and self-written material set to feature on its eventual successor. In between we learned of the inspiring way music is used in the care sector and this can at least be imagined by experiencing it in a personal and intimate setting.
Hopefully Hannah Rarity progresses her career to be a force outside the domain of her Scottish base and follow in the footsteps of the names used as associates in the opening to this piece. All the credentials of wisdom, effortless conveyance, elegance and a soothing presence are in place to succeed in the ultimate aim of making music that means something to others. In some instances an hour can seem short; in others it has the potential to unlock a door to a timeless path.
