Entertainment / Composer of the year nominee to head north for Dowry gig
HOT ON the heels of a nomination for this year’s Scots Trad Awards, Scottish roots singer-songwriter Findlay Napier brings his acclaimed solo show to Shetland this weekend.
The songsmith, renowned for his wry lyrical turns and warm sense of humour, will perform upstairs at The Dowry in Lerwick on Saturday night as part of his current UK tour.
The concert, promoted by non-profit community group Ragged Wood, will be opened by local singer-songwriter Keirynn Topp.
Napier has been touring and releasing music since his early noughties days with groundbreaking trad-folk outfit Back of the Moon.
He performed at Shetland Folk Festival over a decade ago with his Bar Room Mountaineers and is also a member of folk-rock supergroup The Magpie Arc alongside Martin Simpson.
More recently he has developed a strong reputation as a solo artist, working under the guidance of songwriter Boo Hewerdine.
Findlay’s most recent, Creative Scotland-backed, release The Outsider came out in late 2024 and is described as a celebration of “outsiders in love and outsiders in life”.
Adding to the critical acclaim the record has already garnered, he was recently nominated for composer of the year at the 2025 Scots Trad Awards ahead of next month’s ceremony – a prize that local musician Steven Spence is also up for.
Local pianist Amy Laurenson is also up for the original work of the year award for her release Auld Reels.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be coming back to Shetland, Napier said. “It’s been too long!
“Last time I was up was for the folk festival with the Bar Room Mountaineers over 10 years ago. Many fond, and slightly blurry, memories of playing the festival with Back of the Moon and the Bar Room Mountaineers.”
He adds that he will “not play a note until presented with at least one egg and sassermaet roll!”
A limited number of tickets are left to see Findlay Napier, supported by Keirynn Topp, in The Dowry on Saturday (8 November) here.
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