John Goldie

John Goldie is, without doubt, one of the best acoustic guitarists in the world right now. Drawing on a rich seam of musical influences, his ability to combine bass, chords, melody and groove together is quite remarkable. As in demand in the studio and workshop space as he is on the touring circuit, John has played with a who’s who of talent around the globe. These include George Benson, Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman, Martin Taylor, Tommy Emmanuel, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. For the first time at The Traverse, John is joined by his brand new backing band, The High Plains. This contemporary string quartet is made up of some of the most accomplished players in folk, jazz and classical music. The High Plains combines the very considerable talents of Seonaid Aitken (Rose Room, Tim Kliphuis Sextet, Swing 2018) and Kristan Harvey (Blazin’ Fiddles, Fara) on fiddles, Patsy Reid (Julie Fowlis) on viola and Alice Allen (Scottish Ensemble, BBC Scottish, Brodick Quartet) on cello. John Goldie and the High Plains will be showcasing tunes from their new album Here and Now. All tunes on the album are penned by John, one of which will be very familiar to fans of the comedy Dear Green Place as that show’s theme tune. This track, and the rest of the album, have been freshly scored for five instruments Seonaid Aitken, who is one of the country’s leading arrangers(her credits include Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and National Theatre of Scotland).