Date: September 2006
Venue: Hope Community Centre, St. Margaret's Hope, Orkney
While two concerts took place in Stromness last Thursday, the other end of Orkney celebrated the opening of the Folk Festival with a sell-out concert in St. Margaret's Hope.
The show was held at the Hope Community School, and was organised and hosted by the South Ronaldsay Community Association.
Opening the show at 8pm were Newfoundland natives Jim Payne and Fergus O'Byrne, who went on to perform at other festival shows throughout the weekend. They treated us to songs about lumberjacks, fishing and sailing, and included more entertainment in their singalongs and tongue twisters. They used various instruments in their performance, including accordion, guitar, banjo and bodhran.
This was the duo's third time to Orkney, and during their current visit, they have toured round various primary schools including Evie, Firth and St. Andrews, as well as performing as part of the Folk Festival. They have also performed around some of the isles on their previous visits.
Fergus said after their performance in the Hope, "The people here are very kind, and they love music, especially as they've got their own. We've been really pleased with the reception."
Jim added, "People have been enjoying it immensely. We have a lot of sea and island based music, so there are a few connections. It's good to get to the other end of the island, too."
They were followed by the Slovakian quartet, the Zamiskovci Brothers, who have recently performed at Shetland's Folk Festival. Although interaction with the crowd was slightly limited due to their foreign tongue, they managed to become one of the favourite performers of the evening, being called back on to do an encore. Their sound was predominantly traditional in places, and they played a variety of slower songs mixed with upbeat, including a sing-along song to the tune of ‘She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain'.
Following a short interval, local singer-songwriter Roger Philby took to the stage with a bodhran. He played a collection of Irish ballads and traditional songs, although he also included a Scottish song in his set.
Finally, Hullion entertained everyone with their traditional Orkney music, amusing anecdotes and... cross dressing. After leaving the stage for a short time, Andy Cant and Billy Jolly returned clad in tights and tutus, declaring themselves the 'Pentland Fairies'. They had the audience in fits as they sang a parody about South Ronaldsay. Afterwards, Andy proclaimed that 'you'll appreciate that we're a straight band' - if they insist!
The evening came to an end after, like the Zamiskovci Brothers, Hullion were called back on to play an encore consisting of a Rousay tune. They were certainly a great ending to the concert, and the 100-strong crowd were left deeply impressed by all the acts had to offer.