Events
Widely regarded as one of the finest performers on the UK music scene, he’s as comfortable on the Main Stage of Cambridge Folk Festival with folk rock supergroup The Magpie Arc as he is in an intimate acoustic show in the back room of a pub. This fact was further highlighted when Napier was the first solo act ever to be nominated for Live Act of the Year at the Scot’s Trad Music awards in 2018. Tirelessly creative he has been touring and releasing music since the early noughties. First with groundbreaking trad folk band Back of the Moon, then with Nu-Folk pioneers Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers and most recently as a solo act working under the guidance of legendary songwriter Boo Hewerdine.
His breakthrough solo album VIP: Very Interesting Persons (produced by Boo Hewerdine), was number 2 in The Telegraph’s top folk albums of 2014. He followed it with 2017’s Glasgow described by The Scotsman as “a paean to his adopted hometown” which led to a number of high-profile gigs including five tours as the opening act for Eddi Reader. In 2021 he released It Is What It Is, a collaboration album in all but name, with producer and multi-instrumentalist Angus Lyon which Folk Radio UK called,” A captivating, indispensable work; it is what it is and what it is, is magnificent.”
The Outsider album project, which raised £11k in fundraising through Creative Scotland’s Crowdfunded programme in 2023, will be released by The Bothy Society on all formats including a deluxe coffee table book in late 2024. Produced by Napier’s long-term mentor and co-writer Boo Hewerdine and featuring performances from Liam Chapman (C-Duncan, Billy No Mates), Kevin McGuire (Eddi Reader) and Neil McColl (The Bible, Peggy Seeger) and Angus Lyon (Blazin’ Fiddles). Recorded in four short sessions between July and December 2023 at Saltwell Studio, Chem 19 and Gran’s House it is Napier’s most ambitious recording project to date. The deluxe version of the album, available only as a coffee table book, features sixteen original tracks celebrating outsiders in love and outsiders in life.
“One of the finest songwriters and storytellers of the contemporary Scottish folk scene.” Folk Radio UK
“Coming on like a Caledonian Loudon Wainwright … A superbly crafted compilation of Songs” Acoustic Magazine
“He’s good and he’s really funny too! He’s got that classic brilliant banter with the audience as well. Lovely to hear the storytelling in the songs as well as inbetween. A wonderful cacophony of bizarre and brilliant tales of real people.” Edith Bowman- BBC Quay Sessions
“Brave creative and a smashing listen” Maverick Magazine
“Think campfires and tradition, past voices being handed down, characters that spring up from the soil of childhood and a curiosity-bone last seen holding up a t-rex. All human life is here, given a beating heart via Napier’s warm handshake of a voice and memorable melodies.” Paul Woodgate- No Depression
“This beguiling album, in ambition a second cousin of Elvis Costello’s Punch the Clock, reaffirms Findlay Napier as a distinct and cultivated singer-songwriter, with a spirited voice all of his own.” From The Margins
“An insurgent talent and a wonderful singer. Napier proves he has a songwriting talent to match” The Morning Star
Doors open 7.30pm. Music starts 8pm. The venue is mixed seated and standing. Tables are limited and available on a first come first served basis so, if you’d like a seat, we recommend arriving early!
