South Beach Hotel

Troon New Folk Club February

Wednesday 26th February 2014

An all female line up for the February TNFC event with an unmissable and rare appearance by the legendary folk rock enigma that is Shelagh McDonald.

Shelagh McDonald

Pauline Alexander

Jemma McSheffrey

Tickets £8 in advance or £10 on the night

Tickets Available Online or at The South Beach Hotel

Doors Open 7pm

Shelagh McDonald

Shelagh McDonald made two albums that were milestones of early 1970s folk rock – and then apparently vanished off the face of the earth.

As cult figures go, few come with greater credentials than Shelagh McDonald. A wonderful singer, guitarist and songwriter, beautiful and with a lovely personality, her two LPs (The Shelagh McDonald Album from 1971 and Stargazer from 1972) shared musicians, arranger and photographer with her friends Sandy Denny and Nick Drake and are among the jewels of the early ’70s folk rock era.

And then she completely and comprehensively vanished for 33 years, as if off the planet. Vashti Bunyan famously went off in a horse-drawn caravan as part of the legend that aided her old vinyl’s price-inflation. That experience was a relative luxury compared to McDonald’s. When she first briefly reappeared in 2005 it turned out she had been roughing it in tents in the wilds of Scotland for years at a stretch.

But now Shelagh McDonald is back among us, cautiously planning live appearances and hoping to record again.

On 16th January 2013, Shelagh made her first official public appearance after more than 40 years away, as a guest of The False Beards at the Green Note, Camden, London. Among a half hour set of previously unrecorded material, she also delighted with a reprise of her much loved version of the traditional song Let No Man Steal Your Thyme from her first album.

Pauline Alexander

Pauline Alexander is an extraordinary Scottish singer from the east end of Glasgow. Musically she is someone who feels there is no need to stick to a particular style of music.  Her belief is that a good song is a good song regardless of genre.  With it can be some unexpected song choices during her live performances whilst her simple stripped back sets and vocal purity are extremely easy on the ear.  With a fine blend of original material and interpretation of song, she weaves from genre to genre that serves both to entertain and delight. 

Hailing from the east end of Glasgow, Pauline is incredibly modest of her talent as a singer.  Through the belief of others she has come to be something of an emerging talent within the music scene.  Long before there was ever an album, it was the support of a local radio station that really started to get her music out there.  All these efforts really came to fruition when Pauline’s debut album “Thoughts For The Masses” became an album of the week on Iain Anderson’s BBC Radio Scotland show.  More recently she has also been played on the likes of BBC Radio Wales [Frank Hennessey's Celtic Heartbeat] and BBC Radio Ulster [Colum Sand's - Folk Club].  A growing band of enthusiast and community radio shows at home and abroad also play Pauline's music and have been a tremendous source of encouragement.

Whilst most kids of Pauline’s age were listening to the current crop of pop, Pauline found a lifelong bond with music of the past.  Although she was a very sociable child, Pauline could be found in her bedroom for hours indulging in a plethora of tapes and vinyl listening to the earthy and pure voices of the 60s and the 70s.  All these artists have left an impression on her that remains with her till this day.  Acts like Karen Carpenter, The Beatles, Judith Durham, ELO and Gerry Rafferty.  

Performing as part of a two-piece, Pauline normally works with Edwin Gallacher on guitar to give an intimate sound that gives centre stage to her vocals.

Jemma McSheffrey

A singer-songwriter, her genre of music is Contemporary Acoustic Folk and traditional Scots music, playing fiddle and guitar but mainly performing her own material. Jemma has a unique raw talent that has been grabbing the attention of a range of promoters. To-date she has been booked by Westsound/Clyde FM radio to do a range of events for them such as - Cash for Kids, Westsound Burns Supper - Glasgow 2013, Community Awards, as well as the winner of West FM’s ‘One to Watch’; Celtic Football Club - An Evening with Henrik Larsson; Ayr Christmas Lights Switch On 2012 supporting Kassidy and Leon Jackson as well as the Robert Burns Humanitarian Awards Ceremony 2013. Headlining the VisitScotland Thistle Awards 2014 at Stirling Castle, she was also the winner of the Jim Gellatly, Amazing Radio’s Scotland’s Greatest Album: Round 2 – Female Singer Songwriters.

She is growing a local fan base as her reputation grows. Her music is inspired by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard, Admiral Fallow and Mumford and Sons. She has now recorded a group of songs Anchor, Dream a Little Please, Long Grey Skirt, Saving Summer and has just completed her first EP which will be launched later in 2014.

The Troon New Folk Club is held on the last Wednesday of every month and features an eclectic mix of musicians loosely falling under the wide banner of "folk".

Promoted by Ayrshire business man Stephen Vallance and weel kent musician Alan Frew, the events offer great value and feature an evening of great entertainment in the intimate surroundings of The South Beach Hotel in Troon.